"An epic poem is, at its root, simply a tale that is told ... For this hero, mere survival is the most amazing feat of all." -- Emily Wilson, in the introduction of her translation of The Odyssey.

Remember Odysseus, who conquered Troy? The one who lost his men at sea, the dipshits who fatally pissed off Hyperion the Sun God for feasting upon his cattle?

The plan was set. Mercury would campaign Calypso to free Odysseus from her clutches, while Athena herself traveled to Ithaca, Odysseus' home, to rally his son, Telemachus, to rid his father's home of all the greedy suitors to his mother, and to go search for his father.

The young prince Telemachus was hanging around the fam's castle, increasingly fed up with all these sycophantic suitors sucking up to Mom, Penelope, and wearing down his long-lost father's riches with all their feasting, dancing, and having their hands washed by his family's servants. These suitors were all like "Telemachus, you old man be dead. Get over it."

So sweet goodess Athena rolls into the castle, pulling the prince aside and asking what up with all this?

Athena convinced Telemachus to go find out what happened to his father, and either to bring him home or to let his Mom know once and for all of her husband's death. So despite derision from the suitors, who had a vested interest in letting things be, Telemachus set sail to search for his pop. Athena gave the boat a fair wind that "bellied out" the sails and pushed it to the first destination, Pylos, home of the mighty charioteer Nestor.

Young Telemachus, not being cultivated at idle chitchat, was intimidated by Nestor. But Athena reassured him. His cause was just, the words he would need would come to him. "Some things, Telemachus," she said, "will be suggested to you by your own instinct, and heaven will prompt you further; for I am assured that the gods have been with you from the time of your birth until now."

Troy was a shitshow, Nestor recalled to Telemachus. So many battles, so many raids for plunder, so many dead. For nine years, Nestor, Odysseus and their men "wove a web of disaster" for the Trojans. Nestor was tight with Odysseus then, but after the battles, he beat a quick retreat, leaving Odysseus behind, fate unknown.

Nestor urged to go see Menelaus. Menelaus, after the battles he shared with Nestor and Odysseus, had also taken too long to return to return home, instead spending time collecting gold from far off lands. In the absence of Menelaus' brother, Agamemnon who was murdered by Aegisthusm and his wife, whom he seduced. Agamemnon's son Orestes took revenge, murdering both of them.

Let that be lesson to you, boy, not to stay away from the home too long, especially as the suitors are getting more bold in Odysseus' absence.

"Press him yourself, to tell the whole truth. He'll never lie. The man is far too wise,” Nestor said.

They were to take off in the morning. But first, to celebrate Telemachus journey and his favor from the goddess Athena, a feat was in order, to start the day.

“Now I will sacrifice a yearling heifer, broad-browed and still unyoked, and gild her horns with gold to bless your journey,” Nestor proclaimed, and a feast ensued:

When the rites were finished, mighty Thrasymedes struck. The axe sliced through the sinews of the neck. The cow was paralyzed. Then Nestor’s daughters and his sons’ wives, and his own loyal queen, Eurydice, began to chant. The men hoisted the body, and Pisistratus sliced through her throat. Black blood poured out. The life was gone. They butchered her, cut out the thighs, all in the proper place, and covered them.

After the feast, Nestor equipped Telemachus and his men with a carriage and horses to help him on his way, including his son, Pisistratus, to see King Menelaus, in Sparta, who was married to the beautiful Helen.

When the pair arrived, they found the King holding a wedding, betrothing his daughter to the son of Achilles, as well was welcoming a wife for his son, Megapenthes.

Menelaus did not immediately recognize Telemachus nor Pisistratus but figured them for sons of kings given their natty attire, and welcomed them into his home. Given he was fed by many hosts in his own travels, Menelaus welcomed the boys into his home and worked up a feast for them. They were indeed hungry from their journey.

The boys admired the King's luxurious castle. It was no easy feat to obtain, Menelaus said. He was adrift at sea for over eight years, accumulating wealth through the Middle East. But while he was gone, his brother was murdered by his wife. He wish he would have stayed, even if it meant he would have only a portion of his wealth.

Eyeing Telemachus, the King saw the boy resembled his father.So the King said he too was at Troy, and one man he did not envy was Odysseus, for his very “destiny was suffering.” Menelaus didn’t know if Odysseus was still alive.

Helen emerged from the bedroom and immediately recognized Telemachus. The Goddess Helen mixed drugs into the wine so everyone would quit crying in sorrow and in rage.

She then conveyed what a mighty warrior Odysseus was. She told a story about Odysseus in Troy, of how he dressed as a beggar to learn the secret planes of the people of Troy, and then how, on his way back, he killed many a Trojan.

She also relayed how Odysseus and Menelaus were among those in the Trojan Horse and even though Goddess Helen tempted them and the other men inside by calling their names in the voices of their wives, it was Odysseus who held the other men back from speaking.

The traveling pair slept on the front porch that night, and in the morning Menelaud asked Telemachus what his business was. He told him he was looking for Odysseus and that suitors were eating down his estate.

Dawn appeared, “her fingers bright with flowers.”

Old man talk time came soon: Menelaus told this tale of how and his men were stuck on an island of Pharos, off the Egyptian coast. They had to wrestle the old God Proteus, just to learn that they did not give sufficient sacrifices to Zeus who had bounded them there.

Menlaus was told to go back to Egypt and sacrifice a hundred cows to earn his passage home.

“It is your fate not to go home or see the ones you love until you go again to Egypt’s river, watered by Zeus, and kill a hundred cows, to please the deathless gods who live in heaven,” Proteus said.

Bummed he had to go back to Egypt but he asked the God who else lived.

“‘O son of Atreus! Why ask me this?” Proteus boomed. “So many men were killed, and many left behind at Troy.”

Ajax would have survived though boasted he beat Posidien’s wrath, so Posidien killed him.

“The boundless waves washed over him; he drank the salty brine, and died,” Proteus said.

Agamemnon made it back only to be killed at home by Aegisthus.

He also knew of Laertes’ son, who was trapped on an island of calypso, with no boats to get him home.

It was not up to Menelaus, however, to save this man.

Menelaus concluded his tale, and commenced a feast and lavished his guests with gifts.

He wanted to give Telemachus “a lovely cup.” For T to remember the King.

Telemachus begged off the horses Menelaus offered, so the King offered a gold rimmed bowl instead.

More lamb wine and bread were brought out.

“So went the feasting in the house of Menelaus.”

Meanwhile, back at the crib, one of the suitors noticed that Telemachus had not returned from ole Sandy Pylos. He was furious that his ride was borrowed but not returned.

This angered the other suitors, as had T’s plan to find his father.

“Antinous spoke up with eyes bright as fire, his mind darkened with anger.”

Antinous commissioned a boat to go after Telemachus.

Telemachus’ mother found out and was distraught. She lost a husband and now a son. Why had no one told her Telemachus had departed? It all weakened her so.

One of the servants confided that Telemachus instructed her to tell mother the plan only if he didn’t come back at the end of 12 days.

She prayed to Athena for the safe passage of her son.

Athena sent down an emissary to ensure the mother that her son is safe.

“He knows nothing of hardship and the world,” she cried. “He is a child. I worry for him more than for his father.”

He is safe, the emissary reassured.

What of the Father then? Is he safe as well? This, the messenger, could not answer.

“The spirit said, “I cannot tell you whether he is alive or dead. It is not good to speak of things intangible as wind.”

Soon Dawn was born, her fingers bright with roses.

Athena petitioned the Gods – Zeus especially – in their next counsel meeting to allow Odysseus to make his way home.

Zeus agreed that Odysseus is a fair man and shouldn’t be treated so harshly.

So, Zeus instructed his son, Hermes, a messenger, to tell Calypso to let Odysseus go.

Then, Odysseus should fashion a raft, which will get him to Scheria, where the Phaeacians will treat him like a God.

When Hermes arrived at Calypso’s lovely island, she treated him to ambrosia. Odysseus himself was not there, as he was, as per usual, sitting by the seashore, lamenting his fate.

She did not take Zeus’ request to free Odysseus well.

The Gods, she complained, “bear a grudge whenever any goddess takes a man to sleep with as a lover in her bed..”

It was Zeus, after all, who smashed his boat and killed his crew.

Nonetheless she capitulated.

When he found out, Odysseus did not believe her that he was free, sensing that it was another trap.but she gave her word that the passage was safe. Then, they feasted.

“They reached to take the good things set before them, and satisfied their hunger and their thirst.”

Still, Calypso tried to lure him to stay, but Odysseus responded with kind tact, though they enjoyed one last night of love making.

And “When vernal Dawn first touched the sky with flowers, they rose and dressed.”

She gave him an axe and showed him some forest where could cut logs for his raft. And she bought him fabric from which he could cut a sail.

It took him four days to complete the raft. For the trip, Calypso bought some wine, water,and food.

He set off and sailed for 18 days. .

“No sleep fell on his eyes; he watched the stars,”

He watched the constellations: the Pleiades, the late-setting Boötes, and the Bear (aka the Plow), all of which circled Orion. He kept the bear to his left, as Calypso instructed him.

On the 18th day he glimpsed the land of the Phaeacians.

Evidently, Poseidon was not informed about Odysseus’ newly cleared status and so seeing him on the sea with lowly enraged the God. He gathered the clouds and stirred up the sea and covered everything with fog.

Odysseus cried out in despair.

If only he would have died in Troy, then he would have been given a proper funeral. Now he would just be lost at sea.

A wave crashed into the raft, throwing him off.

Fortunately,the white Goddess Ino took mercy on him. She landed on his boat, as would a gull, and advised him to leave his raft behind, strip himself of the clothes weighing him down, and swim to Phaeacia.

“Fate decrees that there you will survive,” she said.

With one last gigantic wave, Poseidon smashed the raft leaving Odysseus to go it alone.

And for two days he drifted.

“But when the Dawn with dazzling braids brought day for the third time, the wind died down. No breeze, but total calm.”

A passing wave allowed him to see the land nearby.

As he approached the shore, however, he found only craggy rocks, with mighty waves crashing into them.

If he braved them he might be dashed up on shore, but if kept swimming along the shore, looking for a friendlier cove, he might be pulled back out into the storm again, or be gobbled up by a sea monster.

(Summary in progress: Check back for updates)