The Odyssey

"From some points of view it is impossible to take the Odyssey seriously enough; from others, it is impossible to take it seriously at all; but from which ever point of view it be regarded, its beauty is alike unsurpassable." The Odyssey is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. The poem mainly focuses on the Greek hero Odysseus (known as Ulysses in Roman myth), king of Ithaca, and his journey home after the fall of Troy. It takes Odysseus ten years to reach Ithaca after the ten-year Trojan War. In his absence, Odysseus is assumed to have died, due to which his wife Penelope and son Telemachus must deal with a group of unruly suitors who compete for Penelope's hand in marriage.