The Odyssey Explained In 25 Minutes | Best Greek Mythology Documentary

[Music] two thousand eight hundred years ago a blind poet known as homer would produce two epic works the iliad would tell the tale of the trojan war where a great city was conquered by one of the most devious plans in history but with the trojans having been defeated the blind poets would now turn his attention to odysseus with his second epic the odyssey documenting his journey home having constructed the trojan horse odysseus had ensured victory against all odds and proved his reputation as the most cunning of the greeks but throughout it all odysseus only longed

for one thing to finally return to his homeland of ithaca where he could be reunited with his wife penelope and his son telemachus but while his family awaited his return odysseus's journey home would take ten long years during which he and his crew would have to face the most terrifying creatures known to man a journey so epic its tale would be told for thousands of years this is his story [Music] odysseus ruled over the greek island of ithaca but had spent ten long years fighting in troy to retrieve the spartan queen helen but with his

mission now complete odysseus looked to travel back to his homeland where his wife penelope and his son telemachus awaited gathering his fleet of ships on the trojan shores odysseus would set sail relieved to be finally returning home with troy in ruins they would first head north to look for supplies landing on the shores of ismara home to the sikonians a thracian tribe who had fought on the side of the trojans gathering the supplies they needed odysseus and his men would find themselves under attack from the soconians but overwhelmed by such a large tribe they were

forced to retreat back to their ships with their journey soon resuming heading south they would sail round the shores of greece before heading north towards ithaca but as they neared home a great storm erupted blowing them off course and towards the island of the lotus-eaters lost and confused odysseus and his crew would leave their ships soon asking the island inhabitants for help and directions but rather than give them directions they would offer something instead the fruit of the island's many lotus trees unknown to odysseus the lotus fruit contained a powerful drug that made those who

consumed it fall asleep forgetting their past and wanting to stay on the island forever as several of his crew began to fall down around him odysseus would realize the sinister nature of the fruit quickly forbidding its consumption rescuing his sleeping companions he would carry them to their ships making a quick escape and heading out to sea but having been blown off course odysseus and his fleet has been at sea for longer than expected with them now running low on supplies stopping at the first island they came across they would soon spot a shepherd's camp in

the distance with odysseus hand-picking a small group of warriors to accompany him taking several cases of wine to trade the hungry crew were overjoyed when they saw large supplies of cheese and meat within a cave next to the shepherd's flock the warriors would help themselves to the supplies but soon the cave's owner would return the giant cyclops polyphemus a son of poseidon who sealed the entrance with a giant boulder ignoring odysseus's cries that he was there to trade polyphemus would grab two of the warriors crushing them each in his fists before eating their remains he

would then leave the cave returning each morning and evening to feast on what remained of the terrified crew knowing the odds were stacked against him yet again odysseus would devise a cunning plan to escape realizing he couldn't overpower polyphemus he would offer the cyclops the wine he had brought with him to help wash down the taste of his friends with the cyclops soon falling down drunk he would ask for odysseus's name in order to thank him for the gift but instead of giving his true name odysseus would insist that he was called nobody thanking nobody

polyphemus would soon fall asleep where odysseus would begin to sharpen a wooden stake he had found in the cave approaching the sleeping giant he would plunge the stake deep into his eye blinding the cyclops but making sure not to kill him as the boulder blocking the cave's entrance would still have to be moved polyphemus would scream out in agony a scream so loud that cyclopses from across the island would rush to the cave calling out to polyphemus they would ask what's wrong who's killing you but polyphemus would shout back nobody is killing me nobody it

was just as odysseus had planned with the cyclopses soon leaving in confusion but while polyphemus was now blind there was no way for the men to move the giant boulder blocking the entrance with odysseus coming up with yet another plan when polyphemus went to move the boulder the next morning to let his sheep out to graze he would feel each of the animals as they passed to check it wasn't one of the humans but odysseus and his men would each tie themselves to the bottom of the sheep allowing them to pass by undetected reaching their

ships they would manage to escape the island with polyphemus hurling boulders in their direction as they sailed away but odysseus would make a costly mistake overcome by his achievement he would reveal to the cyclops that his name was not nobody but instead odysseus the famous hero of the trojan war unknown to odysseus this would allow polyphemus to give the name of his attacker to his father poseidon the god of the sea who in revenge for his son's blinding would curse odysseus to lose all his crew in his coming travels and wander the seas for ten

long years before he could set foot on his homeland [Music] unaware of the curse poseidon had placed upon him odysseus and his crew would land on the floating island of aeolia after dining with his guests king aeolus who ruled the island would offer odysseus a parting gift a leather bag containing the power of the winds which if used with great precision could speed his journey home setting sail once more odysseus would make use of the winds with his homeland of ithaca soon in sight but as he neared the island's shores his crew believing the bag

aeolus had given him contained large sums of gold and silver decided to take some for themselves opening the bag while odysseus's back was turned all the winds rushed out at once blowing their ships back into the ocean with all aboard holding on for their lives they would arrive at the island of ayola once again but this time their arrival would not be met with the same generosity they had received before for king aeolus knowing that only a curse from the gods could have brought odysseus back to his island would refuse to aid him any further

expelling him from the palace to avoid the wrath of the gods still unaware of poseidon's curse odysseus would set sail once more but just like his previous attempts to reach his homeland this time would also hold misfortune [Music] arriving at the harbour of lastragonia odysseus would send out three scouts to find food and the people of the town but the scouts would soon realize they were not in a place of people at all being chased by giants back to their ships blood's thirsty cannibals the giant lastragonians would begin to devour the scouts with them soon

turning their attention to odysseus's ships in the harbour pelting them with boulders the lastragonians would destroy every ship bar one with odysseus barely making it out alive [Music] tired and depleted odysseus's only remaining ship would soon arrive at the island of aya which was home to the beautiful witch cersei daughter of the sun god helios splitting his men into two groups odysseus would stay by his ship and set up camp while the others searched the island for food they would soon arrive at the house of cersei where docile wolves and lions quivered at her feet

inviting the men to dine with her she would serve them a large cup of barley cheese and wine but unknown to the men there was one secret ingredient placed within having eaten the meal the men would begin to fall asleep but when they awoke they were no longer in human form instead they took the body of pigs but one man not having an appetite for food had seen the events unfold quickly running to odysseus to tell him of the fate of his crew hearing the news odysseus immediately set off to rescue his men but along

the way he was stopped by the messenger god hermes who had come to aid him giving odysseus molly a magic herb hermes would tell him to place it in cersei's potions so as not to feel the effects of her enchantments taking the molly odysseus would approach cersei and begin to dine with her surprising the witch when he remained in human form drawing his sword he stood up and threatened to kill cersei unless she transformed his crew back into humans with the sword at her throat cersei would quickly agree with the pigs at her feet transforming

back into men so impressed by odysseus's heroics cersei would invite him to her bed chamber with the two having a son together named telegonus remaining on the island for a whole year odysseus decided it was time to leave but as he began to set sail cersei would advise him to visit the underworld where the prophet teresius could advise him on how to survive the many trials that awaited him at sea [Music] following cersei's advice odysseus would travel west to the edge of the world where an entrance to the underworld was located completing a ritual sacrifice

at the entrance odysseus would summon the spirits of the dead where the blind prophet teresius would appear he warned that odysseus and his men would soon find themselves on the island of the sun god helios and that they should refrain from eating his cattle if they wanted to make it home alive if however they harmed the cattle in any way then death would follow thanking the prophet odysseus would leave in his ship determined that when the time came no man would touch the sun god's cattle [Music] but soon after setting sail odysseus and his men

would begin to hear a beautiful melody for his ship was passing the home of the sirens irresistible creatures that enticed cena's to their death with their bewitching songs however this time odysseus had come prepared remembering the advice that cersei had given him he would instruct his crew to plug their ears with beeswax so they could not be seduced by the sirens call but odysseus wanting to be the first man to hear the song and survive would not plug his ears with wax instead asking his crew to bind him to the ship's mast and so as

the ship passed the sirens home and their songs grew louder and louder odysseus would begin to struggle drawn to the sound with every fiber of his being he would plead with his men to let him go but no one would answer his call as the wax continued to block their ears eventually making it through safely odysseus would be set free having been the first man to survive the sirens call but unknown to him the sirens were fated to die if a mortal ever resisted their enchanting song with each of them taking their own life as

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had warned him of the dangers that lay ahead when he came across a narrow pass on each side would lay incredible danger with the right home to cilla a giant six-headed sea monster and the left home to cabdarus a whirlpool that's consumed anything that came near heeding cersei's advice yet again odysseus would head towards ziller for a while the monster would take six of his men it was a price he was willing to pay as cabdarus would take his entire ship and so with a heavy heart he would direct his men towards the cliff face

where silla lay in weight as the ship passed six heads would swoop down from above each taking a sailor who screamed as they were consumed by the beast but with a great storm on the horizon they had no time to mourn their companions with them soon stopping on the island of thurinatia thurinacia was home to the cattle of the sun god helios cattle that odysseus had been warned not to consume by the prophet teresas in the underworld but despite odysseus instructing his men not to touch the cattle it would not be easy for them to

follow his orders as the storm had kept them stranded on the island for nearly a month with their food supplies all but gone the crew on the brink of starvation would wait for odysseus to fall asleep killing all the cattle and roasting the meat to enjoy amongst themselves when odysseus awoke the next morning he would fall to his knees in despair shaking his head in disbelief and to the foolishness of his crew however although the crew had ignored his orders the storm had now calmed with them setting off to sea once again but their crime

had not gone unnoticed with the sun god helios complaining to zeus the king of the gods about the slaughter of his cattle furious zeus would strike odysseus's ship with a great thunderbolt tearing it in half with all the crew drowning baron for as fate predicted poseidon's curse had come to pass with only odysseus having survived the carnage with him clinging to the broken remains of his ship for nine days and nights he would drift across the vast ocean but on the tenth day he would wash up on the island of the goddess calypso [Music] upon

rescuing odysseus from the shore calypso the daughter of the titan atlas would fall in love with him asking if he'd stay on the island with her forever even offering to make him immortal but odysseus longing to see his wife penelope and his son telemachus would reject her advances insisting that he wanted to leave however calypso insulted by his rejection would keep odysseus captive on the island for the next seven years being forced to lie with the goddess odysseus would spend every night crying on the shore wishing to see his wife and son once again but

high on mount olympus the goddess athena having supported odysseus since the trojan war would look down upon him with sadness in her heart until one day she could not stand by any longer begging zeus to finally allow odysseus to return home athena would make her case with zeus ordering calypso to set him free reluctantly calypso would agree helping odysseus to build a raft to sail home but as he was nearing his homeland poseidon would hear of odysseus's escape conjuring a storm to destroy his raft barely surviving odysseus would manage to swim to the island of

syria where he would stumble onto the shore completely naked before falling asleep [Music] the island of syria was home to the phaesians ruled by king alcanus and queen ariti the day after odysseus's arrival their daughter norsica would go down to the sea with her maids to wash their clothes only to find odysseus standing naked on the shore shocked by the sight of a naked man her maids would run away screaming in terror but nausica given courage and being prompted by athena would stand her ground giving odysseus some clothes nausica would take him back to her

palace where she would introduce him to her parents inviting the stranger inside the king and queen would ask odysseus to dine with them before enjoying entertainment provided by demidokus the poet who was known for his songs inspired by the gods as the night unfolded the king would ask odysseus to reveal his name and story but odysseus reluctant to give his name after it had led to poseidon's curse would try to avoid the question instead talking of the great sights he had seen on his travels after a great feast demidocus would begin to play his beautiful

tunes singing of the gods of olympus but soon the poet's attention would turn to the tale of troy he would sing of its many heroes of achilles and agamemnon and of the famous odysseus the maker of the wooden horse and the most cunning of the greeks awed by the tale of the trojan horse of how a man so intelligent had managed to outwit the trojans the crowd would begin to cheer but odysseus thinking only of the many friends he had lost would grab his robe and begin to weep wiping the tears from his eyes however

the king hearing odysseus sobbing would become suspicious asking for the man's identity overwhelmed that his tale was being told across the land and mesmerized by the poet's beautiful singing he would reveal that his name was odysseus the famous hero of the trojan war but rather than returning home after the conflict odysseus would explain that he had been wandering the ocean for ten long years with every attempt to reach his homeland having ended in tragedy amazed by the story and honoured to have such a great hero in their midst the king and queen would do everything

they could to help him the next morning odysseus would awake to find a ship in the harbour loaded with gold and silver and a crew ready to help him return home setting sail odysseus would thank the king and queen with his eyes now set firmly upon his homeland twenty years after leaving home odysseus would finally set foot on ithaca ready to see his wife and son once again but athena knowing that his homeland was not as he had left it would warn odysseus of the dangers that waited in his palace transforming him into an old

beggar athena made sure that odysseus would enter his home in disguise for his wife penelope having been alone for 20 years was expected to remarry with suitors from far and wide coming to win her hand over a hundred of them now infested odysseus's palace eating his food and wearing his clothes although throughout it all penelope had remained faithful never giving up hope that her husband would return devising a cunning plan to avoid marriage penelope had stalled her many suitors for years weaving a burial garment for odysseus's father promising that she would choose a new husband

when it was finished but every night as the garment neared completion she would secretly undo all her work with the deception lasting for three years before it was uncovered with her now being forced to choose a suitor but unknown to penelope odysseus would soon be by her side making his way to the palace he would first stop at the house of his most loyal servant emmaus happy to see his king once again emmaus would offer odysseus food and wine while pledging to help him reclaim his home it would not be long before another would join

them for odysseus's son telemachus had just arrived home from his travels after searching for his father for many months making his way up to the palace telemachus would see emmaus dine in with a stranger and hungry after his long voyage would ask his friend if he could join for dinner but emmaus knowing the beggar's true identity would seek to give the two some time together leaving to let penelope know that her son had returned with emmaus now gone athena would use her magic to transform the old beggar back into odysseus in all his glory telemachus

could not believe his eyes and would begin to weep having been reunited with his father after all this time dropping to his knees telemachus would embrace his father with open arms but their reunion would have to wait as for now odysseus would have to deal with the suitors that infested his home disguising himself as a beggar once again odysseus would enter the palace only to discover that penelope had set up a competition to choose her next husband she had declared that she would marry the man who could shoot an arrow through a row of twelve

axe heads with every suitor in the land having joined the competition but there would be one condition that each suitor must use odysseus's great bow that had been left behind at the palace it was another of penelope's cunning tricks as one after another every suitor would take their turn each unable to even string the bow after every man had failed odysseus still disguised as a beggar would ask for an attempt with the whole palace howling with laughter but they would soon fall quiet for odysseus would string the bow with ease taking aim and shooting an

arrow that sailed through all 12 axes with perfect precision but having seen the damage done to his home odysseus could not forgive the suitors turning the bow upon them odysseus would begin to fire striking them down one by one panicked the suitors would go to grab their weapons but no matter how hard they looked they could not be found as telemachus had hid their weapons while the competition was underway with the emmaus then joining telemachus and odysseus they would begin to attack the suitors not stopping until they had all been killed with the bodies of

the suitors now laying dead at his feet odysseus had completed his final task the only thing left to do was to reunite with his wife with his undying love for her being the only thing that had fueled his journey home recognizing her husband and overwhelmed with emotion penelope would embrace odysseus a moment she had spent 20 long and faithful years waiting for letting out a sigh of relief odysseus was finally at peace but his wife would have one question for him asking where he had been after all this time with a smile on his face

and tears in his eyes he would reply with one simple line where do i begin [Music] you