an ode to the odyssey

The word Odusseia, from where the English language derives the word Odyssey, means simply “the story of Odysseus”. Now though, Odyssey means so much more. According to Webster it refers to “a series of adventurous journeys usually marked by many changes of fortune”. It evokes a sense of struggle, adventure and longevity but ultimately of courage and perseverance.[1]

It takes Odysseus ten long years to return to Ithaca, his home, after the end of the Trojan wars. During this voyage he encounters the Cyclops, the beautiful and deadly Sirens as well as the six-headed monster Scylla. Throughout his journey, despite the life threatening behaviour of some, he relies on the kindness of strangers such as when the Phaeacians and Aeolus, King of the winds, entertain him lavishly and send him on his way with precious gifts. Through trials, tribulations, monsters and marine challenges Homer sucks us into the story of Odysseus and we become lost within it. 

Finally however, he makes it. He returns home to Ithaca and his wife. As the first line of the chapter “Ithaca at Last” reads

“His tale was over now”

….How different the story would have been without a ten year journey.

Homer’s Odyssey was written nearly 3000 years ago and yet it is still read and still means so much to so many. The story of a journey, of an adventurous one, was immortalised and has been loved ever since. Why?

Because Journey’s should be epic, literally.

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[1] Homer, The Odyssey, Penguin Classics 1996