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The Adventures Of Odysseus - King Of Ithaca ::This is a complete version of the Odysseus series, featuring the early life of Odysseus; his part in the Trojan war; and The Odyssey (return to Ithaca).
Greek Mythology Stories.
#odyssey #odysseus #mythology #GreekMythology
Greek Mythology Stories.
#odyssey #odysseus #mythology #GreekMythology
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00:13Once upon a time, in the kingdom of Ithaca, a prince was born. Odysseus, the son of King
00:20Laertes, a former Argonaut, and Anticlea, the daughter of Atolycus. Being the grandson of
00:27Atolycus, the most renowned king of thieves, and son of Hermes, Odysseus learned some of
00:32his grandfather's crafts and tricks. He learned well enough, that he became cunning as well,
00:38known far and near, for his intellectual brilliance, craftiness, and persuasive speaking skills.
00:45As a teenage boy, Odysseus, during one of his visits to his grandfather, decided to take part,
00:52in a boar hunting expedition, organized by his uncles. That was his very first hunting expedition,
00:59and the lad wanted to know what the adventure, felt like. When the hunting began, it happened
01:05that the path Odysseus had taken, was the path the wild boar was running towards. With no experience
01:11in prior hunting skills, young Odysseus was able to kill the wild boar. However, in their fight,
01:18the boar gave him a deep wound, on his leg, which left a large recognizable scar, after the wound had
01:24healed. That scar, became Odysseus' trademark. Anyone who saw it, immediately knew who he was.
01:33Years later, when he had grown into a man, Odysseus was selected, as one of the many suitors,
01:39of Helen, the beautiful stepdaughter of King Tyndarius, of Sparta. Although Helen was the most
01:45beautiful woman anyone had ever seen, Odysseus was not so interested in winning her, because he had
01:51fallen in love with Helen's cousin, Penelope, the daughter of Icarus, brother to Tyndarius.
01:57In addition, the princess had way too many suitors, that he, with no extraordinarily fine features,
02:03was less likely to be chosen. It was clear to him, that Menelaus, the suitor with the most appealing
02:10looks, would win the hand of Helen. Odysseus thought of a way, to make Penelope his wife,
02:16and came up with a brilliant idea. Helen's suitors were so many, that even King Tyndarius,
02:23feared a possible outbreak of conflict, if he chose any one of them. So the crafty Odysseus used this
02:29situation, to his advantage. He offered Tyndarius a solution, in exchange for Penelope's hand in
02:36marriage, to which Tyndarius agreed. Odysseus made all the suitors, swear an oath, that they would
02:43respect the king's final choice, that they would respect whoever the king picked, to be his daughter's
02:48husband, and that they would support the couple, in any ill fate, the two may face, in the future.
02:55In the end, Menelaus was chosen, to be the husband of Helen, just as Odysseus suspected.
03:02And all the other suitors, peacefully left the city of Sparta, to their various homes,
03:07except Odysseus. His plan worked perfectly well. Fulfilling his own end of the bargain,
03:15King Tyndarius, gave Odysseus, the hand of Penelope, in marriage. Odysseus took his wife to his kingdom,
03:22Ithaca, where he assumed the throne, as the new king. The couple had a son named, Telemachus,
03:28and lived a very happy life, till came the events, which led to the Trojan War.
03:39To be continued...
03:39To be continued...
04:04Some time after their marriage, Odysseus, king of Ithaca, and his lovely wife Benelica,
04:09Ithaca, had a son, whom they named Telemachus. Their lives seemed to be in perfect bliss,
04:15until news reached Ithaca, that Helen, wife of king Menelaus, of Sparta, had been abducted,
04:22by prince Paris of Troy. Acting upon the oath, sworn by Helen's suitors, Menelaus summoned all of them,
04:29to help him bring back his wife. Surprisingly, Odysseus who had proposed the oath,
04:36was reluctant to answer the call to aid. He refused to join the quest, not because of cowardice,
04:42but because he had been warned, by the seer of Ithaca, Halic Therxes, that if he journeyed to Sparta,
04:48to join the quest, it would take him a long and arduous time, to return home. So in order to
04:55escape this,
04:55Odysseus, Odysseus pretended to be mad. Every day, he harnessed a donkey, and an ox, to a plow,
05:03and then started sowing salt, on a field. When Palamedes, the man sent to recruit Odysseus,
05:10saw this hilarious act. He was not convinced in the slightest, that the king of Ithaca had gone mad,
05:16for he was aware of his cunning nature. Odysseus had quite a reputation. Palamedes put baby Telemachus,
05:23in front of the plow, in order to test his sanity. And just as he expected, Odysseus immediately
05:30changed course, thereby exposing his plan. Odysseus was left with no choice, but to join the expedition.
05:38He bade farewell to his wife and son, and set out to Sparta. He never forgave Palamedes, for making him
05:46leave his family. And would later carry out his revenge, in the future. When the Greeks had assembled
05:52an army, against Troy. Odysseus learned a prophecy, from the prophet Calchas. That the Greeks would win
05:58the war, if only a warrior, named Achilles, joined their forces. Achilles was the demi-god son of the
06:05goddess, Peters, and king Peleus. Hearing a prophecy, that Achilles would either, live a long peaceful life,
06:13or die a glorious death, as a mighty warrior. Thetis had dipped him, in the river Styx, as a baby.
06:20The river made Achilles invulnerable, except his heels, where his mother had held him. Thetis then
06:27sent him, disguised as a woman, to the court of king Lycomedes, of Scyros. Knowing this, the crafty
06:35Odysseus visited the court of Lycomedes, disguised as a peddler, selling women's clothes. He hid a spear,
06:42among his goods. And Achilles was the only one, who showed interest in the spear, when he saw it.
06:48In a different story, Odysseus blew a battle horn, in a fake attack on Scyros. And everyone fled at
06:55the sound, except Achilles. Having been revealed, Achilles joined the Greeks, in the war against the
07:02Trojans. During the war, Odysseus devised a plan, to penetrate the walls and gates, of Troy. He ordered the
07:11construction of a huge wooden horse, popularly called the Trojan horse, leaving it near the
07:16gates of Troy. Then, he, and all of the greatest Greek warriors, quietly hid inside the belly of
07:23the Trojan horse, while the rest of the Greeks, pretended to sail away. The Trojans, thinking the
07:30war was over, opened their gates, and celebrated their victory, around the wooden horse. However,
07:37when night came, the Greek warriors came out of their hiding place, and led the rest of the Greeks,
07:43through the gates, into the city. Odysseus and Diomedes, killed the Trojan spy, Dolon, and the
07:50Arachian king Rhesus, and captured their famed seer, Helenus. The Greeks slew the rest of the Trojans,
07:57and sacked the entire city, thus, winning the 10 year long war. Odysseus then had Hector's little son,
08:04Asyntax, thrown down from the walls of Troy, which was rather very cruel of him. In the end,
08:12it was Odysseus' cleverness, and battle strategy, that gave the Greeks their victory. He played the role of
08:19a wise and crafty strategist, and a fierce warrior. Perhaps, without him, the Greeks could never have
08:26defeated Troy. Now do you remember Palamedes? Yes, Odysseus had his revenge. He and Diomedes,
08:34fooled Palamedes, into entering a well, convincing him that treasures laid hidden inside. The moment
08:41Palamedes was inside the well, Odysseus and Diomedes, started throwing rocks at him, till he was dead and
08:48buried, at the bottom of the well.
09:21After the Greeks' victory in the Trojan War, it was time for Odysseus, to return to his kingdom of
09:27Ithaca. With 12 ships, and a whole lot of crew, he sailed away from Troy. Shortly through their journey,
09:35they were blown off course, by a strong wind, and landed on the south coast of Thrace, in the territory
09:41of the Succones, who were allies of the Trojans. When the Succones attacked, Odysseus and his crew,
09:48killed all the attackers, sparing only a priest of Apollo, whose name was Maron. Maron offered
09:54them 12 jars of strong wine, for sparing his life, and the Greeks, perhaps forgetting they were in the
10:00land of their enemies, drank too much wine, and stayed too long. When they had all become drunk,
10:06the Succones attacked again, killing a few of them. Odysseus and his men, hurried away from Thrace,
10:14to continue their journey, and after a while, they reached the land of the lotus eaters.
10:20When Odysseus sent some of his men, to survey the area, none of them, returned. He went to see for
10:27himself, what had happened to his men, only to find them, eating lotus, with the lotus eaters,
10:32not caring, about going home. The lotus was so tasty, that anyone, who ate them, forgot about going
10:40home. Odysseus had to drag the reluctant crew, back to the ships, by force. They reached the island of
10:48the Cyclops, landing on the shore, in search of cheese, and meat, and other valuables they could
10:54find. In the course of their search, they unwittingly entered the cave of the Cyclops,
10:59Polyphemus, son of Poseidon. When Polyphemus returned, he shut the entrance of the cave,
11:06with a giant boulder, and started eating Odysseus' men. When the giant had eaten six of the men,
11:12Odysseus, came up with a plan. He introduced himself to Polyphemus, and gave him,
11:19some of Merrin's strong wine, managing to get him drunk. As the drunk Polyphemus slept,
11:25Odysseus and his men, sharpened a huge stake, and pierced the Cyclops' eye, with the stake.
11:31Roaring in agony, Polyphemus rolled away the boulder, crying for help. With the cave open once again,
11:39Odysseus and his men, escaped, cautiously avoiding the searching hands, of the blind Cyclops. However,
11:46when they had gotten to the safety of their ships, Odysseus made the grave mistake, of revealing his
11:52true identity, to Polyphemus. A mistake that would cost him ten years, away from his home.
11:59Polyphemus prayed to his father Poseidon, to avenge him. To curse Odysseus, to wander the sea, for a long
12:06time. Odysseus' ships got to the island of Aeolus, a king, gifted by the gods, with the power of the
12:13winds.
12:13He warmly welcomed, and harbored them, for a month. By the time they were ready to leave, Aeolus gave
12:20Odysseus a gift, to ensure his safe return, to Ithaca. The god, put all the winds, inside a leather
12:27bag, except the west wind, then gave the bag to Odysseus, warning him not to open it, till he reached
12:34his destination. On the tenth day however, just as Ithaca came into sight, Odysseus' man, gently stole the
12:41heavy bag, while he was sleeping. Thinking there was gold inside, the foolish man, opened the bag,
12:48immediately releasing all the other winds, which violently blew their ships, back to the island of
12:54Aeolus. Realizing Odysseus was cursed by Poseidon, Aeolus refused to help him again, and send them away.
13:02Seven days later, they reached the island of the Laestrigonians, a tribe of giants, who ate human
13:08flesh. Hurling giant boulders at them, the giants destroyed all eleven of Odysseus' ships, except his
13:15own, and ate the sailors, on those ships. Next, with his only surviving crew, and ship, Odysseus reached
13:23Aeaea, the island of the sorceress, Circe, daughter of the sun god Helios. There, Circe turned his men
13:30into pigs, after feeding them, with enchanted cheese, and wine. Hermes, the ever helpful messenger god,
13:38appeared to Odysseus, giving him a herb, called moly, in order to resist Circe's magic. Now immune
13:45to her powers, Odysseus overpowered Circe, forcing her to change the pigs, back to men.
13:52Circe agreed to Odysseus' commands, and asked him to stay with her, on the island, the time during
13:58which, he became her consort. After a year on the island, Circe advised Odysseus, that in order to
14:06return to Ithaca, he must travel to the dark realm, of the Cimmerians. There, he must pour libations,
14:13and make sacrifices, to attract the souls of the dead. Once the soul of the blind prophet, Tiresias,
14:20appears, he must ask him, for a way to appease Poseidon, and a way back to Ithaca.
14:26Odysseus journeyed to the land of the Cimmerians, and did as he was told. He saw the spirits of many
14:33known men, including Agamemnon, who died few years back, and Achilles. Tiresias came forth, revealing to
14:41Odysseus, that he was being punished by Poseidon, for blinding his son, Polyphemus, and warned him, not to
14:48touch the cattle of Helios, when they reached Thrinacea. After Tiresias' spirit had gone, Odysseus
14:55saw his mother, Anticlea, who passed away, while grieving his long absence. Anticlea warned her
15:01son to hurry back to Ithaca, for his wife, Penelope, was surrounded by many suitors, who sought to take
15:08his place as king. Upon his return to Aiaia, Circe bade Odysseus farewell, warning him of the dangers
15:16that lay ahead. He would pass the island of the Sirens, who enchant all who come near them, through
15:22their song, and then, go through a pass, between the whirlpool, Charybdis, and the six-headed monster,
15:29Skylar. When they got to the island of the Sirens, Odysseus ordered his men to stuff their ears,
15:35with bee-wax, and tightly bound himself, to the mast of the ship, so that he would escape unharmed,
15:42while also able to hear the Sirens' beautiful song. They also managed to get past the Charybdis,
15:48but when they reached the territory of Skylar, the monster devoured six of Odysseus' crew,
15:54before they got past. Next, they reached the island of Thrinacea. Remembering Tiresias' warnings,
16:01Odysseus commanded his crew, not to eat the sacred cattle of Helios. But in his absence,
16:08they went ahead, and ate the cattle, thus, enraging Helios. Helios asked Zeus, to punish the insolent men,
16:16or he would take the sun with him, to the underworld. Zeus sent a violent storm,
16:21which killed all of Odysseus' crew, sparing only him. The sea carried Odysseus to the island of
16:28Ogygia, where the witch, Calypso, fell in love with him, and kept him captive, for seven years.
16:35She tried to make him stay with her forever, by promising him immortality, but Odysseus,
16:41wanted nothing more, than to return to his beloved home of Ithaca. Finally, Hermes interceded on behalf of
16:48Odysseus, asking Zeus to have mercy on the hero. Zeus then ordered Calypso, to immediately release the
16:55weary captive, which she obeyed. The king of Ithaca soon reached Scoria, the island of the Phaeacians.
17:03When he told them his story, they were pleased, and honored, to have such a guest. They gave Odysseus
17:10a new ship, and some sailors, who sailed him safely to his home. The tired hero was sound asleep,
17:16when they reached Ithaca, and not wanting to disturb him, the sailors, gently laid him on the shore,
17:22and sailed off. After twenty long years of wandering, he was finally back home.
17:29Odysseus awoke, to see the shining armor-clad goddess, Athena, standing before him. After revealing to him
17:36what had happened, during his absence, Athena transformed him, into an old beggar, to keep him
17:42safe, till he was able to reclaim his throne. The disguised king, went to the hut of one of his
17:48faithful servants, Eumaeus, who welcomed him warmly, entertaining him with stories, of how great, his
17:55past master was. When the now grown Telemachus, returned from Sparta, after escaping an ambush,
18:02set by Penelope's suitors, to get rid of him. He headed straight to the hut of Eumaeus.
18:08There, Odysseus revealed himself, to his son. Reunited with his beloved father, Telemachus joined in,
18:16on his plan of revenge, against the suitors. Accompanied by Eumaeus, Odysseus, still in disguise,
18:23got to his palace, where the suitors laughed at him, taunted, and mistreated him, until Queen
18:29Penelope came to his aid. Penelope led the beggar, away from her wicked suitors, not knowing,
18:35he was actually her long lost husband. She had been faithful to Odysseus, all those 20 years.
18:42Penelope called her nurse, Eurycleia, to wash the old beggar's feet. And while doing this, Eurycleia saw
18:50the scar on his leg, immediately realizing who the beggar, really was. She tried to tell Penelope,
18:56but Odysseus and Athena, persuaded her to keep it a secret. As part of their plan, Athena encouraged
19:03Penelope, to announce that she was finally ready to remarry. Penelope decreed, that any man, who was
19:10able to string her husband's bow, and then, shoot an arrow, through 12 axe shafts, would be her husband.
19:18The contest began, and none of the suitors, could accomplish the feat. Then, the beggar, came forth.
19:26To the surprise of everyone, the frail man completed the challenge, effortlessly. Then,
19:32revealed himself, as Odysseus, king of Ithaca. His beggar disguise, vanishing into thin air.
19:39With the help of Athena, and his son, Odysseus killed all of the suitors, and hanged 12 of the
19:44household maidens, who had been traitors. When Penelope learned of what happened,
19:50she was too shocked, to believe the stranger was truly her husband. Even after she saw him,
19:56in his true form, bathed, and regally clothed. To test if it was him, Penelope asked Odysseus,
20:03to move her marriage bed, to another room. Odysseus replied, that such was impossible,
20:09because he had made the bed himself, and knew that one of its legs, was a living olive tree,
20:15deeply rooted in the ground. Needing no further proof, Penelope ran into her husband's embrace,
20:22both, weeping tears of joy. Happy at the outcome of events, Athena ordered Eos, goddess of the dawn,
20:29to postpone the coming of dawn, for a few hours, so that the reunited husband and wife, could enjoy a
20:35long night of loving embraces, tears of profound joy, and stories of love. Once again, Ithaca, became a
20:43land of peace, and order.