Homer: The Odyssey

The Odyssey is one of the earliest works of European literature, second only to the Iliad. These two great epic poems, the astonishing first fruits of Greek civilization, have together determined much of the course of Western literary culture and imagination.

The poem tells of the long and painful return of Odysseus from the Trojan War to his homeland of Ithaka, his wife Penelope and his son Telemachos. Even after he finally returns, there are enemies to be fought in his house. The action o...