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A mosaic depicting Odysseus, from the villa of La Olmeda, Pedrosa de la Vega, Spain, late 4th–5th centuries AD. The Odyssey begins after the end of the ten-year Trojan War (the subject of the Iliad), from which Odysseus (also known by the Latin variant Ulysses), king of Ithaca, has still not returned because he angered Poseidon, the god of the sea.
In Greek and Roman mythology, Odysseus (/ ə ˈ d ɪ s i ə s / ə-DISS-ee-əs; [1] Ancient Greek: Ὀδυσσεύς, Ὀδυσεύς, romanized: Odysseús, Odyseús, IPA: [o.dy(s).sěu̯s]), also known by the Latin variant Ulysses (/ juː ˈ l ɪ s iː z / yoo-LISS-eez, UK also / ˈ juː l ɪ s iː z / YOO-liss-eez; Latin: Ulysses, Ulixes), is a legendary Greek king of Ithaca and the hero of ...
In the Odyssey, Poseidon is a powerful and respected elder god, as none of the other Olympian gods dare to mention Odysseus and his predicaments whilst Poseidon is there to hear it. The council of gods that decided to set Odysseus free from Calypso’s island was held when Poseidon was accepting a sacrifice in Ethiopia.
Tiresias makes a dramatic appearance in the Odyssey, book XI, in which Odysseus calls up the spirits of the dead (the nekyia). As Persephone allows Tiresias to retain his powers of clairvoyance after death, he is able to see Odysseus without drinking the blood usually required for souls in the underworld to become conscious again.
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The geographical references in the Odyssey to the various locations seem confused and have given rise to much scholarly argument, beginning in ancient times. Odysseus' Ithaca is usually identified with the island Ithaki, as it shares the same name with the ancient location and has archaeological and historical associations with the Odyssey.
Odysseus and Calypso in the caves of Ogygia. Painting by Jan Brueghel the Elder (1568–1625). Ogygia (/ oʊ ˈ dʒ ɪ dʒ i ə /; Ancient Greek: Ὠγυγίη, romanized: Ōgygíē [ɔːɡyɡíɛː], or Ὠγυγία Ōgygíā [ɔːɡyɡíaː]) is an island mentioned in Homer's Odyssey, Book V, as the home of the nymph Calypso, the daughter of the Titan Atlas.
Odysseus (or Ulysses), attempting to travel home, underwent a series of trials, tribulations and setbacks that stretched his journey to ten years' time. These are detailed in Homer's epic poem the Odyssey. At first they landed in the land of the Ciconians in Ismara. After looting the land they were driven back with many casualties.