The Odyssey is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. Like the Iliad, the Odyssey is divided into 24 books. It follows the Greek hero Odysseus, king of Ithaca, and his journey home after the Trojan War. After the war, which lasted ten years, his journey from Troy to Ithaca, via Africa and southern Europe, lasted for ten additional years during which time he encountered many perils and all of his crewmates were killed. In his absence, Odysseus was assumed dead, and his wife Penelope and son Telemachus had to contend with a group of unruly suitors who were competing for Penelope's hand in marriage.
In Greek and Roman mythology, Odysseus, also known by the Latin variant Ulysses, is a legendary Greek king of Ithaca and the hero of Homer's epic poem the Odyssey. Odysseus also plays a key role in Homer's Iliad and other works in that same epic cycle.
Penelope is a character in Homer's Odyssey. She was the queen of Ithaca and was the daughter of Spartan king Icarius and Asterodia. Penelope is known for her fidelity to her husband Odysseus, despite the attention of more than a hundred suitors during his absence. In one source, Penelope's original name was Arnacia or Arnaea.
Telemachus, in Greek mythology, is the son of Odysseus and Penelope, who is a central character in Homer's Odyssey. When Telemachus reached manhood, he visited Pylos and Sparta in search of his wandering father. On his return to Ithaca, he found that Odysseus had reached home before him. Then father and son slew the suitors who had gathered around Penelope. According to later tradition, Telemachus married Circe after Odysseus's death.
Nausicaa, also spelled Nausicaä or Nausikaa, is a character in Homer's Odyssey. She is the daughter of King Alcinous and Queen Arete of Phaeacia. Her name means "burner of ships".
In Greek mythology, Eurycleia, or Euryclea, is the daughter of Ops and granddaughter of Peisenor, as well as the wet-nurse of Odysseus.
Scheria or Scherie, also known as Phaeacia or Faiakia, was a region in Greek mythology, first mentioned in Homer's Odyssey as the home of the Phaeacians and the last destination of Odysseus in his 10-year journey before returning home to Ithaca. It is one of the earliest descriptions of a utopia.
The Odyssey is a 1997 American mythology–adventure television miniseries based on the ancient Greek epic poem by Homer, the Odyssey. Directed by Andrei Konchalovsky and co-produced by Hallmark Entertainment and American Zoetrope, the miniseries aired in two parts beginning on May 18, 1997, on NBC. It was filmed in Malta, Turkey, parts of England and many other places around the Mediterranean, where the story takes place. The cast includes Armand Assante, Greta Scacchi, Irene Papas, Isabella Rossellini, Bernadette Peters, Eric Roberts, Geraldine Chaplin, Jeroen Krabbé, Christopher Lee and Vanessa Williams.
The Penelopiad is a novella by Canadian author Margaret Atwood. It was published in 2005 as part of the first set of books in the Canongate Myth Series where contemporary authors rewrite ancient myths. In The Penelopiad, Penelope reminisces on the events of the Odyssey, life in Hades, Odysseus, Helen of Troy, and her relationships with her parents. A Greek chorus of the twelve maids, who Odysseus believed were disloyal and whom Telemachus hanged, interrupt Penelope's narrative to express their view on events. The maids' interludes use a new genre each time, including a jump-rope rhyme, a lament, an idyll, a ballad, a lecture, a court trial and several types of songs.
Wishbone and The Amazing Odyssey is a computer program published by Palladium Interactive and Big Feats Entertainment in 1996 featuring Wishbone from the Wishbone television series on PBS. Players try to help Wishbone get out of the combobulator while learning Greek mythology and history.
The Odyssean gods are the ancient Greek gods referenced in Homer's Odyssey.
The Returns from Troy are the stories of how the Greek leaders returned after their victory in the Trojan War. Many Achaean heroes did not return to their homes, but died or founded colonies outside the Greek mainland. The most famous returns are those of Odysseus, whose wanderings are narrated in the Odyssey, and Agamemnon, whose murder at the hands of his wife Clytemnestra was portrayed in Greek tragedy.
Home Sweet Homer is a 1976 musical with a book by Roland Kibbee and Albert Marre, lyrics by Charles Burr and Forman Brown, and music by Mitch Leigh.
In Greek mythology, the suitors of Penelope are one of the main subjects of Homer's Odyssey.
The Odyssey is an eight-episode European TV miniseries broadcast on RAI in 1968 and based on Homer's Odyssey. An Italian, Yugoslavian, German and French coproduction, it was directed by Franco Rossi, assisted by Piero Schivazappa and Mario Bava; the cast includes Bekim Fehmiu as Odysseus and Irene Papas as Penelope, Samson Burke as the Cyclops, as well as Barbara Bach as Nausicaa, and Gérard Herter. Several critics consider the series to be a masterful representation of the ancient world.
Ulisse is an opera in a prologue and two acts composed by Luigi Dallapiccola to his own libretto based on the legend of Ulysses. It premiered at the Deutsche Oper Berlin on 29 September 1968 conducted by Lorin Maazel with Erik Saedén in the title role. Ulisse was Dallapiccola's last opera and took eight years to compose. As in his previous operas, Volo di notte and Il prigioniero, his declared theme was "the struggle of man against some force much stronger than he".
Circe, an enchantress and minor goddess in Greek mythology, appears often in 20th and 21st century popular culture, either under her own name or as a sorceress with similar powers under others. Post-Classical amplifications and reinterpretations of that story and others involving her are dealt with in the main article. The instances mentioned here are more recent allusions and adaptations.
Mission Odyssey is a French-German animated TV series about the adventures of the ancient Greek hero Ulysses. The series is a production of BAF Berlin Animation Film GmbH & Co. Productions KG, Marathon Filmproduction, Marathon Animation, and M6 Metropole Television. Character design was created by David Gilson. Distributional rights were acquired in 2009 by the Your Family Entertainment AG, which is now holding indefinite broadcast rights including ancillary rights for almost all countries. Its global premiere took place on the French network M6 on 6 September 2002. In Germany, the show was launched on 22 February 2008 on KIKA.
Ulysses is a 1705 tragedy by the British writer Nicholas Rowe. Rowe turned back to writing tragedies following his unsuccessful comedy The Biter of the previous year. The cast included Thomas Betterton as Ulysses, Barton Booth as Telemachus, Elizabeth Barry as Penelope and Anne Bracegirdle as Semanthe. Many of the actors also appeared in Rowe's following work The Royal Convert.
Nausicaa is an opera in three acts by the Australian composer and music critic Peggy Glanville-Hicks. Most of the work's libretto was sourced from Robert Graves' 1955 novel Homer's Daughter, and it was written by Graves and the librettist Alastair Reid; the soloists' words were set in English and the choruses in Greek. In terms of rhythm, form and melody, the opera's music echoes the Greek musical tradition.
