The Odyssey
This is what I did for a school report, needs constructive critisism.
For years, people have been moved by the story Odyssey. Our story begins in the Trojan War on the island of Troy, where Odysseus and his crew fight the Trojans. Then, they set sail for their home, Ithaca. The wind blows them to another island. After they land, they find a massive cave to take refuge in. They find that it has huge amounts of food, milk, and sheep. Then, a massive shadow engulfs the cave; it was the shadow of a Cyclops! The men scrambled for cover, but two were too late, and the Cyclops (Polyphemus) picked them up and smashed them against the wall. He told them that he would eat them tomorrow. That night, Odysseus had poured hot tar into Polyphemus’ eye in which blinding him. The men had managed to escape.
They then landed on another island; half of the men went one way, the other half went another, they met up to find that only one person from one of the two halves show up to meet the other half. They go to a nearby palace to find the other half had been turned into pigs by the sorceress, Circe. Odysseus then told Circe about him being a king, and needs his crew so he can return to Ithaca. She warns him not to eat the sacred cattle of Apollo when he encounters them. She then returned the men back to their normal forms, and they set sail.
While they sail home, they come across a whirlpool, but only Odysseus notices it, he orders the men to take a turn. The ship sails next to a large cave, and a six headed monster named Scylla eats six men. The crew is devastated by the loss, but they continue rowing.
They land on yet another island to rest; the crew has grown tired of rowing constantly. The sacred cattle of Apollo lived on this island. Odysseus warns the men not to eat the cattle, for the gods would kill them as punishment. They promised him they would not eat the cattle. That night, whilst Odysseus had slept, the men killed the cattle and cooked them. The next morning, Odysseus found the men eating the cattle meat. He was furious. A few hours later, the men set sail for Ithaca, and nothing had happened to the men. Then, the ship was sunk by the gods, and only Odysseus had survived, then Odysseus had woken up on a strange island; a magical woman named Calypso took care of injured Odysseus. Back at Ithaca, Penelope, (Odysseus’ wife) was being terrorized by suitors who were trying to marry her so they could become king, on account of Odysseus being gone for years, instead of just a few weeks. Both Penelope and her son Telemachus believed Odysseus was still alive.
On account of this happening, the god, Athena ordered Calypso to build a ship, and find a crew to take Odysseus to Ithaca. Before He knew it, he was on the shores of Ithaca. Odysseus and his son made a plan to beat the suitors, Odysseus dressed up as a suitor. Penelope set up a number of axes, all aligned, with holes drilled in the blades, and whoever could string Odysseus’ bow and shoot an arrow straight through the holes could marry her. (Odysseus used to shoot arrows through the holes of the blades for target practice) The suitors all tried the task but failed. Then Odysseus succeeds and becomes king. He then orders the suitors to leave, and if they didn’t, the punishment was death.
|
