Who's who:

Odysseus- great hero who is lost at sea for 20 years after fighting at Troy

Telemachus- Odysseus' son.  He is now 20 years old and living at home with his mother.

Penelope- Odysseus' beautiful wife and Queen of Ithica.  All the suitors want her hand in marriage.

Zeus-  King of the Olympians

Athena- daughter of Zeus, defender of the Greeks

Poseidon-  god of the sea, he is angry with Odysseus

Book 1

The Breakdown:

• The poet invokes the Muse to help him tell the story of Odysseus.
  
• We learn that Poseidon, god of the sea, holds a grudge against Odysseus and makes the mortal’s seaward journey difficult.
• So Poseidon isn’t around on Mount Olympus (presumably because he’s busy getting sweet revenge) while the other gods discuss the fact that this one guy Orestes murdered this other guy Aegisthus.
• Zeus, king of the gods, says that Aegisthus deserved death because he had a long affair with Agamemnon’s wife while he was away at Troy and then killed Agamemnon upon returning home.
• Turns out Aegisthus had been warned by Hermes (the messenger of the gods) not to do this. In fact, Hermes pretty much explicitly said, "If you touch this guy’s wife and then kill him, then Orestes is going to destroy you." And still Aegisthus ignored the advice.
• Additionally, because Orestes is Agamemnon’s son, he was only avenging his father by killing Aegisthus. Yes, we would consider this murder, but the Greeks were pretty serious about the whole avenging-the-father thing. Let’s just call it "justifiable homicide" in the eyes of the gods.
• Athena, who clearly doesn’t give a crab’s apple about Orestes, decides Zeus should be thinking less about him and more about her all time favorite mortal, Odysseus. So she asks for Zeus (who is her father, by the way) to have mercy on her favorite captain (who has been trying to get home now for something around twenty years).
• --- I MADE A MISTAKE IN CLASS AND SAID TEN YEARS--- BUT IT’S TWENTY!
• Zeus claims that he has not forgotten Odysseus’s plight, though we all know he’s just making excuses.
• Zeus reveals a little more of the Poseidon grudge story: the god is angry at Odysseus because the mortal poked out the eye of Polyphemos, Poseidon’s son.
• Still, Poseidon isn’t out to kill Odysseus, just make his life a living hell by hindering his journey home.
• Zeus comments that Poseidon will need to stop pouting at some point and get over himself already, since all the other gods like Odysseus so much.
• We learn that Odysseus at this very moment is being held captive by a nymph named Calypso.
• Athena wants to send the gods’ messenger Hermes to go tell Calypso that she really needs to let Odysseus go (you know, so he can get back to his wife and child and all).
• Zeus, to remind everyone that HE’S THE BOSS, decides not to send Hermes. Yet.
• Athena, reminding everyone that in fact, she’s the boss, goes to Ithica disguised as Mentes, a family friend of Odysseus’s and the ruler of the Taphians. Oh, and also a man.
• Which brings us to Ithaka, where a bevy of suitors is milling about (for reasons which will be soon disclosed).
• Once Mentes/Athena arrives, these suitors do what they do best, namely lounge around lazily. Odysseus’s son Telemachos, very clearly neither lazy nor a suitor, gets up hastily to welcome his guest. He even prepares a banquet in Mentes’s honor.
• Historical Context Note: Hospitality was a big deal in the ancient world. When guests showed up, they were expected to be good guests (bring gifts and behave themselves). Likewise, the hosts were expected to, well, be good hosts (provide food and shelter). Just keep in mind that breaking these rules was a huge social no-no.
• So Telemachus apologizes to Mentes for the suitors’ rudeness, hints that it would be different if his father were here, and asks who this guest is.
• The point is, Telemachus didn’t know this guest was Mentes (or Athena), yet he still pulled out all the stops to play the good host.
• Athena responds as Mentes and advises the boy to not give up hope of his father Odysseus coming home!
• She asks about the suitors and Telemachus replies that he cannot make them go away; he wishes Odysseus were here to fend them off.
• Why, you ask? Well, we learn that the suitors are selfishly eating all of the household’s food and giving nothing in return while hoping Odysseus’s wife Penelope will marry one of them before her husband gets back into town.
• (Actually, Odysseus has taken so long coming back from the Trojan war, they’re all convinced he’s dead. Also, Penelope is very pretty, which explains why everyone wants to marry her.)
• This is an example of breaking the guest-host bond of good behavior-- don’t take over your host’s house!
• So Athena advises Telemachus to go to Pylos and talk to Nestor, and then head to Sparta to see King Menelaos, who has red hair, which is apparently an important feature to mention.
• And when he’s done with this, he should think about how to kill all these suitors, because by then it will probably be about time for some sweet revenge.
• As Mentes leaves, Telemachus tries to offer him gifts, as well as a bath and bed for the night, but Mentes politely declines.
• After he/she leaves, Athena fills Telemachus with a vision of his father so he can realize he was in the presence of a divine spirit. But he still doesn’t know it was Athena.
• Now it’s about time for some music, so Phemius the bard sings about the Trojan War.
• This is rather an insensitive choice of subject matter, since the elephant in the room is that Odysseus’s absence is probably the result of his dying…in the Trojan War.
• Penelope, who obviously agrees with the "insensitive" label, comes down from her room to politely request that he sing another song, preferably not one about her most likely dead husband.
• Telemachus reproaches his mother and allows Phemius to keep singing.
• Actually, Telemachus quite rationally explains that it’s not the singer’s fault Odysseus hasn’t come home. Obviously it’s Zeus’s fault. Besides, lots of other families lost their men in the war, and you don’t see them running around crying their heads off.
• Penelope is struck by Telemachus’s wisdom (callousness?) and goes back upstairs to sleep.
• Telemachus, feeling “manly” now and still high with courage from his visit with the divine, tells the suitors that they must leave at dawn. So there!
• Antinoös, one of the suitors, protests. He claims that Ithica needs a king and that the suitors are here to provide one.
• Eurymachos, another suitor, asks who the stranger was and if he brought any news of Odysseus.
• Telemachus lies; he says he’s heard the news that Odysseus is dead and says he will be the King of Ithica! Then he reveals that the visitor was Mentes (although he himself knows there was some divine power involved).
• Telemachus goes up to bed where the nurse Eurykleia, who was the servant of Laertes, Odysseus’s father, takes care of him.
• He falls asleep considering Athene’s advice.

Book 2

Don't panic yet... Read this before and it will help you understand!  After this you will know the characters and the story will make sense.

• Telemachus calls a meeting of all the Ithican men. The suitors come too.
• Lord Aigyptios (not to be confused with Aigisthos, the man whose murder the gods were earlier discussing), want to know why. After all, there haven’t been any meetings since Odysseus left.
• Telemachus grouses for a bit about the shameful actions of the suitors who have invaded his house, eaten his food, and drank his wine. Oh, and spent all their time devising ways to try and marry his mother (she’s not interested).
• Nobody dares challenge his righteous anger except Antinous, the would-be-king we met earlier. He blames Penelope herself for deceiving the suitors.
• How so? Well, he explains:
• When Odysseus went missing instead of coming home from the Trojan War, Penelope devised a plan to delay having to marry one of these suitors.
• (Note: Because she was a Queen, Penelope would have been expected to marry after her husband died. Part of her duty to her land is making sure that her people have a king.)
• So to stall, she said she would weave a funeral shroud for Laertes, Odysseus’s father. By day, she wove. By night, while everyone was sleeping and not watching, she unraveled all her day’s work.
• Magically, it appeared the shroud would never be done!
• Of course, no one ever figured her out. Until a maid blabbed on her.
• (Even more amazing, however, is the fact that Penelope is weaving a funeral shroud for a man who isn’t dead; Odysseus’s father is elderly but hanging on.)
• Finished with his Penelope story, Antinous issues an ultimatum; he commands that Telemachus either get rid of Penelope (we’re not exactly sure how that would work) or make her choose a suitor for a husband.
• Telemachus refuses to oust his mother from the house.
• He is likely on the verge of refusing the second option when Zeus intervenes by sending a sign from above; two eagles fly down from a mountain and attack the people of the city.
• Halitherses, an augur whose job it is to read portentous signs, reads the portentous sign. He decides it is an omen that Odysseus will return home.
• (Don’t ask how he knew that- let’s keep the story rolling.)
• Eurymachos, another suitor, laughs at the old augur and declares that Odysseus is dead. He tells Telemachus that the suitors fear neither him nor his diviners with their talk of signs.
• Bad move, man.
• Telemachus is done arguing. He tells the men he is sailing for Pylos to hear news of his father.
• Mentor, an old friend of Odysseus’s, speaks up. (Yes, his name really is Mentor. Actually, we only have the word "mentor" in our language because it’s this guy’s name. Seriously.  He is an “epic” mentor.)
• Anyway, Mentor announces how sickening it is that the community at large has not risen to speak against the suitors. Yes – surely all will be incited to action!
• Sadly, no. Another townsman quickly hushes Mentor, so the crowd does nothing.
• Foiled again!
• The meeting is over.
• Telemachus prays to the god who visited him last night, whoever it was.
• Athena, nearby, hears his prayer and descends in the guise of Mentor. He/she tells Telemachus to prepare provisions for the journey and promises to find a ship for him to take.
• When Telemachus goes home, the suitors mock him.
• Telemachus ignores them.
• In confidence, he tells Eurykleia to prepare food and wine with which to sail and to keep this whole trip on the down-low – especially from Penelope. Eurykleia agrees.
• Athena, to mix things up a bit, disguises herself as Telemachus while roaming about town and gathering up some good-hearted men to come along as crew for the ship.
• Speaking of, she also needs a ship, which she gets from Noëmon (a wealthy ship-seller – looks like you could pick these things up at the corner store back in the day). She then approaches Telemachus (still disguised as Mentor) with news that his ride is ready.
• Telemachus leaves immediately, taking with him a group of trusted men and of course Athena/Mentor as well, who is a very convenient travel companion.

This is the last detailed guide you will receive.  You should be able to follow the story from here.  If you need ANY help while reading this epic, PLEASE see me/email me.  I AM HERE TO HELP YOU!