- 01The gods’ council on Ulysses
- 01Athena’s plan for Ulysses and Telemachus
- 02Athena’s arrival at Ulysses’ house
- 03Telemachus questions the stranger
- 04Telemachus describes the suitors’ waste
- 01Minerva's counsel and departure
- 02Penelope's plea to Phemius and Telemachus's rebuke
- 03Telemachus confronts the suitors
- 04Nightfall in Telemachus's chamber
The Odyssey
by Homer · c. 725 BCE · 24 chapters · 24/7 tutor
Foundational epic of homecoming and identity.
24Chapters
119Lessons
332Topics
Certificate of completion included
This course was produced by Cavua from a public-domain text.
Skills this course leaves you with.
- Trace Odysseus's journey from Troy to Ithaca across the poem's major episodes
- Analyze themes of homecoming, identity, loyalty, and divine intervention
- Identify key characters and their roles, including Telemachus, Penelope, Athena, and the suitors
- Interpret major encounters such as the Cyclops, Circe, the Sirens, and the journey to Hades
- Explain how the poem uses storytelling, prophecy, and hospitality to shape its narrative
About The Odyssey.
Read The Odyssey as three movements (Telemachus searching for his father, Odysseus telling the story of his wanderings, and the tense return to Ithaca), one book per sitting, tracking who is lying, who is a good host and who is in disguise. The famous monster adventures fill only four of its 24 books; the poem is really about getting home and being recognized there. This Odyssey study guide maps all 24 books, the five themes that carry the poem, the main characters and how to choose a translation.
The Odyssey is an ancient Greek epic poem attributed to Homer, usually dated to the late eighth or early seventh century BCE, a little later than the Iliad. It runs to roughly 12,000 lines of dactylic hexameter and grew out of a tradition of oral poetry, in which singers composed and performed long stories about the age of heroes. Who Homer was is still debated; for reading purposes, treat the poem as one deliberate design.
The story picks up ten years after the fall of Troy. Odysseus, king of Ithaca, has been away for twenty years: ten at war and ten trying to get home. Meanwhile a crowd of young nobles has moved into his house to court his wife, Penelope, eating through his wealth while his son, Telemachus, cannot stop them. The poem covers only the last few weeks of that absence.
Its form still feels modern: it starts in the middle, uses a long flashback, lets its hero narrate his own adventures and runs two plotlines before joining them. If you know the Iliad and its war at Troy, the Odyssey shows the same world after the fighting, and the contrast is part of the point.
What the book is really about.
Five themes carry most of the poem; each comes with the scenes that show it.
Questions to ask as you read.
- 1Why does the poem begin with Telemachus, and what do Books 1–4 show that Odysseus's own story could not?
- 2Odysseus narrates the Cyclops, Circe and the underworld himself. Where might he be exaggerating or leaving things out?
- 3Is Odysseus responsible for losing his crew, or do they bring it on themselves, as Zeus suggests mortals do?
- 4Why does Odysseus shout his real name to the Cyclops, and what does that say about his need for fame?
- 5How much does Penelope know, and when? Does she recognize her husband before the test of the bed?
- 6Calypso offers Odysseus immortality. What does his refusal tell you about what the poem values?
- 7How does Telemachus change between Book 1 and the fight in Book 22?
- 8Is the killing of the suitors and the maids presented as justice, revenge or something left uneasy?
- 9Why does the poem need Athena to stop the fighting in Book 24 instead of ending with the reunion?
Curriculum
The full table of contents.
Every chapter, every lesson, every topic — laid out before you enroll. Click any chapter to expand it.
- Chapters
- 24
- Lessons
- 119
- Topics
- 332
- 01Telemachus summons the Ithacan assembly
- 02Telemachus denounces the suitors
- 03Antinous explains Penelope’s delay
- 04Telemachus rejects expelling Penelope
- 05Omens of the eagles and Halitherses’s prophecy
- 06Eurymachus dismisses the omen
- 01Telemachus appeals to the assembly
- 02Mentor rebukes the suitors and Minerva advises Telemachus
- 03Telemachus gathers provisions for the voyage
- 04Minerva secures the crew and ship
- 05Departure for Pylos under a fair wind
- 01Arrival at Pylos and Minerva's guidance
- 02Hospitality, prayer, and Nestor's questioning
- 03Telemachus asks after Ulysses
- 01Quarrel between Agamemnon and Menelaus
- 02The fleet’s divided departure from Troy
- 03Nestor’s account of the returning heroes
- 04Telemachus praises Orestes and laments the suitors
- 01Nestor explains Agamemnon’s murder
- 02Menelaus’ return voyage and Orestes’ revenge
- 01Nestor’s hospitality and Athena’s departure
- 02Nestor’s dawn sacrifice to Athena
- 03Telemachus’s departure for Lacedaemon
- 01Menelaus receives Telemachus and Pisistratus
- 02Menelaus’s travels and grief for Odysseus
- 01Helen questions Menelaus about the strangers
- 02Pisistratus identifies Telemachus and speaks of Antilochus
- 03Menelaus recalls Ulysses and the loss of home
- 04Helen's drugged wine and tale of Ulysses at Troy
- 01Menelaus and Helen host Telemachus
- 02Telemachus asks about Odysseus
- 03Menelaus recounts his detention in Egypt
- 04Idothea's advice for capturing Proteus
- 01Proteus captured and compelled to speak
- 02Menelaus learns he must return to Egypt
- 03The fates of Ajax, Agamemnon, and Ulysses
- 04Menelaus’s destined end in Elysium
- 01Menelaus offers gifts and a longer stay
- 02Telemachus declines horses for Ithaca
- 03Menelaus chooses a silver mixing bowl
- 04The suitors at Ulysses' house and Noemon's inquiry
- 01Antinous learns Telemachus has sailed
- 02Antinous proposes an ambush at sea
- 03Medon warns Penelope of the plot
- 01Penelope's grief over Telemachus's departure
- 02Euryclea reveals the secret voyage
- 03Penelope's prayer to Minerva
- 04The suitors mock Penelope's marriage
- 01Antinous organizes the suitors' ambush
- 02Penelope's grief and Minerva's dream-vision
- 01The suitors' ambush at Asteris
- 01Minerva pleads for Ulysses and Telemachus
- 02Jove decrees Ulysses’ return through Scheria
- 03Mercury’s flight to Calypso’s cave
- 04Calypso’s island and her protest
- 01Calypso’s reluctant release of Ulysses
- 01Calypso helps Ulysses prepare the raft
- 02Ulysses sails toward Phaeacia
- 03Neptune sees Ulysses and grows angry
- 01Leucothea's rescue and veil
- 02Neptune's storm and Ulysses adrift
- 03Minerva calms the winds and guides him to shore
- 01Ulysses prays at the river mouth
- 02Shelter among the olive shoots
- 01Minerva’s dream and Nausicaa’s request for the wagon
- 02Washing clothes and playing at ball by the river
- 03Ulysses meets Nausicaa and asks for help
- 04Nausicaa’s instructions for entering Phaeacia
- 05Nausicaa's warning about gossip and scandal
- 06Directions to Alcinous's house and appeal to Minerva
- 01Nausicaa returns home and Ulysses sets out
- 02Minerva guides Ulysses through Phaeacia
- 03Alcinous, Arete, and the Phaeacian royal line
- 01Queen Arete's influence and reputation
- 02Alcinous's bronze palace and household
- 03The orchard and garden of the palace
- 01Ulysses’ petition to Arete
- 02Echeneus’ plea for hospitality
- 03Ulysses’ supper and Alcinous’ banquet plans
- 01Ulysses explains his hardships and arrival
- 02Alcinous offers escort and marriage alliance
- 01Assembly and preparations for Ulysses' departure
- 02Demodocus sings of the quarrel between Ulysses and Achilles
- 03Phaeacian athletic contests
- 01Ulysses challenged by Laodamas and Euryalus
- 02Ulysses' disc throw and boast of athletic skill
- 03Alcinous orders the dance and Demodocus sings
- 01Vulcan's trap for Mars and Venus
- 02Phaeacian dance and gifts for Ulysses
- 01Packing the gifts and preparing the bath
- 02Ulysses bathes and thanks Nausicaa
- 03Supper with Demodocus and the song request
- 01Demodocus’ song of Troy’s fall
- 02Ulysses’ tears and Alcinous’ interruption
- 03Alcinous asks Ulysses’ identity and travels
- 01Ulysses names himself and recalls Ithaca
- 02Voyage from Troy: Cicons and Lotus-eaters
- 03The Cyclopes and their island
- 04Landing at the Cyclops's cave
- 05Cyclops devours the men
- 06Ulysses prepares the stake and wine
- 01Blinding Polyphemus with the heated beam
- 02Escape from the cave by clinging to the sheep
- 03Taunting the Cyclops and his prayers to Neptune
- 04Return to the ships and departure from the island
- 01Aeolus’s floating island and the wind sack
- 02Return to Aeolus after the storm
- 03The Laestrygonians at Telepylus
- 01Arrival at Aeaea and the stag feast
- 02Eurylochus’s expedition to Circe’s house
- 03The crew transformed into pigs
- 01Mercury’s warning and the moly herb
- 02Circe’s drugged cup and oath
- 03The servants, bathing, and the men restored
- 01Life with Circe and the return-home debate
- 02Journey to Hades and instructions for the sacrifice
- 03Elpenor's death and departure from Circe's house
- 01Odysseus sails to the land of the Cimmerians
- 02The sacrifice and summoning of the dead
- 03Elpenor’s ghost and his plea for burial
- 01Teiresias’ prophecy of Odysseus’ return
- 01Odysseus recognizes his mother among the dead
- 02Anticleia’s account of Ithaca and her death
- 03Odysseus tries to embrace her shade
- 01Ghosts of the wives and daughters of heroes
- 02Phaeacian response and Alcinous's hospitality
- 01Agamemnon's murder by Clytemnestra and Aegisthus
- 01Agamemnon’s warning to Ulysses
- 02Achilles among the dead
- 03Achilles asks about Neoptolemus and Peleus
- 01Achilles and Ajax among the dead
- 02Minos, Orion, Tityus, and Tantalus in Hades
- 01Sisyphus's endless punishment
- 02Hercules among the dead
- 03Return from Hades
- 01Circe's instructions about the Sirens
- 01Scylla’s rock and deadly attack
- 02Charybdis and the safer passage
- 03The warning about the Sun-god’s cattle
- 01Circe's warning and the Sirens
- 02Scylla and Charybdis
- 03The island of the Sun-god's cattle
- 04Storm, shipwreck, and escape from Charybdis
- 01Alcinous arranges Ulysses’ gifts and escort
- 02Farewell feast and departure prayers
- 01Departure from Phaeacia and the voyage to Ithaca
- 02Neptune’s complaint and the punishment of the Phaeacians
- 01Ulysses laments his landing and counts his treasure
- 02Minerva appears disguised as a shepherd
- 03Ulysses questions the stranger about Ithaca
- 04Minerva describes Ithaca and its resources
- 05Ulysses invents a false story of exile from Crete
- 01Minerva reveals Ithaca
- 02Plan against the suitors
- 01Minerva disguises Ulysses
- 02Minerva departs to fetch Telemachus
- 01Ulysses reaches Eumaeus's pig yard
- 02The swineherd's welcome and hospitality
- 01Eumaeus’s complaint about the suitors
- 02Servant’s meal and Ulysses’s questioning
- 01Eumaeus rejects the stranger’s claim about Odysseus
- 02The stranger’s Cretan identity and early life
- 03Military service, Egypt, and enslavement
- 04Phoenician betrayal and escape to Ithaca
- 01Eumaeus rejects false hopes about Odysseus
- 02Hospitality, sacrifice, and the boar feast
- 01Supper and libation to the gods
- 02Odysseus’ tale of the cold night at Troy
- 01Eumaeus promises hospitality but only for one night
- 02Ulysses is bedded down for the night
- 03Eumaeus goes to guard the pigs
- 01Minerva warns Telemachus to return home
- 02Menelaus gives Telemachus gifts and farewell hospitality
- 03Journey from Lacedaemon to Pylos and the eagle omen
- 01Telemachus prepares the ship for departure
- 02Theoclymenus’ lineage and exile
- 03Telemachus and Theoclymenus exchange identities
- 04Theoclymenus asks for passage as a suppliant
- 01Ulysses tests Eumaeus with a request to beg in town
- 02Eumaeus recounts his upbringing and abduction from Syra
- 01Telemachus leaves the ship and sends Theoclymenus to Eurymachus
- 02Apollo's hawk omen and Piraeus's hospitality
- 03Telemachus arms himself and heads for the swineherd's farm
- 01Telemachus arrives at Eumaeus's hut
- 02Telemachus questions the stranger and the suitors
- 03Eumaeus goes to Penelope; Athena reveals Ulysses
- 01Ulysses reveals his return and the Phaeacians' escort
- 02Counting the suitors and planning the ambush
- 03Instructions to hide the armor and keep Ulysses secret
- 04Telemachus returns to Ithaca and the suitors confer
- 01Antinous urges the suitors to kill Telemachus
- 02Penelope rebukes Antinous and the suitors
- 03Eurymachus reassures Penelope
- 04Eumaeus returns with news of the ship
- 01Telemachus returns to Penelope
- 02Telemachus reports his journey to Pylos and Sparta
- 03Melanthius insults Ulysses at the fountain
- 01Eumaeus advises Ulysses before entering the hall
- 02Argos recognizes his master and dies
- 03Telemachus sends food to the beggar
- 01Ulysses begs among the suitors
- 02Antinous insults and strikes Ulysses
- 01Penelope condemns Antinous and summons the stranger
- 01Penelope summons the stranger
- 02Eumaeus relays the message and departs
- 01Irus challenges Ulysses at the doorway
- 02The beggars' fight and Irus's defeat
- 03Amphinomus's gift to Ulysses
- 01Ulysses warns Amphinomus
- 02Penelope prepares to appear before the suitors
- 01Penelope's appearance before the suitors
- 02Penelope's rebuke of Telemachus
- 03Eurymachus's flattery and Penelope's reply
- 01Penelope demands wedding gifts from the suitors
- 02The suitors present gifts and feast
- 03Braziers are lit and Ulysses taunts the maids
- 01Eurymachus taunts Ulysses
- 02Ulysses’ reply and the thrown stool
- 03Telemachus ends the quarrel
- 01Removing the armour to the store-room
- 02Minerva’s lamp and Telemachus’s departure
- 03Ulysses plans the suitors’ death
- 01Penelope receives the stranger and dismisses Melantho
- 02Penelope's account of the suitors and the woven pall
- 03Ulysses' Cretan disguise and Penelope's test
- 04Penelope’s grief and hospitality
- 01Ulysses refuses luxury and asks for an old nurse
- 02Euryclea recognises the scar from the boar hunt
- 01Penelope's dream of the geese and eagle
- 01Penelope’s interpretation of the dream
- 02The contest of the bow and twelve axes
- 03Penelope’s withdrawal to sleep
- 01Ulysses lies awake and broods over the suitors
- 02Minerva reassures Ulysses and urges sleep
- 01Penelope’s prayer to Diana
- 02Ulysses asks for signs from Jove
- 03The miller-woman’s omen against the suitors
- 01Telemachus questions Euryclea about the stranger
- 02Household preparations for the suitors' feast
- 03The swineherd, Melanthius, and Philoetius arrive
- 01Eumaeus’ loyalty and Ulysses’ promise
- + 2 more topics inside the course.
- + 3 more topics inside the course.
- + 4 more topics inside the course.
- + 2 more topics inside the course.
- + 1 more topic inside the course.
- + 4 more topics inside the course.
- + 1 more topic inside the course.
- + 2 more topics inside the course.
- + 3 more topics inside the course.
- + 3 more topics inside the course.
- + 2 more topics inside the course.
- + 2 more topics inside the course.
- + 2 more topics inside the course.
- + 3 more topics inside the course.
- + 3 more topics inside the course.
- + 3 more topics inside the course.
- + 2 more topics inside the course.
- + 3 more topics inside the course.
- + 3 more topics inside the course.
- + 4 more topics inside the course.
- + 3 more topics inside the course.
- + 3 more topics inside the course.
- + 2 more topics inside the course.
- + 3 more topics inside the course.
- + 1 more topic inside the course.
- + 1 more topic inside the course.
- + 3 more topics inside the course.
- + 2 more topics inside the course.
- + 4 more topics inside the course.
- + 1 more topic inside the course.
- + 2 more topics inside the course.
- + 2 more topics inside the course.
- + 3 more topics inside the course.
01How many chapters are in the Odyssey course?
The Odyssey course has 24 chapters, each with its own lessons and topics.
02How many lessons are in the Odyssey course?
There are 119 lessons across the course, and you can ask your 24/7 tutor about any of them.
03Can I see what the Odyssey course covers before I start?
Yes. The full curriculum is listed on this page, beginning with "BOOK I".
04Do I get a certificate for the Odyssey course?
Yes. Finishing the course earns a personal Cavua certificate of completion.
Keep exploring
View all LiteratureMore in Literature.
New
kenneth Orkin
MariaPrammaggio 2020 FilmFourthEditionACri
LiteratureBeginner
3chapters45m
With membership
Or preview chapter 1 free
Updated Oct 2026
Cavua Seed Library
The Canterbury Tales
LiteratureBeginner
44chapters18h 54m
This course was produced by Cavua from a public-domain text.
With membership
Or preview chapter 1 free
Updated Oct 2026
Cavua Seed Library
The Awakening
LiteratureAll levels
9chapters4h 18m
This course was produced by Cavua from a public-domain text.
With membership
Or preview chapter 1 free
Updated Oct 2026
Cavua Seed Library
Gulliver's Travels
LiteratureBeginner
9chapters7h 6m
This course was produced by Cavua from a public-domain text.
With membership
Or preview chapter 1 free
Updated Oct 2026
Cavua Seed Library
The Oresteia
LiteratureIntermediate
13chapters2h 24m
This course was produced by Cavua from a public-domain text.
With membership
Or preview chapter 1 free
Updated Oct 2026
Cavua Seed Library
The Bacchae
LiteratureIntermediate
2chapters1h 54m
This course was produced by Cavua from a public-domain text.
With membership
Or preview chapter 1 free
Updated Oct 2026
Learn with AI
Ready to start this course?
Create your account to enroll, talk to your 24/7 tutor, and track your progress — across every device.