Monsters of the Odyssey              

       The monsters are numerous and distinct in The Odyssey. They symbolize many things, both in the story and in our lives. They may range from aggressive monsters to human beings much like ourselves; they come in many forms. They may may be mental or physical, and may be decieving or boastful. However, one thing seems clear whether you have read the book or not: they are all very important, each and every one of them. This section of the website describes each monster's importance in both The Odyssey and in our lives.

• Calypso       

         A nymph who keeps Odysseus on her island of Ogygia for 8 years. Calypso is very fond of Odysseus and even offers to make him immortal because she is very lonely on her island. However, Odysseus wants to go home to Ithaca and see his family. On the 9th year, after Athena persuades Zeus, he sends a message to her, and she lets Odysseus go. Odysseus builds a raft on which she puts food and then he leaves.

         In our lives, Calypso is a person holding us back from our goals. She is misleading, selfish, and lonely. She cares only about herself. When you encounter these kinds of people, you should make them understand that there are other people in the world besides them. They are not the center of the universe.





• Cyclops       

         The Cyclops, named Polyphemus, traps Odysseus and some of his crew in his cave. He eats six of them and then gets blinded by Odysseus. Odysseus uses his cunning skills to get out of the cave undetected by the Cyclops. He does this by getting the Cyclops drunk. Then, he blinds him with a wooden stake. He and his crew escape from Polyphemus' cave by hiding under sheep.

         The Cyclops, because he has only one eye, represents people who see through only one perspective. This is normally not a good quality. You should either avoid these people or attempt to broaden their narrow-mindedness.





• Circe       

         A nymph who lives on Aeaea and changes Odysseus' crew into swine. Odysseus then threatens her and makes her turn his crew back into men. She then helps him by telling him that if he wants to go home, he must first go to the Underworld and talk to a seer.

         Circe represents wealth. If you abuse it, you will get "turned into pigs". Odysseus' crew saw her lustrous palace and their greed made them go inside without thinking. You should never let your greed control you.





• The Sirens       

         Women who live on an island and lure men to thier doom by singing about the men's pasts. Odysseus passes by the their place and listens to their song while tied down. He does this after leaving Circe's island in which the nymph tells him to listen (if he wants to) to the Sirens' songs. The Sirens sing about Odysseus' past (the Trojan War).

         The Sirens represent people who try to make you live in the past. When you encounter these kinds of people, you must resist them and force yourself to focus on the future. The future is much more important than the past. Anything bad that happened in the past can be excused by something in the future, and anything good that happened in the past can be ruined by something in the future.





• The Suitors       

         Princes and lords who are in Odysseus' palace and want to marry Penelope, Odysseus' loyal wife. They are all killed by Odysseus, along with Telemachus, the cowherd, and the swineherd. For more information about what happened to them, click here. The suitors are basically led by two men: Antinous and Eurymachus.

         The Suitors were especially important in The Odyssey but what do they represent in our lives? The Suitors in the book are a big problem faced by Odysseus when he finally gets back to his home, Ithaca. This, therefore, shows that no matter how close you are to your final goal, there will often be an obstacle preventing you from reaching that goal. You must do anything possible (but it still must be reasonable) to remove the obstacle.





• The Lotus Eaters       

         People who eat a plant that makes them forget about home and want to stay there to eat more. They are visited by Odysseus and his crew while going to Aeaea. A couple of Odysseus' crew members, when scouting, were given the drug and got highly addicted to it. This made them forget about their homes. Therefore, Odysseus dragged them back to his ships.

         These legendary people stand for many things in our journey though life. First and foremost, they stand for drugs, an obvious reason. Drugs can make you forget about everything important in your life. Another thing they can stand for is the certain things that distract you from getting to a place or destination. These distractions can influence you completely, making you forget virtually everything, much like drugs do. If you encounter one of these distractions, you must ignore it and stay focused on your journey.





• Scylla       

         A six-headed monster that snatches six men, one for each of her heads, whenever a ship sails by. She lives in a cave opposite from the whirlpool, Charybdis. Also, Odysseus is told by Circe to pass her cave while journeying back to his homeland.

         Scylla's six heads snatch six men quickly to their doom. This shows how quickly an accident or tragedy can happen in real life and what unpredictable circumstances can arise. If a sudden tragedy happens to you or someone you know, you must bear it, like Odysseus did.





• Charybdis       

         A giant whirlpool monster that swallows Odysseus' ship when he is returning from Thrinacia. She is opposite Scylla. Charybdis opens for a period of time, and closes for an equal amount of time. When his ship is swallowed, Odysseus hangs onto a branch until Charybdis closes.

         Charybdis is not only opposite Scylla because of where she is, but she is also opposite because of what she does. Unlike Scylla, Charybdis sucks her victims in slowly. She represents things in your life that take you in very gradually, but once you do get "sucked in", they are very harmful to you. When you encounter these kinds of things, you must stop before it is too late. The more you have been "sucked in", the harder it is to stop or get out.





• The Underworld        

         The place where dead people go. Odysseus goes there after Circe told him to. He meets a seer who tells him how to return home to Ithaca safely. Odysseus also meets his mother Anticleia. In order to talk to these "ghosts", he must let them drink blood.

         The Underworld is a place for death and the dead. Odysseus ventures there and returns intact. There have not been many people who have done this. Most people go there only once: when they die. So, in our lives, this "Underworld" represents death. When someone you know dies, you must bear it. Since Odysseus was very scared to go down into the Underworld, the Underworld can also represent our fears. Like Odysseus, we must face and overcome our fears.





• The Cattle of the Sun       

         Herds of cattle that live on Thrinacia. They belong to Helios, the sun god. Helios punished Odysseus' crew because they killed some of the cattle. Odysseus' crew was getting very hungry because they got trapped on Thrinacia by winds blowing the wrong way. Eventually one man said that he would rather be killed quickly by a god than starve to death slowly. Therefore, they all slaughtered the cattle there. They all got punished later by Zeus and Odysseus got home late and a wrecked man.

         The Cattle of the Sun symbolizes the various tempting things in life, and if one indulges himself in it too much, he may in turn get punished. An example of such a thing could be by the usage of drugs, and how somebody can get addicted to it and get into a bad situation. If you encounter one of these tempting things, you must force yourself to ignore it and walk away.





• Poseidon       

         The god of the sea who punishes Odysseus for blinding his son, Polyphemus. He makes Odysseus' journey home as long as possible and very hard. The god does this by creating a storm whenever Odysseus is out on the open sea and by punishing those that try to help Odysseus get home.

         The god Poseidon symbolizes a force always opposing you, thwarting your passage and trying to prevent you from achieving your goals. The force could be anything, from a mental disability to feeling grief to someone who despises you. But, if you try to achieve your goal extremely hard, and never even think about giving up, good will eventually overcome evil as shown by Odysseus reaching home.





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