Book 9: New Coast and Posideon's Son

Just when I though I was off the hook, King Alkinoos asked me to share the tales of my travels with all the Phiaikian guests and the party, don't get me wrong, I am not ashamed of those stories, I just prefer not to recount them more then needed. But really, for all those dear people had given to me in the past 24 hours couldn't possibly have meant more to me, so it was all that I could to to repay them. Oh, shoot, I guess now I have to share those stories with you. Well, the damage is already done I guess...

Upon setting off from Troy a wicked wind swept us to the island of Ismaros, upon where the hostile locals and a blazing strom from Zeus chased us frar away from their island. We then came upon Lotos Eaters, harmless, docile natives who only offered us some of their delicious plant, so much in fact, that we sat upon that island for days wanting nothing more then to stay exactly where we were and eat nothing but those honeyed Lotos plants, after escaping that bizarre island, we encountered possibly the msot frightening leg of our journey, Kyklopes. Frightening creatures they are, one-eyed beasts...we opt to stay out of their way for most of the time in the island, however my men and I had long since run out of food and somehow they convinced me to attept to snatch some food away from those horrendous creatures (maybe I had too much wine, but who knows). Now this is where the story gets scary, the Kyklopes that inhabited that cave was the son of Poseidon (remember him, the angry God who has taken a strange disliking to me?). Anyway, the Kyklopes then imprisons us in his cave (there seems to be a lot of imprisonment going on so far hasen't there??) and devours two of my men!! Now knowing that only the Kyklopes is strong enought to move the massive boulder keeping my remaining men and I from escaping, we devise a plan...So this is where it gets good, we give the monsterous brute an endless supply of wines from the ship, so much in fact, that he is so drunk that he collapses heavily on the ground. Seizing this rare chance, I drive a red hot rod into the eye of the Kyklopes, eventually blinding him and leaving him writhing in pain yelling" Nohbdy had tricked me!!" (Nohbdy=what I told him my name was) to all that can hear him.
That is all I can recall about my wanderings, but i do remember hearing a rumor that Poseidon made a promise to his son the he would gain revenge on me for what he did to his son....

Alas, that is all I can say for now
Good Day
Odysseus

Book 8: The Song of the Harper

My, my, how good it feel to be back in a civilized enviornment again!! Oh, wait, I guess I didn't properly introduce myself, my name is Odysseus. Yes I know what you are thinking, and to answer your question, I am the man who my son has been blogging about for the past few years. Unfortunatley though, I have yet to see what a strapping young lad he has become becuase I have been stranded on an island with tht awful possesive Goddess, Kalypso for the past ten years! Anyway, no sense in worrying about the past, starting today I hope to recapture my various journeys with you through this unbelievable invention called a "blog", funny name, isn't it? So in a short summary of my day, I was very impressed with the hospitality of the Phaiakian people and their king, Alkinoos. The king's warm personality surley made me feel comfortable in my new enviornment, (and the fact that he gave me a ship to sail home in didn't hurt either!) As if that wasn't enough, Alkinoos invited hundreds of counselors and other nobles to a feast and a celebration of games in my honor that very same evening!! The evening started off well until this idiot harper Demodokos decided to bring up an age old stroy about a quarrell Achilles and I had. And let me tell you, that really put a downer on the evening, but that's all water under the bridge now, because the rest of the night proved to be a night to remember. I creamed this young athlete at a discus throw, (proves age is just a number doesn't it? Haha!) and enjoyed watching wrestling matches and races, the most fun I have had in years. However, as much as you don't want them to, all evening's must come to a close, and this one was no different. Each Phaikian guest then presented me with a gift to take with me on my travels. My, I have never seen such kind and forgiving people in my entire life! They showered upon me chests, cloaks and bottles of delicious wines much to my delight, of course. In return I showered them with thanks and good wishes, hoping that one day I will be back to visit these dear people, hopefully under much lighter circumstances.

Good Day.
-Odysseus

Book 5: Sweet Nymph and Open Sea

Unfortunatley, neither Odysseus or Telemakhos could be reached for further blogging. Therefore, I, Athena, Supreme Goddess of War will be temporarily filling you in on his whereabouts.

Oh! What a day it has been! As if the job of protecting Telemakhos was not enough, Zeus called a surprise meeting at the top of Mt. Olympus today! Do you have ANY idea how long it takes to fly up there when the winds are 50 miles an hour like they are today?! Well, assuming that you don't not know how difficult a task this is, it is EXTREMLEY so. Anyway, all of us Gods arrived to discuss the fate of the war hero, Odysseus, stranded on the island of Ogygia. Well all of us, that is, except Poseidon but he and Odysseus don't always see eye to eye on things, so the all powerful God of the Sea felt that he had no place at the meeting. But myself being the sole advocate for that poor stranded man, I made as best a case I could to my father Zeus, which was in turn, successful. Daddy agreed to send his messenger, Hermes to the mysterious island to have a word with Kalypso. Begrudgingly, and not wanting to get on Zeus' bad side, Kalyspo agrees to let her prisoner free as soon as she could. We then find a distraught Odysseus on the beach, his body shaking with sobs and his face stricken with homesickness. All of that changes, however, when Provided with only a flimsy raft as transportation, Odysseus departs the island...but all is not over. My Tempermental uncle, returning for a voyage, sees a struggling Odysseus in the middle of the sea upon the flimsy raft and sends a vicious sea storm towards him and almost drowns the exhausted man!! How ridiculous he can be sometimes!! Just because he is the God of the Sea does not mean he can inflict pain upon mortals for enjoyment!
Well thank goodness I was there to save the day (btw this is when you start to clap:), otherwise I would have nothing but a sob story to report to you today!! With the help of myself and a sea nymph Leukothea, we engaged in a full on battle and resulting in a very happy man safley ashore and a very frusterated God with a trident!!

Oops! Got to go, dinner time! TTYL, Athena

Book 4: The Red Haired King and His Lady

Sorry that it has been such a long time since I have blogged, but I have some very exciting news for you....MY FATHER IS ALIVE!! But before I get into this, let me back up a little bit. We arrived on the island of Sparta to find King Menelaos and Queen Helen celebrating the marriage of both their son and daughter. They immediatly welcomed us with open arms and invited us to our celebratory dinner, a kind gesture in which we accepted. While we feasted, the king and queen, to my delight, shared their own personal stories about my father in addition to Menelaos' stroy of his problamatic return to Troy. The famous warrior was detained by the Gods and tied down in Egypt, and his only hope of ever returning was to rescue the Old Man of the Sea, Proteus. Upon Proteus' rescue, the Old Man informed Menelaos that Odysseus was alive and imprisoned by the goddess Calypso on her island!! Although I was thrilled to hear this news from the hospitable king, I am scared as well for what the future holds. One can never underestimate the power of a God's desires, and I certainly hope that I will never be the man standing in the way...after all we have all heard those stories...and believe me, they don't end well!! :(

Wish me luck

-Telemekhos

Book 3: The Lord of the Western Approaches

Today my loyal crew and I traveled to Pylos in a desperate attempt to find out more behind my father's mysterious disappearance from Nestor, the king of the city. To my great disappointment, the legendary king had no further details on my father. However I did uncover something regarding the warrior Agamemnon, a friend of his. Agamemnon and his brother Menelaus got into and arguement,and according to Nestor, Menelaus left the island for Greece, whereas Agamemnon decided to remain on the island. Although Agamemnon did return home to Troy, when he arrived he found that his wife had married another Trojan warrior, Aegisthus. But this was not the end of a string of unfortunate events for Agamemnon. Apparently having Agamemnon's wife was not enough, for Aegisthus then murdered Agamemnon and attepted to take over his kingdom!!! Hearing this story from the wise king of Pylos, I have now become increasingly worried about my father, and have several pressing questions I would like answered. For example, why would Agamemnon leave Odysseus on the island if they were friends? Or perhaps something had happened to my father and his presence would have been too much of a burden for Agamemnon...or what if the two had a falling out like Agamemnon and Menelaus? Tomorrow we plan to head to Sparta, in search of more clues, and hopefully, with the help of Nestor's son Peisistratos, we will find some!

Thats all for now

-Telemekhos

Book 1: A Goddess Intervenes

Growing up without a father is not easy, let me tell you. Especially when your father is a supreme warrior and the renown leader of the land of Itheca. Well, O.K., before I launch into this rant about my life, let me tell you a little bit about myself. My name is Telemakhos, and I am the sole son of the Great Odysseus. My father left both my mother, Penelope and I when I was just a toddler to go be some sort of a "Greek Hero" and go to war. While there, however, he encountered a slight problem, a Goddess by the name of Caylpso from the land of Ogygia, had fallen in love with him and refused to let him leave her island. To my dismay, the people of Itheca seem to believe that my father is dead on the island somewhere, never to be found. I know, right? The Great Odyseus, DEAD?!! Impossible (at least it is to me, however, I seem to be the only one who thinks so.) All hope is not lost though, thanks to the help of my father's long lost friend by the name of Mentor, but I suspect that she may be that gray-eyed goddess, Athena, I will have to get back to you on that though. Now, if you will please excuse me, my poor mother, god bless her, is being tormented by these horrible Ithecan suitors! I plan in the near future to inform them that their stay on this island is limited, inless they can learn to respect their royalty!!! I will for sure keep you updated on this tactic....

Thats all for now

-Telemekhos

Book 2: A Hero's Son Awakens

Unfortunatley there are no recent posts from Odysseus, due to his unknown whereabouts...for more from his son Telemekhos, please scroll down.


Who do those suitors think they are, offending my father in such a way?? He gave his all to support them and lead them in the right direction!! And now that he is gone, they all seem to forget the impact he had on their lives! Just like Nurse Eurykleia said, "Lord Odysseus died in some strange place far from his homeland. Think how, Telemekhos, when you have turned your back, these men will plot to kill you and share your things!" (pg. 30). Well, despite the kind nurses advice, I have decided that I want to sail out to that mysterious island and try and rescue my father!! I cannot let his civilization, the one he worked so hard for, fall apart. I must bring him back! Odysseus to the rescue! (but what is a hero without his loyal sidekick, mine being Athena, Goddess of War). Oh well, it is now time for me to go check my sails, I will try and keep you posted...but I'm not mking any guarentees, hopefully you will hear from my father soon, if you do could you let me know? Now that I live in 2008, we have this bizarre thing called text messaging...

-Telemekhos