The Odyssey was an epic poem written by Homer, a Greek poet, in the 8th century B.C. It recounts events that took place after the Trojan War, part of which is described in Homer's other major work the Iliad. The main themes of the poem are Odysseus' journey home from Troy after winning the war and his trials along the way. During his journey he encounters many mythical beasts including a cyclops which he blinds. Unbeknown to Odysseus the cyclops is the son of the great sea god Poseidon who makes it his mission to stop Odysseus from ever reaching his home of Ithaca. He eventually does reach his home with the help of other gods, especially Athena, and he reunites with his wife after dispatching her lecherous suitors.
The poem is surprisingly "modern" in feel. The poem commences after most of the action has taken place and is told in "flashback".
It is to this epic that the Roman writer Virgil pays tribute in his creation of the masterpiece, the Aeneid (books I to XII), best known for its elegant use of hypermetric elision, multiple correspondence similes and litotes.
Return of Odysseus by Nicholas Monsiau, Early 1800's.