main actions odysseus in the iliad

um the person above me is referring to the Odyssey. If you're meaning the Iliad - Odysseus' main action takes place when he acts as one of the negotiators sent from Agamemnon to talk to Achilles and lure him back to fight for the Greek side. Ultimately he fails at that, and perhaps even realizes he will while he's giveing his speech but he gets in a lot of talk time and gets to show how clever he is with words. He also keeps the entire Greek army from sailing away when Agememnon suggests it by hitting people and beating someone up - of course there's also speeches involved (this is the Iliad). Action wise - I'd go with his main action being when he sneaks into the Thracian camp at night with Diomedes and steals the horses of King Rhesus while Diomedes kills everyone in the royal Thracian house in their sleep.

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Lands on the island of the Lotus-Eaters. His men only want to drug out but O forces them back on their journey.

O blinds the Cyclopes, Polyphemus. Polyphemus is the son of the sea god, Poseidon. In revenge fo rblinding his son -- Poseidon makes O wander for 10 years around the Mediterranean Sea. That is the tale of the Iliad - the ten year journey and adventures on O's way home.

Stops next at island of Aeolus, who controls the winds. Aeolus ties all the winds into a bag so that O' can get home. O guards the bag and does not tell his men what is in it. They suspect he is holding out on some treasure - so when O falls asleep - the crew opens the bag and the ship is blown back across the Mediterranean again.

Then O comes to the land of the Laestrygonians - a race of giants who eats most of the crew.

Then O lands on the island of the goddess, Circe. She turns his men into animals but he (warned by the gods) draws his sword and forces her to spare him. They become lovers and he spends a year there.

Then, O journeys to the Underworld - speaks to Tiresias, a famous dead seer as well as dead heroes from the fall of Troy.

Ship passes the Sirens who sing songs & lured men to their death on the rocks around their island. O plugs his crews' ears with beeswax. He ties himself to the mast so that he can hear the forbidden songs without harm.

Scylla (monster) and Charybdis (whirlpool)- two monsters that inhabit a narrow passage - eats more of O's crew.

Lands on island of the Cattle of Helios. The crew killed the sacred cattle while O was out reconnoitering the island. Zeus destroys O's ship and kills all of the crew leaving only O alive.

Lands on the island of the sea nymph Calypso, she held O captive as her lover for seven years. Finally Zeus intervened and orders Calypso to let O go.

Odysseus leaves on a raft and finally found sea-wreaked by the Phoenicians, who furnish O with a ship to take him home to

Ithaca.

Once in Ithaca, O finds out his wife is besieged by suitors and if he just shows up - O will be murdered. So, Odysseus secretly contacts his son, Telemachus. Together they gather weapons and plan to kill the suitors and take back O's palace. They kill all the suitors - great battle! Finally, O meets his faithful wife, Penelope - she tests him with some questions about their marriage that only he can answer - then love triumphs!!

Finally, O finds his aged father Laertes, Then, as his family celebrates -- the families of the dead suitors arrive to attack O and his men. The goddess, Athene, reveals herself and states that Zeus approved of O's actions and Zeus also commands all sides to forgive past actions and swear allegiance again to Odysseus as king. THE END!!