Odysseus

The Odyssey is about Odysseus and his adventures on his way back from the war at Troy. Parts of the odyssey are quite moving. Such as when he and Penelope are reunited at the end. I loved the way Penelope checked that this man standing in front of her was definetly Odysseus.I think that the way that Odysseus tried to stay with Penelope and Telemachus in some ways was clever and in some ways not. I thought that this story was exciting and I would definitely recommend it.

The Odyssey

I thought the story was AMAZING. It was an adventure and a hero. It had strong feelings. I could see Odysseus and Penelope waiting back in Ithaca. And I could see the Cyclops with no eye and Odysseus tied up to a pole to not get pulled in to the water. The whole story seemed like it was really there. I would not like to change the story called the ODYSSEY.

Odysseus

I thought that when Odysseus and his crew went to the island of the Cyclops with its

sweet smell and sheep gazing in a feild that it was going to be something nice, but it's really gruesome when they shove an olive branch into his eye!

I wonder what happens to Penelope and Telemachus when Odysseus is on his big adventureus journey to Troy.

I would recommend this book for people who adore adventure stories.


Characters:

Odysseus 

Penelope 

Telemachus

Odysseus

I wonder what Odysseus' mother was doing and how she appeared  as a ghost. Maybe Homer wanted us to leave the book with our heads full of thoughts about Penelope, the suitors, Polyphemus and maybe even Tiresias.  After the story Odysseus might have insisted to Penelope that he went to the last place he had to go on the adventure, the place where men do not know the sea.  I find myself wondering what it would have felt like for Odysseus to see his mother as a ghost, maybe shocking or upsetting.

Maybe after the story Odysseus has another adventure. Why didn't Odysseus reveal himself  to the people of Ithaca straight away?  Why did Athene tell him to go to the swineherd's shed in the shape of an old beggar?  

This book inspired me to read more books of Greek mythology because it was a brilliant book.  When Odysseus' dog died the moment he saw it for the first time in nineteen years, I felt moved. 

I liked the part where Odysseus sees his beautiful island, Ithaca, again.  I'm not too keen to read the part about the Cyclops again.  If I were Penelope I would have done the same the she did, check it was Odysseus not just one of the suitors in disguise ,trying to win her hand in marriage. When we finished reading the book I wanted it to carry on, telling us whether Telemachus would have to fight for ten years or if it really was a happy ending.

The Isle of the Dead

Here's our book inspired by our reading of Odysseus, and Arnold Böcklin's painting The Isle of the Dead:

How much do you know about he Odyssey? Test you basic knowledge with a quick quiz of eleven easy questions: Click here

Insula Dulcamara

Here is our book of 100 word challenges on the theme of Insula Dulcamara:

Mythological Creatures

After meeting various mythological creatures in the book Odysseus, we created some of them ourselves. Have a look through our book (click on the image to expand the book, and then on the arrows to turn the pages. Click Escape to minimise it again):

Odysseus

Odysseus is a fantastic book from ancient Greek times! 

In school we performed part of it called the golden apple. In it there is a evil god called Eris who always causes arguments. So the gods have a party and don't invite Eris!

Eris was so upset she got a golden apple and on it she wrote to the fairest and by that apple she caused a agument. Some said the fairest was Hera the queen of the gods some said Athene and some said Aphrodite! So Zeus said Paris should decide.

We put on a play of the story for the parents and the rest of the school.

So Hermes took Aphrodite, Athena and Hera to Paris. Paris choose Aphrodite and by choosing her he married the most beautiful girl in the world and that caused war for ten long years because Helen was all ready married!

There is another story in it called Odysseus and the Cyclops and this is what happens in it.

Odysseus washes up on a island to get food and drink. But instead they find a cave and go inside. A big one-eyed CYCLOPS blocks their way out with a rock and grabs one of Odysseus's men and bites his head off and his brain splatted on the wall! The cyclops was about to pick up two more men but Odysseus quickly stopped him and gave him a sheepskin of wine. The cyclops drank the drink and fell to the floor one of the men tried to kill him, but the cyclops was their only way out. So Odysseus got a sharp branch and stuck it in the cyclops' eye. Because the cyclops was blind he had to feel the sheep so the men could not get out. One by one Odysseus tied his men under the sheep and they got out.

I like further on in the book when Penelope carries on the story around Ithaca.  I also like the way Penelope did a trick to check it WAS Odysseus. 

We also made a book of Mythological Creatures which you can read.