With the help of Athena and a sea nymph named Leucothea, Odysseus makes it ashore on the island of Scheria, home of the Phaeacians. Throughout the epic, Homer casually reveals upcoming events in a way that confirms the theory that the audience is already familiar with the plot. He does so again early in Book 5 5.
The poet's talent is shown in the manner in which he spins the yarn. One of his favorite devices is rhetoric, effective manipulation of language, especially in the characters' public speeches.
One example is in the gathering of the assembly on Ithaca in Book 2. Another example is Athena's plea to Zeus in the divine assembly on Olympus at the beginning of Book 5.
Considering that The Odyssey is one of the earliest examples of Western literature still in existence, the level of rhetoric is quite sophisticated. Athena convincingly employs irony to make her point. She suggests that Zeus and the other gods never again allow a mortal king to be kind or just since Odysseus' fate has established that those characteristics are not rewarded.
He has lost his ships and crew, is abandoned on Ogygia, and his son's life is in jeopardy. Athena is just warming to the theme when Zeus interrupts her. Like a convinced judge as well as an indulgent father, he concedes her case and suggests that they move on with her plan to free Odysseus. Because Book 5 presents the reader's first meeting with Odysseus, it is interesting that Homer chooses to show him alone on a beach on Calypso's island, apparently defeated and weeping.
They arrive at the Land of the Lotus Eaters. Athena visits Telemachus; he sails for Pylos. Odysseus blinds Polyphemus. Telemachus reaches Pylos, then moves on to Sparta.
Aiolos gives Odysseus the bag of winds. King Menelaus receives Telemachus. Odysseus nearly reaches Ithaca. Second council of gods. Calypso frees Odysseus. The Laistrygones destroy 11 ships. Poseidon destroys Odysseus' raft. Circe turns the crew into swine. Odysseus lands on Scheria and meets Nausicaa.
Odysseus vists Teiresias in the Underworld. She gives him a veil that keeps him safe after his ship is wrecked. Athena too comes to his rescue as he is tossed back and forth, now out to the deep sea, now against the jagged rocks of the coast. He throws his protective veil back into the water as Ino had commanded him to do and walks inland to rest in the safe cover of a forest.
That night, Athena appears in a dream to the Phaeacian princess Nausicaa, disguised as her friend. She encourages the young princess to go to the river the next day to wash her clothes so that she will appear more fetching to the many men courting her.
The next morning, Nausicaa goes to the river, and while she and her handmaidens are naked, playing ball as their clothes dry on the ground, Odysseus wakes in the forest and encounters them. Naked himself, he humbly yet winningly pleads for their assistance, never revealing his identity.
Nausicaa leaves him alone to wash the dirt and brine from his body, and Athena makes him look especially handsome, so that when Nausicaa sees him again she begins to fall in love with him. Afraid of causing a scene if she walks into the city with a strange man at her side, Nausicaa gives Odysseus directions to the palace and advice on how to approach Arete, queen of the Phaeacians, when he meets her. With a prayer to Athena for hospitality from the Phaeacians, Odysseus sets out for the palace.
Though aggressive and determined, he is far from rash. Instead, he is shrewd, cautious, and extremely self-confident. In each case, he makes a decision and converts thought to action with speed and poise. While these inner debates are characteristic of Odysseus, they are in some ways characteristic of The Odyssey as a whole. Unlike The Iliad , which explores the phenomena of human interaction—competition, aggression, warfare, and the glory that they can bring a man in the eyes of others— The Odyssey concerns itself much more with the unseen universe of the human heart, with feelings of loneliness, confusion, and despair.
Not surprisingly, Homer introduces the hero Odysseus in a very unheroic way. We first find him sulking on a beach, yearning for home, alone except for the love-struck goddess who has imprisoned him there.
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