Death inThe Great Hall

We have not been able to write lately because we are still recovering from the wild events that took place after Odysseus won the bow and arrow contest! After he won the contest he decided to take revenge on the suitors! He shot an arrow into the throat of Antinous. The other suitors didn't know what to think as Odysseus had not revealed himself yet.Once he did, the suitors became terrified. That was when Odysseus' master plan began to unfold...

Philoetius and Eumaeus had locked the doors so no one could escape and the women could not witness the fighting. Odysseus was then ready to attack all the suitors, but Eurymachus tried to calm him down by telling him that Antinous was the only bad suitor in the bunch. That is no comfort for Odysseus, who insists that he will kill all of them. While Eurymachus tried to calm Odysseus down, Telemachusw went after Amphinomus and killed him with his spear. By that time the event had turned out in to a flat-out battle! Telemachus went to get spears and shields so Philoetius and Eumaeus could join the fight. He had unlocked the storeroom to do so and on his way out, he forgot to lock it. Melanthius took advantage of this and went to get more arms for the suitors. However, Philoetius and Eumaeus saw him and tied him up and locked him in so he couldn't help the suitors anymore. By then, everything was complete chaos. Odysseus and Telemachus had killed all the suitors! Now it was off to reunite with Penelope...

The Test of the Bow

We have had to return to Ithaca due to the terrible outing we had with the sea monsters, Scylla and Charybdis. Scylla was a giant! With 6 heads each with 3 sets of fangs, she gobbled up our men so fast we did not realize how many we had lost until after it was all over. The boat we were on with Odysseus was the only one to make it. Luckily, we also made it past Charybdis as well. Our boat almost got swallowed up by her but at the last minute, we escaped her. We are actually quite excited to be returing to Ithaca. We are very weary after being at sea for so long. Odysseus seems happy to be going home as well. He told us today about how he defeated Penelope's suitors after coming back after 20 years away from home...

After waiting 20 years and still no sign of her husband, Penelope promised the suitors that she would be ready to marry after she finished the shroud she was knitting. Secretly, she never gave up hope that Odysseus would return to Ithaca and so every night she would take out the knitting she had done that day, thus she would never finish the shroud. After those long 2 decades, she finally decided that she would hold a contest. She would marry the one suitor who could string Odysseus's bow and shoot an arrow through 12 axe heads in a row. Odysseus had returned to Ithaca by this point and disguised himself as a beggar. He asked to take part in the contest in an effort to win back Penelope. The suitors are very proud and they all believe that they are up to the task. They are soon proved wrong, as all of them fail at the event. Still, they make fun of the beggar for asking to try his hand with the bow. They are truly the fools though as the beggar succeeds and ultimately wins Penelope's hand in marriage. The only men who know the beggar's true identity are two loyal servants and Telemachus, all three of which stand by him as a fight ensues...

Hopefully our homecoming will be as heroic as Odyssseus' previous return to Ithaca, although I could definitely do without the fighting. I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

Sea Perils and Defeat

We are finally leaving after the year we have spent on Circe's island. Circe wanted to have a private conversation with Odysseus about the "road ahead". There really isn't a road it's just open seas and occasional islands. We're hoping that they will finish soon or at least I'm hoping. Circe is not to be trusted especially after she transformed the crew into pigs. Not that there is much change. Odysseus has come out of the house so the "meeting" must be over. he tells the crew and us that we will have to be careful for the sirens. I hope that's the only danger we will meet along the way...

Odysseus is being foolish in that he wants to hear the song the sirens sing. Obviously he is too full of pride to realize the danger in this. He is taking precautions with the crew and us. We will have to stuff beeswax into our ears so as not to suffer the song of the sirens. though I'm pretty sure the sirens song doesn't affect women. Note to self: Research effects of the siren song. Odysseus is having Eurylochus tie him to the mast so he doesn't have to stuff beeswax in his ears. The crew goes back to rowing and we pull into the range of the sirens. They are hideous. I can see Odysseus looking longingly at the sirens. They swarm us but we pull through with everybody intact. Odysseus starts to look worried. I wonder what other horrible things are waiting for us. We approach a whirlpool and sea this gigantic head at the bottom. This must be Charybdis. Off to the other side Scylla looked out of her cave. This must be the danger Odysseus was worried about. He decides to pass on the side where Scylla is. She immeadiately scoops up six men for each of her six heads. We must have gone fast enough to pass her before she was able to swipe anymore men. Now on to the Underworld!

New Coasts and Poseidon's Son

We have only been at sea for a couple of days and the men are already grumbling about leaving Ithaca. Oh!! Wait!! I see an island in the distance. Odysseus says that it is the island of the Lotus-Eaters. He says we are going to land there to get some supplies. Oh I can't wait to taste the Lotus which is said to have the most glorious taste. Odysseus says we are not allowed to eat because we would not want to continue on our journey. We have arrived and he has tied us to the ship to prevent us from even trying the lotus. He says "if we're good" he'll let us have some. But let me tell you i think they tied my hands a little to tight and Skyros can't reach to loosen them. They tied us at opposite sides of the ship. Odysseus has come back with some lotus that he lets us have. I soon realize that it does have a glorious taste. I wanted to eat it forever but we had already set sail.

As we set sail they loosed us from our bonds and we started heading for another island in the distance. Odysseus didn't know about this island so he was curious as to what may inhabit it. Everyone else just wanted to sail to the next planned stop but Odysseus was being stubborn. We saw a herd of huge sheep in the pastures but no people were around. Odysseus got off and signaled for us to follow. He found a cave that had a lot of supplies. The crew that had gone with us wanted to loot the place while Odysseus wanted to be courteous and wait for the person to return home. All of a sudden a Cyclops came in through the entrance and rolled a boulder over the same entrance. Odysseus went up only to find the Cycl0ps to be mean and ruthless. The Cyclops grabbed hold of two men and proceeded to eat them. Odysseus fashioned a spear out of one the logs of firewood in the corner. he told us that he was going to stab the Cyclops in the eye. At night he did this and told the Cyclops that his name was Nohbdy. We eventually escaped by hiding under trios of sheep as the Cyclops let them out to graze. We had barely escaped with our lives. I personally have made Odysseus swear that we will not visit any more uncharted islands. Though I don't know how long this agreement will hold out.

The Grace of the Witch

Today, we have set sail! We will be traveling back to Troy so Odysseus can show us what the Trojan war was like and where the major events took place. It is a wonderful day to be on the water. The Mediterranean is such a clear blue! We can see the olive trees growing on the coast. They are a major staple of Greek food. My favorite meal is gyro with dolmades, or grape leaves stuffed with rice and sauce. Of course for dessert, baklava is definitely a favorite here.

Odysseus has told us about what live was like after escaping the Cyclops. He told us about how his curios men failed to listen when he told them not to open the bag that was given to him by Aeolus. Instead they open it and let out all the "bad" winds that could throw their ship off course and that is how they landed on the island of Aeaea, home of the goddess Circe, who turned his men into pigs. Odysseus could only save them if he ate the moly given to him by Hermes which would help him resist Circe's drugs. He then told us about after his men had been saved, there were no worries and they elected to stay on Circe's island. Finally, a year later, One of Odysseus's men decided to persuade him that it would be a good idea to go home. Circe tells them that the only way that they could make it back to Ithaca would be if they took a detour to the underworld...

A Goddess Intervenes

To all you people out there Greece is a very interesting place to be. With all the gods and food and customs it has been interesting getting used to. Odysseus has told us that he was held captive on an island with the goddess Calypso. He said he got away by sheer cunning and determination. The crew had something else to say on that subject. They said Athena had helped Odysseus. We aren't going to tell Odysseus that we know about this. He would just get frustrated with the crew and we don't need that at the beginning of a journey.

We have had to prepare for the journey quickly. Odysseus says we are leaving in 2 days. I can't believe it is so soon. We also can't wait to leave. Odysseus has been telling old stories about the Land of the Lotus Eaters, and an island inhabited by Cyclops. Maybe we will visit these islands and others just as fabulous. The next post we make will be when we have landed at our first island.

Sincerely,

Skyros and Electra

Introduction

Hello! We are writing to tell you of the wonderful journey we have just begun. We have met Odysseus, hero of the Trojan War and he has asked us to go on an adventure with him. We are currently in Ithaca, Odysseus' home and are getting used to our surroundings. Here on the island of Ithaki, as they say in Greek, everything is so different than at home. The water here is clear blue and so beautiful. It is so warm and sunny here! We can't wait to find out where we will be going to travel to!

Sincerely,

Electra and Skyros