The Odyssey

The Odyssey is ancient Greek epic poem attributed to the blind poet Homer. The story begins after the Fall of Troy as the hero Odysseus tries to make it back home to Ithaca to be reunited with his wife and son.

Beginning in medias res, or "the middle of the plot", The Odyssey picks up ten years after the Fall of Troy as the hero Odysseus is being held captive on an island by the nymph Calypso.

After escaping the island (with the help of the gods Athena and Zeus) and surviving a battle with the sea god Poseidon, Odysseus lands in the kingdom of the Phaeacians who vow to help him reach Ithaca. During his stay with the Phaeacians, Odysseus is compelled by the princess Nausicaa to recount the incredible events that led up to his imprisonment on the island of Calypso.

Odysseus then proceeds to tell the stories of his many adventures since the Fall of Troy, including his run-in with the Cyclops Polyphemus, his battle with the sea monster Scylla, the temptations of the Sirens and his escape from the Land of the Lotus Eaters.

At the same time, Odysseus' wife Penelope and son Telemachus are being harassed by a number of suitors who are trying to usurp the throne in his absence.

After returning to Ithaca with the help of the Phaeacians, Odysseus reunites with his son and destroys the suitors who have overrun his palace.

• The majority of the following links are to IMDb, which has pop-ups

• 1911: Odissea

• 1955: Ulisse

• 1968: The Adventures of Ulysses

• 1982: Uliisses

• 1987: The Odyssey

• 1992: The Odyssey

• 1995: Ulysses Gaze

• 1997: The Odyssey

• 2000: The Animated Odyssey

• 2000: O Brother, Where Art Thou