Being Towards Death

Ithaca is twenty years deprived of its king Odysseus, who never returned from the Trojan War. Several suitors, including nobleman Antinous, aggressively court Odysseus's wife Penelope to claim the throne from Odysseus and Penelope's son Telemachus. Only Penelope, Telemachus, and half-blind faithful servant Eumaeus still believe Odysseus will return. Penelope tells Telemachus she fears attacks by murderous "people from the sea" who violate Zeus's law—mutual respect between guests and hosts. Telemachus travels with his teacher/bodyguard, Odysseus's friend Mentor, to Menelaus, King of Sparta, to discover his father's whereabouts. Antinous learns about this and conspires with other suitors to kill Telemachus upon his return and plunder Ithaca. Menelaus and his wife Helen express uncertainty about Odysseus's fate but offer Telemachus stories about him. After leaving Ithaca, Odysseus and the Greeks spent ten years besieging Troy. Odysseus masterminds a plan to hide inside a large wooden horse to sneak into Troy, with Sinon left behind to present the horse as a gift. Sinon is killed, but the deception succeeds; the Greeks open the gates for Menelaus's older brother, Agamemnon, to sack Troy and retrieve Helen. Agamemnon and Menelaus return home early, while Odysseus's army, including second-in-command Eurylochus, follows a slower route. When searching an island for supplies, they are trapped in a cave by the cyclops Polyphemus, who feasts upon the soldiers. Eventually, they blind Polyphemus and escape, only to hear him cry out to his father Poseidon; the crew suffers harsh sea conditions. They land on Aeaea, where giant Laestrygonians kill most of them. The survivors rebel, leaving Odysseus with their ship as they seek refuge with the witch Circe, who turns them into pigs. After Odysseus persuades her to change his men back, Circe warns that to reach Ithaca, Odysseus must cross Oceanus into Hades. In Hades, Odysseus meets the shade of Tiresias, who predicts that, by divine will, only Odysseus will return home. Odysseus also encounters Sinon's shade, who reproaches Odysseus for causing his death and reveals Antinous' treachery; he was manipulated into taking Antinous' place in the Greek army. Lastly, Agamemnon's shade reveals that his wife Clytemnestra murdered him upon his return as revenge for sacrificing their daughter Iphigenia to Artemis for fair seas. Chased from Hades by Odysseus' fallen army, Odysseus and various crewmen follow Tiresias' guidance to survive encounters with Charybdis, Scylla, and the Sirens. On Thrinacia, Odysseus warns his men not to kill the cattle of the Sun God, as Tiresias foretold Odysseus' men would die from doing so, but the starving men slaughter some of the cattle. When they leave, Zeus' storms sink them, killing all but Odysseus. He washes ashore on Ogygia, where the nymph Calypso medicates him with amnesia-inducing lotus flowers. Seven years later, Calypso feels pity for her lover Odysseus' longing for his family and has him make a raft and surrender to Poseidon. He miraculously washes ashore in Ithaca, learning from Eumaeus that suitors sent bandits to assassinate Telemachus and Mentor. Mentor dies, but Odysseus rescues Telemachus and kills the bandits, taking Sinon's name as a disguise. Odysseus's elderly dog Argos recognizes Odysseus and peacefully dies, and Telemachus realizes "Sinon" is his father Odysseus. During a tense feast, Odysseus shows Antinous he knows Antinous betrayed Sinon; Antinous thrashes Odysseus before Penelope intervenes. After the meal, still disguised, he confesses to Penelope his guilt for violating Zeus' law with the horse deception, killing innocent Trojans, and desecrating Athena's statue after killing her priestess; Athena had assumed the priestess's form to punish him in visions. He reveals that the rumored "sea people" were the Greeks themselves and begs Penelope's forgiveness. Penelope announces her readiness to remarry and instructs the suitors to return at dawn. Penelope declares she will marry whoever can string Odysseus' bow and shoot an arrow through a row of axe heads. The suitors all fail, but Odysseus succeeds, revealing his identity. The hall erupts in battle, Telemachus aiding Odysseus in slaying the challenging suitors, including Antinous. As the remaining suitors surrender, Odysseus cedes his throne to Telemachus and leaves Ithaca with Penelope to seek peace in exile. Sailing west to honor his dead soldiers, the pair expect civilization's renewal and muse that time will forget Odysseus' mistakes.