The Odyssey

Written by Homer

Part of the Puffin Classics series

A hero's perilous journey home, battling monsters and divine wrath.

3.8 Goodreads · 780 ratings

112 pages· 890L

In stock. Also at Amazon or Bookshop.

Bookroo's summary

Odysseus, the legendary Greek hero, embarks on a treacherous ten-year voyage home after the Trojan War. Facing monstrous foes like the Cyclops and sea creatures Scylla and Charybdis, he must also contend with the gods' fury. Meanwhile, in Ithaca, his wife Penelope and son Telemachus fend off relentless suitors. Disguised as a beggar upon his return, Odysseus plots his revenge. Will he reclaim his home and family, or will the trials prove too great? This timeless tale of adventure and resilience explores the enduring power of cunning and courage.

From the publisher

By its evocation of a real or imaged heroic age, its contrasts of character and its variety of adventure, above all by its sheer narrative power, the Odyssey has won and preserved its place among the greatest tales in the world. It tells of Odysseus’ adventurous wanderings as he returns from the long war at Troy to his home in the Greek island of Ithaca, where his wife Penelope and his son Telemachus have been waiting for him for twenty years. He meets a one-eyed giant, Polyphemus the Cyclops; he visits the underworld; he faces the terrible monsters Scylla and Charybdis; he extricates himself from the charms of Circe and Calypso. After these and numerous other legendary encounters he finally reaches home, where, disguised as a beggar, he begins to plan revenge on the suitors who have for years been besieging Penelope and feasting on his own meat and wine with insolent impunity.

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