Audiobook Homer The Odysseys of Homer, together with the shorter poems

The epic begins with an assembly of the Gods on Mount Olympus, where Athena pleads for the release of Odysseus from the nymph Calypso's enchanted island. Meanwhile, in Ithaca, Odysseus's home is overrun by arrogant suitors who consume his estate and harass his faithful wife, Penelope, while plotting against his young son, Telemachus. Prompted by Athena, Telemachus embarks on a voyage to Pylos and Sparta to gather news of his missing father from veteran kings like Nestor and Menelaus.

Back on Ogygia, Hermes delivers Zeus's command to Calypso, forcing her to let the hero go. Odysseus builds a raft and sets sail, but the wrathful sea-god Neptune stirs up a violent storm that destroys his vessel. Washed ashore on the island of Phæacia, Odysseus is discovered by the compassionate princess Nausicaa, who guides him to her parents' court. Welcomed with traditional Greek hospitality, the stranger is persuaded to reveal his true identity and recount his astonishing adventures.

Odysseus narrates his harrowing trials following the Trojan War, beginning with his raid on the Cicons and his encounter with the trance-inducing Lotophagi. He details his terrifying captivity in the cave of the man-eating Cyclop Polypheme, whom he outwits by blinding his single eye before escaping under the bellies of rams. The tale continues with his visit to Æolus, master of the winds, whose gift is ruined when Odysseus's greedy men prematurely open the wind-bag, driving them back to shore.

Further tragedy strikes when the fleet is almost entirely destroyed by the giant Læstrygonians, leaving only a single ship. Surviving this massacre, Odysseus reaches the island of the sorceress Circe, who transforms his crew into swine before he forces her to restore them with the aid of Hermes' herb, Moly. After spending a year in her halls, Odysseus prepares for his next great trial, descending into the gloomy depths of the underworld to seek the counsel of the blind prophet Tiresias regarding his ultimate journey home.