Books 5-8: Summary

All gods, except Poseidon, have gathered again on Olympus, and Athena once more advocates Odysseus’ case. Zeus agrees to send his son Hermes immediately to Ogygia to liberate Odysseus from Calypso. Zeus advises Athena to help Telemachus return home unharmed, escaping the suitors’ ambush. On Ogygia, Calypso, aware that she must not cross Zeus, begrudgingly agrees to follow Hermes’ directions. She provides a raft and supplies for Odysseus, but no escort.

Odysseus longs to be with his wife. Initially skeptical of Calypso’s offer of freedom, he soon helps with preparations for his departure. Odysseus sails without incident for 18 days. Then, Poseidon, returning from a visit to Ethiopia, spots Odysseus on the open sea, raises his trident, and creates a storm that nearly drowns him. With the help of Athena and a sea nymph named Leucothea, Odysseus makes it to the island of Scheria, home of the Phaeacians.

King Alcinous and Queen Arete rule the seafaring Phaeacians on the island of Scheria. Athena, disguised as a dear friend of the beautiful Phaeacian princess, Nausicaa, sends her and some handmaidens to wash clothes near the spot where Odysseus has collapsed. Impressed with his polite manners, the princess offers clothing and food to Odysseus. She also tells him how to find the palace and endear himself to the queen, thus ensuring his safe passage home.

On his way to the palace of Alcinous, the king of the Phaeacians, Odysseus is stopped by a young girl, who is Athena in disguise. She offers to guide him to the king’s house and shrouds him in a protective mist that protects Odysseus from the Phaeacians. She also advises him to direct his plea for help to Arete, the wise and strong queen who is worshipped by everyone there. Once Athena has escorted Odysseus to the palace, she departs for Athens.

Odysseus finds that the residents of the palace are holding a festival in honor of Poseidon. He is struck by the splendor of the palace. As soon as he sees the queen, he throws himself at her feet, and the mist around him dissipates. The court is awestruck by Odysseus’ magnificent appearance. Without revealing his identity, he narrates his trials, his long imprisonment on Calypso’s island and the storm that wrecked his boat. King Alcinous declares that Odysseus would make a worthy husband for his own daughter, and promises to see him off the next day in a Phaeacian ship.

The next day, Alcinous calls an assembly of his Phaeacian counsellors and proposes providing a ship for his visitor, so that the man can return to his homeland. After this suggestion is approved, Alcinous hosts a feast and series of games to honor the stranger before he leaves. At the feast, a blind bard named Demodocus sings of the quarrel between Odysseus and Achilles at Troy, which brings Odysseus to tears. The king then asks for the games to begin.

Still overcome by his many hardships, Odysseus refuses to participate in the games. Upon being insulted by a younger athlete, Odysseus is goaded to action. Odysseus easily wins the discus toss and then challenges the Phaeacian athletes to any other form of competition they choose. Alcinous soon diffuses the tension by calling for the Phaeacians to entertain their guest with song and dance. Later that evening, Odysseus requests a song describing the fall of Troy, which makes him weep once more. Alcinous then kindly invites Odysseus to share his true identity.

Books 5-8: Analysis

The readers first meet Odysseus in Book 5. It is interesting that Homer chooses to show him alone on a beach on Calypso’s island, apparently defeated and weeping. Throughout the poem, Odysseus comes across as a man of contradictions, making him a complicated character, and not just a stereotypical epic hero. He is shown to be an emotional man, who weeps when the tales of his past are narrated.

The role of women, both mortals and goddesses, is remarkably prominent in the Odyssey. These books introduce us to some important female figures. Of course, the powerful Athena is a driving force throughout the story, but there are other female characters who move the plot forward.

For seven years, the goddess Calypso has held Odysseus captive on her island. Calypso highlights the hypocrisy latent in society in the following response to Zeus, who commands her to release Odysseus: “Hard-hearted you are, you gods! You unrivaled lords of jealousy—scandalized when goddesses sleep with mortals.” Essentially, she points out the double standard among the gods: goddesses are punished for loving mortal men, whereas gods are free to choose mortal women at will.

Queen Arete is another example of a powerful female character in the poem. When Odysseus lands on the island of the Phaeacians, both Princess Nausicaa and Athena ask him to approach the queen rather than the king if he wants to be helped.