Entry Five: The Meet and The Closure of My Journey

Now, disguised as a beggar, I make my way home. I have not seen my son Telemachus or my wife Penelope in twenty years. I meet Telemachus, he does not know it is me, and he agrees to take me in. Later, I reveal to him that it is me and we both share tears at the site of each other and our reuniting. Penelope is then told that I am alive and in Ithica. There is only one creature who recognizes me, and that is Argos, my faithful dog. Penelope decides on a test to see which of her suitors could be me. Her test was to see which men could string my bow and shoot it through twelve loop holes. Of course, no one was strong enough to even string the bow but me. As I took my try at it, I did it quick and successfully. I was ready to take back my kingdom, but first, I must take out all the suitors, which I did with the help of my son Telemachus. I called forward the disloyal maids and made them cleanup the mess in the halls, and after I hung them in the courtyard. Penelope decided to test me to see if I knew our sign and if I was her real husband. I of course passed her test knowing that our sign was our bed, and she wept and kissed me. It felt so good to be back at home with my son and with my wife now that they knew it was me. My long journey was finally over and I was back where I belonged, in my kingdom, with my family.

Mood: Happy
Song: Reunited by Peaches and Herb
Word Count: 276

Entry Four:The Journey Continues

After leaving Cyclops Island, we sailed to the Island of Aeolia. There, the wind god Aeolus did me a favor by putting all the stormy winds into a bag so they did not harm us. During our journey however, curious sailors opened the bag letting all evil winds out! Hurricanes roared up and blew our ships all the way back to Aeolia but Aeolus drove us away again. We arrive at the Island of Laestrygonians,cannibals, and all of our ships are destroyed but one. My men got off to explore the woods, here the found the hall of Circe. Circe commanded that I alone shall descend to the Land of the Dead and there I must seek the wisdom of the blind prophet Teiresias.In the Land of the Dead, I seek to learn of my destiny. By Circe's command, I must bring Teiresias up from the dead. Circe tells me how to cross the straight, she also tells me the prophecy, that I will be the only survivor of our long journey. I urged my crew to bypass Thrinkia but my men insisted on landing. I had to make them swear not to touch the god's cattle. They did not listen, and as I slept they sacrificed the cattle and went to round them up. As punishment, Zeus sent down a thunderbolt and destroyed our boat and all of my men drowned. I was the only survivor.

Mood: Stressed
Song: The Long Road by James Duhn
Word Count: 237

Entry Three: The Journey Begins

I began my journey from Troy, where we set sail. At Ismaros, we fought the army of Cicones and won, losing six full benches of people. Even though we had our lives, we lost our friends too. On the tenth day of our sailing we stopped, at the coastline of the Lotus Eaters, to take on water. Those who ate the Lotus Eaters longed to stay there forever eating the native bloom, forgetting their homeland. I had to grab all three men, my two picked men and runner, and tie them down to the ships at their rowing posts just to get them to leave. In my next adventure, I had an encounter with the Cyclops, Polyphemus. We all sat around the fire and burned an offering. When the Cyclops entered, we scrambled to the far walls, hoping to stay out of sight. However, he saw us and asked us who we were and where we came from. I spoke up and perhaps saved us all. The Cyclops however kept us hostage, and over time, began eating us all one by one for meals. One night, we offered him wine to “wash down his meal” and he accepted. Our goal was to make him drunk, stab him in his eye, and escape. I went up to him and put my spear to his eye, but stopped realizing that if he was dead, we would be trapped. So, I backed away and let him be. However, we did end up stabbing him in the eye and blinding him.

Mood: Lonely/ Scared/Trapped
Song: Trapped by Adam Lang

Word Count: 258

Entry Two: Arriving Home

The journey home was no easy task, with all the obstacles and such. The sea god Poseidon was not ready to allow me to pass over his watery domain so easily. He struck me with a horrible storm, destroying my raft and all. Without the help of Athena and a sea nymph, I never would have arrived on the island of Scheria. When I did arrive however, I hid myself in a pile of leaves and fell into a deep sleep. I am found by the daughter of Alcinous, and taken to be a guest at court. I asked them for a song for myself. As they played the song, it made me weep in remembrance of all of my companions that will never be able to see their homes again. It is then that I begin to feel peace within myself and I am so happy to be back home. After the song, I am asked to identify myself, it is then that I begin to tell them the story of my journey.

Mood: Peaceful
Song: The Odyssey by Symphony X
Word Count: 175

Entry One:Starting My Journey

The aching pain inside me is growing; I can’t bear it any longer. Tears are beginning to spill down my face. For so long, I have been trapped by Calypso’s seductive charms, and even though I love her, I am ready to get back to Penelope. I can see Calypso walking towards me now, and my whole body gets tense, not ready to find out what she wants now. As she talks to me, my whole body loosens as I begin to cry again; but this time with pure happiness. I am finally free of Calypso’s island! The God’s have put it upon her to set me free. She has even offered to give me a raft to make my journey home. I shall set off first thing tomorrow morning.

Mood: Relieved
Song: Calypso by John Denver
Word Count: 131 Words