Ulyssee-ee-ee-ee-eees Ok all you erudite MNers, who can give me a quick run down of the Odyssey. Not sure my rudimentary knowledge gained from wierd japanese 80s cartoon is going to suffice.

[fishnet]

Have just started reading Margaret Atwoods The Penelopiad and think I should know a bit more about the general plot!

Not being difficult, but it's near impossible to give a 'quick run down' of the Odyssey. It's so long and complex...

Erm. Trojan war is over; Odysseus heads home with his men; Penelope & his son Telemachus have been waiting for years - don't know if he's still alive; suitors are baying at Penelope's door (and wanting Odysseus' country pile); Odysseus manages to upset Poseidon on his return voyage, so Poseidon does everything he can to prevent Od's safe return; but O has Athene on his side; after many adventures (Calypso, Cyclops, Aeolus, etc.), he reaches Ithaca; he dons a disguise to get back to his palace (and test P's loyalty); he alone manages to life a huge bow with which he promptly kills all the suitors; he is reunited with P after a final test (asks about their bed); end of story....

Or is it? Because a prophecy says that O's journey is not really over.

Phew.

What do you want to know, anyway?

damm can't get that theme tune out of my head now.

hero goes off travelling/work/war leaving wee wifey to hold the fort.
comes back hours/days/years later to find house/palace full of suitors after wifey and all she will inherit if hero is dead.
she, a canny girl tells them she will choose one of them when she has finished her weaving/crossword, but every night she unravels her work to keep them on there toes/give her time.

hero returns, unkept and older/smelling of pub.
no one recognises him and after some silly challeges/xbox/wii, hero beats/slays all the suitors to reveal himself as long lost hubby.

wierdly she welcomes him back with open arms?

I kind of doubt that a 'quick run down' will help you much anyway. The thing about novels which in some way draw on the Odyssey is that you have to know quite a bit of about it in order to understand and appreciate the small allusions to the story.

Personally I'm hopeless, because I can't remember plots and characters from one day to the next. If I'm sure there's a greek myth or Homer allusion that is important, I shout ds1 and he comes and tells me all about it

have you tried wikipedia
fil is great with the greek tragedies

Read it, fishnet - the Oxford Classics ed is good, I think, and it's a good yarn (looks for shock on Pen's face)

That's a good start thanks. Will trawl the net if I need more. Have already started the book and don't want to delay so a summary is going to have to do.

Book seems good so far. Penelope is dead looking into our world and realising that hubby was a bit of a sod. There a load of stuff about hanged maids who slept with the suitors. I think that is going to be important.

if you can wait will get dh to give an overview he teaches classics.

dh never saw the 80's cartoon so really doesn't get my high pitched wailing
uuuuuullllyy seeeeeeeeeessssss eeeeeeeessssss

thanks - any extra info will be helpful I'm sure. Had been relying on DH to fill me in but to my surprise he hasn't read it.

I recognise the names from the cartoon though!