Introduction & Overview of The Odyssey by Homer

The Odyssey Introduction

For all practical purposes, the Odyssey is the "sequel" to the earliest well-known surviving work in Western literature, the Iliad. (The Epic of Gilgamesh, while at least 1,000 years older, is neither as well known nor as influential as Homer's work.) Unlike many sequels in the present era, however, the Odyssey actually seems to be an improvement, in some respects, on the original, and stands quite well as an independent work.

Odysseia-the poem's name in Greek since Herodotus called it that in the fifth century BC-means simply "the story of Odysseus." The word "odyssey" that derives from this name has come to mean any significant and difficult journey. Although the poem is technically about one particular man's journey, as Horace observed in his first Satire, "mutato nomine, fabula de te narratur," "just change the name and the story could be told about you."

If we were...
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