After the end of the Trojan War, the heroes journey home, though terrible fates befall them on the way. Many perish. Odysseus, though, is merely detained, currently on Ogygia (the island of the goddess Kalypso), exiled there as punishment by Poseidon over Odysseus's slaying of the cyclops Polyphemos, Poseidon's son. The gods gather and discuss the fate of Agamemnon, who had returned home only to be killed by Aigisthos (who had married Agamemnon's wife in his absence), in turn killed by Orestes, Agamemnon's son. During the discussion Athene reminds Zeus of Odysseus's still uncertain fate, and Zeus agrees to bring his journey to an end. Dispatches Hermes to bring news to Odysseus, while Athene goes to Odysseus's son Telemachos to inform him of the coming events.
In disguise, Athene enters the courtyard of Odysseus, now populated by the noblemen suitors for Penelope, Odysseus's wife. In private conversation, Telemachos asks the stranger of the fate of his father. Athene tells that Odysseus is still alive, laments the presence of the suitors, urges Telemachos to journey in search of his father, starting with visits to Nestor and Menelaos. Finally, he should kill the suitors as Odysseus would do if he were to return. Emboldened (he recognizes he has been conversing with an immortal) and speaking more cleverly than before, Telemachus hints to the suitors they ought to return to their own land, threatens their slaughter if they remain. Asked what's up with this new attitude, he plays cards very close to the vest. Withdraws to his own room, considering his next move.
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Me: Holy crap, there's a lot of background material here. This might be more difficult than I thought-- or maybe it's just that typing notes gives me room to be more longwinded than writing notes by hand. Already I can tell the structure is significantly different from The Iliad. Mostly, the plot points and action are not given in a sequential manner-- even what I've written is not given in the exact order it appeared in the book-- a theme I know will continue throughout.
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