At the beginning of the Odyssey, Odysseus has been away from home for ten years. At a meeting of the gods that occurs when Poseidon, who is Odysseus' enemy, is absent, Athena asks for Odysseus to be allowed to return home to Ithaca. He has spent the last seven years with Calypso on her island. Zeus agrees, and Athena leaves for Ithaca.
When she arrives, she disguishes as Mentes, a friend of Odysseus, and urges Odysseus' son, Telemarchus, to dismiss the suitors who have been attempting to obtain her hand in marriage and to seek knowledge of his father. Telemarchus dismisses the suitors, but they refuse to leave. Athena appears again disguised as Mentor and provides Telemarchus with a ship and a crew so that he can find his father. Telemarchus sails to Nestor's kingdom, but Nestor knows nothing of Odysseus' whereabouts. Telemarchus then sails on to Sparta, where he finds King Menelaus, who has returned with his wife Helen. Menelaus discloses that Proteus, the shepherd of the ocean, told him that Odysseus was being held by the nymph Calypso on her island.
Back at Ithaca, the suitors plan to kill Telemarchus. Athena comes to Penelope, Odysseus' wife, in a dream and comforts her. Meanwhile, Zeus sends Hermes to Calypso in order to tell her to release Odysseus. Calypso reluctantly obeys. She finds Odysseus on the beach crying with homesickness. She gives Odysseus the material so that he can build a boat. Odysseus builds the boat and sets sail. On the eighteenth day, he sees the coast of Phaeacia. However, Poseidon sees him, sends a storm, and destroys his ship. Odysseus was saved from death by the sea nymph Ino-Leucothea, whom Athena had sent to rescue him. After fighting the storm for two days, he lands ashore exhausted.
Athena arranges for Nausicaa, who is the daughter of the king of this land, to find Odysseus. She takes him to her father's luxurious palace. At dinner, Odysseus tells the tale of his wanderings.
When he left Troy, he went to Thrace to raid their territory. However, his raids were repelled. A storm drove him next to the land of the Lotus-Eaters. They have a plant that enduces forgetfulness in anyone who eats it. Some of his men succumbed. From there, they went to an island off Cyclos, where they encountered Polyphemus, who is an uncivilized, one-eyed barbarian. Polyphemus locks Odysseus and his men in a cave and eats four of them. When Polyphemus gets drunk, Odysseus and his men blind Polyphemus with a pointed stick. They escap by tying themselves to the bellies of his sheep. Polyphemus was Poseidon's son. This is what made Poseidon an enemy to Odysseus.
Odysseus next traveled to the island of the wind god, Aeolus, who gave them a bag of wind. As they were near the coast of Ithaca, they untied the bag and the wind that was released blew them off course. They landed at the land of the Laestrygonians. These are giants who eat all of Odysseus' men, except the crew of his ship. He next went to Aeaea where Circe lives. She changed half his men into pigs. Odysseus used a magic herb to make her restore his men. He spent a year with her.
Circe tells Odysseus, though, that before he goes home he must visit Hades to consult with the prophet Tiresias. Odysseus traveled to the end of the world, made the proper sacrifices, and conjured up the spirits of the dead. Tiresias told him that he would eventually return home and seek vengance. However, he would do so only after many hardships. He also saw his mother, other heroes and noble persons, those who were tormented there, and King Minos, who was judge of Hades.
He briefly returned to Circe and then set sail. He first survived the dangers of the Sirens, whose sweet voice has the power to enchanted anyone who hears them. Odysseus had his men lash him to the sail so that he could hear them but not be a danger to anyone. He then survived the twin dangers of the monster Scylla and the whirlpool Charybdis. Next he arrived at the island of the Cattle of the Sun. His men slaughtered and eat some of the cattle. For this sacreligious act, they were all killed. Only Odysseus was spared. From there, he ccame to Calypso.
The king of Phaeacians gaves Odysseus rich gifts and a ship. He and his new crew landed at Ithaca. He was asleep when he landed. Poseidon saw the crew who was returning home, turned the ship to lead, and sank it. When Odysseus awakened, he didn't know where he was. Athena came and told him where he was.
He disguished himself as an old beggar and went to Eumaeus' house, who was his swineherd. Meanwhile, Athena warned Telemarchus that Penelope's suitors were plotting to kill him. Telemarchus returned and met with his father. They formulated a plan to overcome the suitors. Still disguised as a beggar, Odysseus went to the palace, where Penlope had been told by a prophet that her husband would soon return. On his way to the palace, Odysseus met Melanthius, who was his goat-herd. Melanthius hit Odysseus. At the palace, Odysseus met his old dog Argus, who recognized Odysseus and then died.
Eumaeus took Odysseus into the palace. Antinous, who was one of the suitors, insulted Odysseus, and another beggar, Irus, tried to drive Odysseus from the palace. In the ensuing fight, Irus' jaw was broken. The suitors showered Penelope with gifts and then went to bed.
Odysseus and Telemarchus gathered together the weapons from the walls of the palace. Odysseus visits Penelope, who did not recognize him. However, Eurycleia, Odysseus' old nurse, did recognize him, but Odysseus convinced her not to disclose his identity.
Penelope had a dream in which a eagle kills twenty geese. The next day, she declared that she would marry anyone who could string Odysseus' bow and shot an arrow through the holes in twelve axes placed one in front of another. When the contest takes place, no one can string the bow, so the suitors wanted to postpone the contest. Odysseus asked if he might be allowed to attempt to string the bow. He took the bow, threw off his rags, and shot Antinous in the throat. He, his son, and two faithful herdsmen then killed all of the suitors.
Penelope was convinced of Odysseus' identity when he disclosed a secret about their marriage bed. They remained in each other's arms all night and told each other about their sufferings. Meanwhile, the souls of the dead were taken to Hades. The next day, Odysseus went to visit his father, Laertes. Antinous' father had his men attack Odysseus. Antinous' father is killed. Zeus, by hurling a bolt of lightning between the remaining parties, made peace among them.