The Odyssey is one of the earliest works of European literature, second only to the Iliad. These two great epic poems, the astonishing first fruits of Greek civilization, have together determined much of the course of Western literary culture and imagination.

The poem tells of the long and painful return of Odysseus from the Trojan War to his homeland of Ithaka, his wife Penelope and his son Telemachos. Even after he finally returns, there are enemies to be fought in his house. The action of the poem covers a huge canvas, ranging widely over time and place, exploring...

'Muse, tell me of a man: a man of much resource, who was made to wander far and long, after he had sacked the sacred city of Troy. Many were the men whose lands he saw and came to know their thinking: many too the miseries at sea which he suffered in his heart, as he sought to win his own life and the safe return of his companions.'

Recounting the epic journey home of Odysseus from the Trojan War, The Odyssey - alongside its sister poem The Iliad - stands as the well-spring of Western Civilisation and culture, an inspiration to poets, writers and thinkers for thousands...