HOMER: The Odyssey [Book VI]

In Book VI of Homer’s Odyssey, Minerva devises a plan to help Odysseus leave the island on which he is now stranded. In a dream, the goddess appears to Nausicaa, the daughter of the island’s King, and urges her to clean her linen in the river the following morning. Nausicaa awakens the following morning, and heeds the goddess’ commands. Along with several of her handmaidens, she travels to the river where she cleans her garments.

HOMER: The Odyssey [Book V]

In Book V of Homer’s Odyssey, Jove sends Mercury to the island of the goddess Calypso, where Odysseus is being detained. Mercury commands Calypso to release Odysseus. She obeys and provides Odysseus an axe, which he uses to hew down trees and construct a raft. When the raft is complete, Odysseus departs from the island. During his sea-voyage, Neptune sends a terrible storm that destroys the raft and nearly drowns Odysseus. By the aid of the sea nymph Ino and the goddess Minerva, Odysseus swims to the nearby country of Phaeacia, where he gratefully falls asleep between two olive trees.

HOMER: The Odyssey [Book IV]

In Book IV of Homer’s Odyssey, Telemachus and Pisistratus arrive in Sparta. Menelaus welcomes them, and Telemachus asks him whether he knows the fate of Odysseus. Menelaus recounts his encounter with the sea god Proteus during his return home from Troy. Proteus told him that Odysseus is still alive, but he is being detained on the island of Calypso. Telemachus thanks Menelaus for the news of his father, and then returns to Pylos with Pisistratus.

HOMER: The Odyssey [Book III]

In Book III of Homer’s Odyssey, Telemachus and the ship’s crew arrive at Pylos in the morning. On the beach, the citizens of Pylos and their king, Nestor, are sacrificing bulls to the god Neptune. After the sacrifice, Nestor welcomes Telemachus and invites him to feast on the newly slain bulls. While dining, Telemachus asks Nestor whether he knows what happened to Odysseus after the Trojan War. Nestor says that he does not, but he encourages Telemachus to travel to Sparta and consult Menelaus about the matter. Nestor provides Telemachus with horses and a chariot, and the following morning, Telemachus and Nestor’s son, Pisistratus, set off for Sparta.