Letter 1

My love, I do not know if I will ever see you again. Our luck since leaving Troy has faltered. You see, my sweet Penelope, we have just left on the island of Ismarus, city of the Cicones. The greedy men took so much that they attacked us. We barely left alive! Six men from each ship were killed, a loss that couldn't have been prevented. I must keep this short for I am not sure of what peril lies ahead. Forever and always, Odysseus

Letter 2

Penelope! These people know nothing of work and such. All they care about is leisure and that lotus fruit. That stupid fruit is destroying the people there! And my men, well I can't believe I am saying this but some went and had some. Didn't they see how it affected those people? How they were not ideal? I must've dragged so many off the island. I must go now and find a safe place to port. Hopefully the next place will give us safety. Forever and always, Odysseus

Letter 3

So you know how I was hoping for a safe place? Well that didn't happen. Actually it was quite the opposite. Do you know how scary a Cyclops is? Do you? I don't think so. Yes dear, I know, this sounds very snobby and annoying. I don't mean to be, I was and still am in shock. We walked into his cave, started having his food. We didn't know a man thing like him lived there. So then he walks in all upset, he actually took one of our men and ate him! It was disgusting. So we got him drunk and stabbed him in the eye and blinded him when he fell asleep. I had told him my name was "Nobody" so he kept screaming out "Nobody's killing me now..." when he woke up in terror from what we did. We barely escaped but I could scarcely hear him say "Hear me - Poseidon, god of the sea-blue mane who rocks the earth! If I really am your son and you claim to be my father - come, grant that Odysseus, raider of cities, Laertes' son who makes his home in Ithaca, never reaches home. Or if he's fated to see his people once again and reach his well-built house and his own native country, let him come home late and come a broken man - all shipmates lost, alone in a stranger's ship - and let him find a world of pain at home!" I hope Poseidon wasn't listening. That would be very bad for me. Forever and Always, Odysseus

Letter 4

Sorry I haven't been able to write in a while. So much has been happening and we have finally reached safe land, well land that we haven't gotten kicked out of or ran out of. But that won't make much sense my dear Penelope. I must tell you what happened from the beginning. We landed on Aeolus, ruler of the winds island. He was gracious and gave us wind that would lead us straight home. What a gift it was! Alas, my crew got greedy and thought the bag full of wind was silver and gold. They ripped it open and all the wind blew away! We headed back to Aeolus and he sent us away because the gods must hate us. I’m beginning to feel that he is right. As we sailed away from him, we landed on another island, the land of the Laestrygonians, the giants who are mighty powerful. King Antiphates and his queen made my scouts dinner. We had to rush off the island for our safety. They threw boulders and sank all but my ship. We lost all our men except the ones with me. How lucky we were but also how cursed. The island we landed on seems to be safe, but we can't tell for sure since some of our men have gone out to scout the area now. Forever and always, Odysseus

Letter 5

So this turns out to be Circe's place. How did I come to that conclusion? Well, my men were turned into swine. And I needed to get to the bottom of it. So I started to head over to her palace when I was interrupted by Hermes, he "…grasped me by the hand and asked me kindly, 'Where are you going now, my unlucky friend - trekking over the hills alone in unfamiliar country? And your men are all in there, in Circe's palace, cooped like swine, hock by jowl in the sties. Have you come to set them free? Well, I warn you, you won't get home yourself. You’ll stay right there, trapped with all the rest. But wait, I can save you, free you from that great danger. Look, here is a potent drug. Take it to Circe's halls - its power alone will shield you from the fatal day. Let me tell you of all the witch's subtle craft... She'll mix you a potion, lace the brew with drugs but she'll be powerless to bewitch you, even so - this magic herb I give will fight her spells. Now here's your plan of action, step by step. The moment Circe strikes with her long thin wand, you draw your sharp sword sheathes at your hip and rush her fast as if to run her through! She'll cower in fear and coax you to her bed - but don't refuse the goddess' bed, not then, notify she's to release your friends and treat you well yourself. But have her swear the binding oath of the blessed gods she'll never plot some new intrigue to harm you, once you lie there naked - never unman you, strip away your courage!" Crazy right? A god actually spoke to me, and gave me directions to be safe. It worked. I know Penelope that I cheated on you but it was technically for my own safety and the safety of my men. I must go, we are bringing our supplies up to Circe's now. Forever and always, Odysseus

Letter 6

After staying a while at Circe's, I decided it was time to go. She gave us provisions and sent us off to the Underworld. I had to talk to Tiresias, and the only way for me to do that was pouring libations and giving sacrifices. When I finished talking to him I saw my mother. Penelope, I killed her! My own selfishness of war and heroism I left you, my son, my father and now my dead mother. She blamed me for her death, I can't stand it anymore, but it's going to be okay, I will be seeing you soon. So, when I completed my task, I got to talk to some amazing heroes and people. "And I saw the mother of Oedipus, beautiful Epicaste. What a monstrous thing she did, in all innocence - she married her own son... who'd killed his father, then he married her! But the gods soon made it known to all mankind. so he in growing pain ruled on in beloved Thebes, lording Cadmus' people - thanks to the god's brutal plan - while she went down to Death who guards the massive gates. Lashing a noose to a steep rafter, there she hanged aloft, strangling in all her anguish, leaving her son to bear the world of horror a mother's Furies bring to life." Thank god that didn't happen with you. That is a scary thought. So we also had an encounter with one of my men who died the night before we sailed out. We had to go back and do a proper death ritual. Almost home now, few dangers to face. Forever and always, Odysseus

Letter 7

I am so sorry I haven't been able to write to you lately Penelope, I don't think we will be safe now. We got past the Sirens, Scylla and Charybdis but somehow we couldn't get past not eating some sheep. My men, they disobeyed me and now we are finished. I remember it clearly, "That moment soothing slumber fell from my eyes and down I went to our ship at the water's edge but on my way, nearing the long beaked craft, the smoky savor of roasts came floating up around me... I groaned in anguish, crying out to the deathless gods: 'Father Zeus! The rest of you blissful gods who never die_ you with your fatal sleep, you lulled me into disaster. Left on their own, Look what a monstrous thing my crew concocted!'" They were too stubborn, and now we are stuck here until we can head out. If I reach you safely, my dear Penelope, know this, I tried to bring everyone home. Hopefully you will get these letters, the letters of my journey. I love you. Forever and always, Odysseus