Homer
Homer is both the great mystery and the foundational pillar of Western literature. Rather than an author in the modern sense, he embodies the pinnacle of a thousand-year-old oral tradition: that of the aoidoi, bardic poets who, inspired by the Muses, travelled across ancient Greece memorising and reciting thousands of verses to the rhythm of the lyre.
In a predominantly illiterate society, these bards were not simple authors entertaining varied audiences. On the contrary, they were considered the guardians of collective memory, the historians and educators of that time.
They played an essential social role as, through myth, they conveyed the fundamental ethical values of the Greek world: honour (timé), hospitality (xenia) and the pursuit of excellence (areté).
Delving into Homer’s works (the *Iliad* and the *Odyssey*), we realize that the journey of our hero, Odysseus, is not just a mythical adventure from the past. Homer is speaking directly to us, the 21st-century audience.
Through the monsters, temptations, and shipwrecks of his hero, Homer teaches us how to navigate the “storms” of our own everyday lives, reminding us that the true destination is self-discovery and the return to our own inner home.
The influence of these cantos on contemporary literature is incalculable. From classic novels to modern science-fiction cinema, Homer’s narrative structures – such as the hero’s journey, reunion, and redemption – remain very much alive today.
Homer demonstrated that myths are not lies, but deep truths expressed by poetry: a human compass which, nearly three thousand years on, still teaches us what it means to live.
Marble bust of Homer. Roman copy, 2nd century BCE. The British Museum, London.
Homer. Auguste Leloir (1809-1892)
ODYSSEUS, ‘THE MAN OF MANY WILES’
Odysseus is endowed with a complex and adaptable personality. The Greek term polytropos, ‘of many turns’, speaks to a versatile mind, capable of shifting perspective and discovering solutions where force alone proves insufficient. His defining trait is metis: a cunning, practical, and strategic intelligence that renders him a modern hero, defined more by his inner resourcefulness than by sheer physical prowess.
Psychologically, he lives in constant conflict between curiosity, desire, and the need to preserve his sense of purpose. He knows how to exercise restraint, delay gratification, and master his impulses, yet he is not exempt from pride, insecurity or self-contradiction.
It is this very fragility that makes him human: he has doubts, suffers and fears, but transforms this painful experience into self-knowledge.
His identity is not fixed, but rather it is shaped by resilience, memory and the ability to reinvent himself without losing his innermost essence. Odysseus thus represents the human being who survives through self-control and intellect, ever torn between an openness to the unknown and loyalty to that which gives meaning to his existence.
Odysseus and the Sirens. Roman mosaic, 3rd century CE. Bardo National Museum, Tunis.
Mycenaean Culture in The Odyssey
The Mycenaean civilisation (1600 – 1100 BCE) constitutes the historical backdrop for the Odyssey. Although the poem was composed centuries after its collapse, Homer’s work captures the lingering echoes of an era of architectural splendour and military hierarchy centred on palace-fortresses like Mycenae or Tiryns.
The leaders of the Trojan War, such as Agamemnon of Mycenae or Odysseus of Ithaca, mirror the real rulers of this era – known historically as wanax who wielded absolute authority. In the poem, this structure is evoked through the significance of the oikos (home) and the megaron, the central hall of the palace.
The reality of this conflict is also backed up by historical evidence. Hittite diplomatic archives mention the kingdom of Ahhiyawa (the Achaean Greeks) and their struggle for control of Wilusa (Troy, also known as Ilion, hence the title of the Iliad in Homer’s first work). Strategically located on Hisarlik Hill (Turkey), Troy controlled the Hellespont, a vital trade route for the supply of grain, copper and tin.
Homer’s world depicts a faithful picture of this warrior aristocracy, in which prestige was measured by areté (excellence) and the exchange of valuable gifts in order to strengthen alliances. Archaeological evidence confirms this lavish lifestyle through the discovery of decorated bronze weapons and gold masks. Finally, *The Odyssey* is set against the backdrop of the *Nostoi* (returns), a period coinciding with the actual decline of this civilisation.
The work depicts great nostalgia for an ‘Age of Heroes’ shared with the gods. It thus reflects how the Greeks of the Dark Ages (1200–800 BCE) viewed their ancestors: as a mythical generation of giants who raised Cyclopean walls and tamed untamed seas.
The north entrance to Knossos Palace (Crete), featuring an image of a charging bull. 15th century BCE
A krater bearing the image of a chariot. Late Helladic, c. 1300 BCE. Archaeological Museum of Nafplio (Greece).
The Trojan War
This conflict is not merely the most celebrated of Antiquity; it is the crucible in which the collective imagination of Greek culture was born. Mythologised by Homer in the Iliad (though it accounts for only the final days of the siege), this ten-year epic recounts the titanic clash between the coalition of Achaean peoples and the impregnable city of Troy, sparked, according to legend, by the abduction of Helen at the hands of the Trojan prince Paris.
Beyond romanticism and myth, Troy truly existed. Archaeological excavations at the mound of Hisarlik, in modern-day Turkey, revealed that the city occupied a crucial geostrategic position controlling the Hellespont – the key to maritime trade routes extending into the Black Sea.
Detail of The Procession of the Trojan Horse into Troy, by Giovanni Domenico Tiepolo, circa 1760. The National Gallery, London.
The Fall of Troy
On a human level, the conflict became the ultimate stage for the demonstration of areté (excellence). Figures such as Achilles, the embodiment of fury and imperishable glory, or Hector, the noble defender of his homeland, personify the universal dilemmas of heroism, duty, and the imminence of death. The vulnerability of the city was sealed when the Greeks fulfilled the prophecy of stealing the Palladium, the sacred statue of Athena that guaranteed the invincibility of Troy.
Following this sacrilege, Odysseus’s final ruse with the wooden horse transformed a stagnant ten-year siege into a definitive victory. This audacious military tactic embodied Greek ingenuity by supplanting brute force with strategic deceit. By infiltrating soldiers behind the walls, it breached the city’s impenetrable defences, unleashing its ultimate downfall.
Today, the Trojan War is still the archetype for all human conflicts. Its heroes, caught between fate and free will, still speak to us of the fragility of glory and of how literature transforms the ashes of war into eternal memory.
Ajax drags Cassandra away as she clings to the Palladium. Roman fresco from the atrium of the House of Menander, Pompeii. 1st century CE
ODYSSEUS, ‘THE MAN OF MANY WILES’
Odysseus is endowed with a complex and adaptable personality. The Greek term polytropos, ‘of many turns’, speaks to a versatile mind, capable of shifting perspective and discovering solutions where force alone proves insufficient. His defining trait is metis: a cunning, practical, and strategic intelligence that renders him a modern hero, defined more by his inner resourcefulness than by sheer physical prowess.
Psychologically, he lives in constant conflict between curiosity, desire, and the need to preserve his sense of purpose. He knows how to exercise restraint, delay gratification, and master his impulses, yet he is not exempt from pride, insecurity or self-contradiction.
It is this very fragility that makes him human: he has doubts, suffers and fears, but transforms this painful experience into self-knowledge.
His identity is not fixed, but rather it is shaped by resilience, memory and the ability to reinvent himself without losing his innermost essence. Odysseus thus represents the human being who survives through self-control and intellect, ever torn between an openness to the unknown and loyalty to that which gives meaning to his existence.
Odysseus and the Sirens. Roman mosaic, 3rd century CE. Bardo National Museum, Tunis.
THE SOURCES OF THE ODYSSEY
The transmission of the Odyssey from Antiquity to the printed editions we read today stands as a marvel of textual preservation, bridging ancient oral tradition with fragile papyri and medieval parchment.
The earliest surviving physical witnesses of the text are papyrus fragments unearthed in Egypt, spanning from the 3rd century BCE to the 7th century CE. Altogether, around 1,500 Homeric fragments have been preserved across both the Iliad and the Odyssey; these remain indispensable to scholars, capturing the fluid state of the epic prior to its Alexandrian standardisation in the 3rd and 2nd centuries BCE.
However, the complete text we read today derives from medieval parchment manuscripts, or codices. There are around 200 significant manuscripts of the Odyssey, the most important being those copied in Byzantium between the 10th and 15th centuries CE. Among the most notable is the Codex Laurentianus 32.9, preserved in Florence.
Papyrus fragment containing text from the Odyssey.
3rd century BCE. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
Ancient versions
Manuscripts are supplemented through collation – in other words, line-by-line comparison. When a manuscript contains a lacuna or a copyist’s error, philologists turn to other witnesses to restore the original meaning.
In 2018, a spectacular discovery was made at Olympia, where a clay tablet containing thirteen verses from Book XIV, dating to the Roman era, was unearthed. This finding confirms the textual stability of the epic in the Peloponnese, the vast peninsula forming southern Greece.
The Odyssey today
Beyond its pioneering role in classical literature, Homer’s Odyssey is not merely a monumental milestone, but the genetic blueprint of contemporary narrative, anchored by the concept of nostos – the yearning for homecoming. This creative framework remains so vital that it laid the foundation for the road movie genre and the modern structure of overcoming successive trials.
In literature, James Joyce’s monumental Ulysses replicates the Homeric voyage within a single day in Dublin. In turn, modern cinema continues to exploit this formula to great effect: franchises such as Percy Jackson and Star Wars draw directly from this ancient narrative matrix.
Homer’s monsters and deities have shifted shape, yet the core creative impulse remains unchanged: an external voyage that is, in truth, an odyssey of psychological transformation and self-discovery.
Medieval manuscript of the Odyssey, 15th century.
The Odyssey and archaelogy
The archaeological quest for the settings of the Odyssey began in the 1870s with Heinrich Schliemann, who excavated the mound of Hisarlik in Turkey. There, he identified Troy through massive defensive fortifications and evidence of destructive conflagrations. Shortly thereafter, in 1876, Schliemann discovered the shaft graves of Mycenae, unearthing treasures that confirmed the presence of a wealthy military elite during the Bronze Age (c. 1500 BCE).
In turn, the search for Odysseus’s home in Ithaca underwent a historic breakthrough in 2010. After sixteen years of excavations, Thanasis Papadopoulos announced the discovery of a palace in the Exogi area. This three-storey complex was endowed with staircases carved into the rock and a fountain dating back to the 13th century BCE, consistent with the Homeric accounts.
All these discoveries, alongside the recent announcement in 2026 of an Iliad papyrus fragment unearthed at Oxyrhynchus, Egypt, demonstrate that although the Odyssey is a work of literary fiction, its foundations rest upon tangible historical realities: monumental palatial complexes centred on grand megara, warrior kings and extensive maritime trade networks spanning the Mediterranean three millennia ago.
South Gate of ancient Troy VI and VII, 1300 and 1200 BCE. Çanakkale, Turkey.
View of Homer’s school, near Platrithias, Island of Ithaca, Greece.
The Odyssey in art
The influence of the Odyssey on the history of art is immense. In ancient Greece, painted vases depicting episodes such as the encounter with the Sirens or the Cyclops Polyphemus represented the triumph of Greek intellect and cunning over brute, untamed force.
Centuries later, during the Renaissance and Baroque periods, painters such as Pellegrino Tibaldi and Annibale Carracci drew upon these same narratives to allegorise the struggle between virtue and worldly temptation.
With the advent of Romanticism, this perspective shifted dramatically. The celebrated painter J.M.W. Turner portrayed Odysseus as a diminutive figure set against a breathtaking, tempestuous landscape, symbolising human fragility in the face of destiny. By the 20th century, artistic engagement with the epic had turned inward. Marc Chagall rendered the voyage in a dreamlike aesthetic, Salvador Dalí explored its surrealist dimensions, and contemporary sculptors such as Mimmo Paladino continue to invoke the hero to articulate themes of shipwreck and isolation.
This enduring fascination persists because the Odyssey remains the quintessential metaphor for human existence itself. Artists continually return to its narrative frame because the motif of the journey home speaks to the fundamental search for identity. Odysseus’s trials – whether confronting fear, tempting desires, or enduring total isolation – mirror the universal human struggle to prevail against adversity. It is a mirror in which each era sees its own fears reflected.
Ulysses Deriding Polyphemus, Joseph M. W. Turner, 1829. The National Gallery, London.
Neptune and Odysseus’s ship (scene 4), by Pellegrino Tibaldi. 1550–1551. Palazzo Poggi, Bologna.
Odysseus and Polyphemus, Arnold Böcklin, 1896.
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
The Homeric Question
The Homeric Question represents one of the most compelling intellectual debates in literary history, revolving around a fundamental enigma:
who was the true author of the Iliad and the Odyssey? Did Homer really exist?
Traditionally, Homer was depicted as a blind aoidos (bard) from Ionia, whose physical blindness symbolically represented a profound inner vision attuned to the Muses.
However, from the eighteenth century onwards, scholars such as Friedrich August Wolf began to challenge his historical existence.
The modern resolution of this enigma emerged in the twentieth century through the pioneering work of Milman Parry and Albert Lord. They established that the Homeric epics were not penned in the modern typographical sense, but were instead composed orally.
The aoidoi employed a sophisticated system of fixed formulas and repetitive epithets, enabling them to improvise and memorise thousands of verses.
Today, the academic consensus suggests that whilst this material gestated across centuries of oral tradition, a master poet (or perhaps two) performed the definitive final synthesis around the eighth century BCE.
Homer was thus the architect who bestowed monumental form upon these traditions. Whether he existed as a single historical individual or not, his figure signifies the definitive transition from the world of oral tradition to the dawn of written literature.
Homer and His Guide (Homère et son guide), William-Adolphe Bouguereau, 1874.
Penelope
Penelope stands as a byword for fortitude, intellect, and patience. In eighth-century BCE Greece, a noblewoman’s status was intrinsically bound to the oikos – the household estate and its holdings – and remained subject to the authority of male kin. Yet, navigating an environment rife with uncertainty and coercion, Penelope successfully safeguards her domain and exercises independent agency.
Penelope remains uncertain as to whether Odysseus is dead or alive or if he will ever return. She thus endures a life suspended between hope and grief, continuously pressured by those around her to remarry. This protracted waiting exhausts her, yet it simultaneously sharpens her fortitude and prudence. Her valour lies not in physical warfare, but in endurance, calculated judgment, and emotional restraint.
To ward off her suitors, she employs silence, deliberate delay, and the celebrated stratagem of the shroud, weaving by day and unravelling her work by night. Postponing a decision is not a sign of weakness; rather, it constitutes a calculated effort to buy time and retain authority over her life and oikos. Because she has received false reports, she remains deeply sceptical of everything she hears and acts with utmost circumspection.
Moreover, Penelope must protect her son, Telemachus, and safeguard the family honour within a hostile environment. Society demands of her absolute fidelity and unblemished conduct. Faced with the raw strength and overt violence of the suitors, she responds with intellect and unwavering steadfastness. Her narrative demonstrates that true bravery can be forged without ever wielding a sword.
Telemachus
Telemachus, son of Odysseus, is a young man undergoing a profound transition into adulthood. In ancient Greece, his primary duty was to safeguard the oikos – the family estate, household, and property – whilst living up to the reputation of his father. However, he has grown up in Odysseus’s absence within a home overrun by his mother’s suitors. He is thus initially consumed by self-doubt and is unsure about how to reclaim authority over his own home.
At first, his father’s absence deprives him of a visible model of authority. Telemachus longs to act, yet feels powerless to confront the suitors who abuse his family’s hospitality. He struggles to speak with firmness and to assume the responsibilities expected of him.
His change begins when he leaves Ithaca to seek news of Odysseus. The journey allows him to discover other places and converse with people who knew his father. Little by little, he learns how a leader ought to behave: he receives and extends hospitality, listens to counsel, and finds the courage to speak before others. In doing so, he leaves passivity behind and begins to trust in himself.
The most decisive moment of his growth arrives when he finds his own voice and moves from contemplation to action. Even so, Telemachus does not seek to be independent in the modern sense. His objective is to occupy the position that the society of his era expects of him: to remain loyal to his family, act with discipline, and defend his home. His story recounts the transition from an insecure youth to an adult capable of making decisions.
Mortals and Immortals
The characters of the Odyssey articulate a complex tapestry of virtues, vices and cosmic forces that guide the hero’s journey.
Apollo, god of light, prophecy, and archery, with long flowing hair and a majestic bearing. He carries a silver bow with arrows that spread deadly plagues.
Hera is the queen of Olympus: she is majestic, stern, jealous and has the eyes of a heifer. She wears a sumptuous cloak and a golden tiara, proudly overseeing her court.
Athena acts as the staunch protector of Odysseus, embodying the strategic intelligence and wisdom required to restore justice.
Poseidon is the embodiment of the emotional fury and chaotic hazards of the sea, having become the hero’s enemy after the blinding of his son Polyphemus.
Zeus is the arbiter of the conflict, guarantor of the cosmic order and the laws of hospitality that authorise the return.
Ares is the god of war, violent, impetuous, and endowed with unbridled brute force. He marches clad in gleaming bronze armour, bearing a colossal spear and a helmet with fearsome crests.
Aphrodite is the goddess of beauty and desire, endowed with a seductive laugh and a graceful gait. She wears fragrant veils and her embroidered sash wins hearts over.
Hermes is the swift-minded, eloquent, and astute divine messenger. Guide of souls, he wears winged golden sandals and flies bearing the caduceus that lulls men to sleep.
Artemis is the goddess of the hunt, independent, stern, and slender of form. She roams the woods with a short tunic, a golden bow, and arrows that bring a gentle death.
Demeter, goddess of agriculture, bears beautiful blonde braids and is melancholic and nurturing. She wears long, dark cloaks and bears ears of golden wheat in her hands.
Hestia is the Greek goddess of the hearth, the sacred fire, and the family. Peaceful and patient, she personifies stability, domestic harmony, and unconditional hospitality on Olympus.
Hephaestus is the master blacksmith of Olympus, ingenious, lame, and strong-armed. He works at his forge bearing a hammer, clad in a rustic tunic stained with soot.
The Sirens. These creatures with their melodious, seductive voices inhabit meadows strewn with human bones. Their song bewitches sailors, drawing them fatally towards certain death.
Scylla. A hideous monster with twelve feet and six long necks with heads of triple-rowed teeth. She yelps like a newborn pup from her cliffside cave, devouring sailors.
Charybdis. An immortal and fearsome sea creature dwelling beneath a leafy fig tree. Three times a day she swallows and spews forth the dark waters, destroying whole ships.
Circe. A sorceress who personifies the perils of animal instinct by transforming men into swine, defying human reason.
Polyphemus. A gigantic, savage shepherd Cyclops, son of Poseidon, possessing a single eye. He devours men alive within the immense cave he inhabits.
Penelope. Odysseus’s wife and queen, a woman of unwavering loyalty, she weaves a cloak to peacefully fend off those suitors who are endeavouring to seize the throne of Ithaca whilst Odysseus is away, maintaining order in the household.
Helen of Troy. A woman of divine beauty, bearing a majestic countenance and radiant eyes. She wears delicate, fragrant veils and spins purple-coloured wool on a golden distaff.
Agamemnon. A sovereign wounded by betrayal, he has a stern gaze and a commanding voice. In Hades, he evokes his tragic death, clad in shadows and spectral armour.
Calypso. A divine figure who detains him on Ogygia. She symbolises the temptation of oblivion and a purposeless immortality.
Telemachus. Son of Odysseus and Penelope, he symbolises the passage from youth to maturity as he defends the family honour under the guidance of Athena.
Making Of
THE CREATIVE PROCESS
At Madrid Artes Digitales (MAD), the production process – from the initial draft of the original concept to the final presentation showcased in Nave 16 – takes around a year and a half.
INITIAL SKETCHES AND SCRIPTS
8-9 MONTHS
Following the selection of a title to develop, the initial phase begins: seeking inspiration, conducting research, visiting historical sites, commissioning experts and historians, drafting a preliminary script, and finally selecting and assembling the creative team tasked with bringing every idea to life. This takes about 4 months.
Once the narrative foundation has been laid, we begin dividing the complete story across the various rooms and experiences featured within the exhibition. It takes around three months to finalise the sequence and detailed scripts for each individual room.
Next comes the venue design and budgeting phase, which requires about six weeks of work from our production team, whilst the Marketing and Merchandising teams determine the optimal strategy for launching the exhibition in Spain and subsequently abroad.
PRODUCTION
6 MONTHS
From that moment, physical production begins, and the scripts are converted into storyboards and moodboards. More than 80 artists and animators from the renowned studios Sila Sveta, VR Coaster, and Things Happen join the project. Working with them, we begin to create the characters and styleframes (conceptual stills) whilst simultaneously ensuring that the written word translates into a visual concept.
In the next step, the stage and lighting designer steps in and begins outlining the overall aesthetic of the exhibition alongside our technicians and operations team.
Following this, the team of musicians and arrangers under our composer, René Merkelbach, begins proposing musical styles for each element of the experience. This phase lasts around 6 months.
BRINGING IT TO LIFE
FINAL 3 MONTHS
During the last three months prior to the opening, more than 150 people are involved. The blueprint becomes reality as the construction team builds and shapes the new installations and staging spaces, the digital content is tested and refined, the music and choir are recorded with the Budapest Art Orchestra and Choir in Budapest, advertisements are printed on buses, and at the beginning of September all key leads assemble in Madrid, in Nave 16, to test the final product, make the final adjustments, and optimise the visitor experience.
Finally, when everything runs according to plan, the time comes to open our doors to the people for whom we have created it all… YOU! Thank you for visiting, and we hope to see you again at MAD.
Storyboards and final content — Immersive room
Storyboards and final content — Virtual Reality
Composer René Merkelbach and technical music team
The recording of “The Odyssey, the Immersive Journey” involved 52 musicians and 30 singers from the Budapest Art Orchestra and Choir.
CHAPTER 1 THE ASSEMBLY OF THE GODS / CONSTELLATIONS
Chapters 1.2, 1.3 and 1.4
00:00:11:00 to 00:00:20:00
There is a place forbidden to humankind. In that primordial immensity, the planets perform their eternal dance.
00:00:43:00-00:00:58:00
(After the explosion)
Obeying the secret music of the celestial spheres, they collide, explode, and from their fire, incandescent stars are born. The origin of all that is non-human… the dwelling of the immortals.
Chapters 1.5, 1.6
00:01:22:00 to 00:01:30:00
Thus were the gods born: eternal figures destined to take centre stage in the story I am about to tell you.
00:01:32:00-00:01:50:00
Zeus, Athena, Ares, Poseidon, Hermes, Apollo… these are not merely names. They are the essential forces that govern destiny and chart the course for us… mortals.
Chapters 1.7 to 1.13
00:01:52:00 to 00:02:00
Following the Trojan War, the assembly of the gods was convened to decide the fate of one of its most notable protagonists: Odysseus, the man of a thousand wiles.
00:02:26:00-00:02:39:00
Athena, raised her voice and defended the hero who had triumphed thanks to his intelligence. She asked that he be allowed to return to Ithaca with his family.
00:02:43:00-00:03:16:00
But Poseidon, rose in anger. He refused to show any mercy and left the assembly. Zeus, ruler of Olympus, understood Athena’s request but also Poseidon’s wrath. However, he allowed Odysseus to set out on his journey home. Thus, the hero’s fate was sealed: to return to Ithaca…
00:03:22:00-00:03:30:00
I, Homer, know this story first-hand. And this is the tale of his Odyssey.
CHAPTER 2 THE ADVENTURE OF POLYPHEMUS
Chapters 2.4 to 2.6
00:03:46:00 to 00:03:58:00
Odysseus’s adventures were marked by endless trials that would take him nearly twenty years. Challenges beyond any known experience.
00:04:04:00 – 00:04:13:00
Trying to find his way home, Odysseus and his companions took on all hurdles ahead of them without fear.
Chapters 2.7 to 2.9
00:04:49:00 to 00:05:17:00
The search for food led Odysseus’s men to the island where the Cyclopes lived—terrible, one-eyed monsters who detested the presence of strangers. Starving, they began to look for provisions. They entered a mysterious cave. Inside, they discovered cheese and pots brimming with milk. All was calm—until they heard footsteps… Polyphemus, son of Poseidon was coming home….
Chapters 2.11 to 2.13
00:05:44:00 to 00:05:53:00
Odysseus realised that the only way out of that cave was to trick Polyphemus. So he urged his men to offer him a huge jug of wine.
Chapter 2.14
00:06:10:00 to 00:06:17:00
Once he was drunk, they simply had to wait for Polyphemus to appear before attacking…
Chapter 2.23
00:07:08:00 to 00:07:13:00
When Odysseus revealed his identity to Polyphemus, it instantly ignited the monster’s fury.
CHAPTER 3 THE LOTOPHAGI
Chapter 3.2
00:08:05:00 to 00:08:20:00
Having weathered the storms sent by Zeus against our heroes, the ships reached the coast of the Lotophagi—men who fed on lotus flowers and knew nothing of the hard labour of the plough.
00:08:39:00-00:08:56:00
But woe betide anyone who tasted the delicacy of their petals! No sooner did the nectar touch their lips than the desire to return home and the memory of their children and wives were erased from their minds like smoke scattered by the wind.
CHAPTER 4 THE SIRENS
Chapter 4.2
00:10:25:00 to 00:10.42:00
After fleeing the island of the lotus-eaters, Odysseus heard an almost divine melody. He realised they were beside the flower-filled meadow of the sirens—those who bewitch every man who draws near with their lily-like voices.
Chapter 4.11.1
00:13:37:00 to 00:13:52:00
Only when the song faded into the distance did Odysseus’s companions uncover their ears and untie him. They had to summon all their strength for the next trial: the descent into the underworld…
CHAPTER 5 JOURNEY TO THE UNDERWORLD (HADES)
Chapter 5.3
00:14:00:00 to 00:14:10:00
After sailing for a whole day, propelled by the breath of Boreas, they arrived where the sun never pierces the darkness.
Chapter 5.6
00:14:50:00 to 00:15:09:00
There, in the land of the dead, Odysseus dug a trench with his sword… and poured out libations of honey, milk, sweet wine and white flour to appease the dead.
Chapters 5.9 and 5.10
00:15:45:00 to 00:16:14:00
With a heavy heart, Odysseus had to prevent the spirits from tasting the blood until the soul of the blind seer Tiresias appeared. Wielding his golden staff, the seer revealed his fate: he told him of Poseidon’s wrath and the dangers that awaited him at home, on the island of Ithaca.
Chapter 5.11
00:16:16:00 to 00:16:34:00
But his grief deepened when he saw the shadow of his mother, for she warned him of the dangers his wife Penelope faced back home, haunted and harassed by the obtrusive suiters, while trying to protect their precious son Telemachus.
00:16:42:00-00:17:01:00
Odysseus returned to the ship, ordering his men to strike the waves with their oars and flee from the Hades. He had to pursue his way home, to that what he missed so dearly, there was no time to lose.
CHAPTER 6: CALYPSO, ATHENA, PENELOPE AND CIRCE
Chapter 6.3
00:17:13:00 to 00:17:35:00
Meanwhile, on the island of Ithaca, far from Odysseus, his faithful wife Penelope wove and unravelled the shroud for her father-in-law Laertes every day, longing for the return of her beloved husband. The gods bore witness to Odysseus’s fate, as he began to appear on the horizon.
Chapter 6.8
00:17:43:00 to 00:17:52:00
In her palace, the pressure from the suitors was mounting ever higher—indeed, at times it was almost impossible to cope with.
Chapter 6.9
00:17:54:00 to 00:18:09:00
Telemachus, son of Odysseus and Penelope, spoke to the goddess Athena in search of a solution to his father’s long absence. And her only answer was to urge him to go in search of his father.
Chapter 6.10
00:18:11:00 to 00:18:25:00
Telemachus set sail to King Nester, the most respected Greek hero and king of Pylos. Eager to know whether his father was still alive, he tried to get an answer from the wise king.
Chapter 6.11
00:18:27:00-00:18:43:00
But all the great king could tell him, was that Odysseus was one of the great heroes of the Trojan War, who fought so courageously alongside Nestor, Agamemnon and Achilles. However, he could say nothing else about our hero’s fate.
Chapter 6.12
00:18:45:00 to 00:19:09:00
In Sparta, Telemachus met the beautiful Helen and her husband, King Menelaus. The Spartan king confirmed to Telemachus that his father was still alive and that he could find him on the beautiful island, of the nymph Calypso, who was deeply in love with Odysseus and offered him eternal youth. Odysseus refused and spent his days weeping on the rocky shores, longing for Calypso to set him free.
Chapter 6.14
00:19:14:00 to 00:19:41:00
Telemachus returns to his mother’s palace, where the selfish and manipulative suiters continued to pressure Penelope to choose a new husband. Embolded by the news of his father’s survival, a confident and courageous Telemachus protected and defends his mother as never before. In the meantime, nobody notices the arrival of a mysterious figure: an old beggar, wandering through the courtyard…
Chapter 6.15
00:19:42:00 to 00:19:54:00
Penelope continued to weave and unweave the shroud on her loom, day after day, night after night, unknowing of what was about to come…
CHAPTER 7 SCYLA AND CHARYBDIS
Chapter 7.1
00:20:02:00 to 00:20:15:00
After his stay on the island of Circle the sorceress, Odysseus steered his doomed ship towards the strait, aware that the hour of a bitter choice had come. For no matter death laid ahead, in two forms.
Chapter 7.3
00:20:31:00 to 00:20:48:00
On one side of the strait, the divine Scylla loomed from her gloomy cave. The sailors described her as a creature with twelve claws and six enormous, frighteningly long necks, each ending in a head with terrible jaws sharped with fangs.
Chapter 7.8
00:21:17:00 to 00:21:32:00
And on the other side… the fearsome Charybdis, daughter of Poseidon: a monstrous whirlpool of superhuman strength that drew everything towards it and destroyed anyone who dared to cross its turbulent waters.
CHAPTER 8 POSEIDON
Chapter 8.3
00:22:54:00 to 00:23:27:00
Odysseus, alone, yet ever resourceful continued to battle his way toward home, to his family. And he did so by looking to the stars and to the gods for the guidance that would enable him to reach his goal. As if it were the fulfilment of a dream, the silhouette of the island of Ithaca, his home, rose before him. But it was nothing more than another deception. A mere mirage…
Chapters 8.9 to 8.12
00:23:50:00-00:23:55:00
Who would have been so heartless as to deceive him in such a cruel manner?
00:56:00:00-00:24:03:00
He could only think of one God capable of harbouring a spiteful grudge against him… Poseidon!
The Script
CHAPTER 1 THE ASSEMBLY OF THE GODS / CONSTELLATIONS
Chapters 1.2, 1.3 and 1.4
00:00:11:00 to 00:00:20:00
There is a place forbidden to humankind. In that primordial immensity, the planets perform their eternal dance.
00:00:43:00-00:00:58:00
(After the explosion)
Obeying the secret music of the celestial spheres, they collide, explode, and from their fire, incandescent stars are born. The origin of all that is non-human… the dwelling of the immortals.
Chapters 1.5, 1.6
00:01:22:00 to 00:01:30:00
Thus were the gods born: eternal figures destined to take centre stage in the story I am about to tell you.
00:01:32:00-00:01:50:00
Zeus, Athena, Ares, Poseidon, Hermes, Apollo… these are not merely names. They are the essential forces that govern destiny and chart the course for us… mortals.
Chapters 1.7 to 1.13
00:01:52:00 to 00:02:00
Following the Trojan War, the assembly of the gods was convened to decide the fate of one of its most notable protagonists: Odysseus, the man of a thousand wiles.
00:02:26:00-00:02:39:00
Athena, raised her voice and defended the hero who had triumphed thanks to his intelligence. She asked that he be allowed to return to Ithaca with his family.
00:02:43:00-00:03:16:00
But Poseidon, rose in anger. He refused to show any mercy and left the assembly. Zeus, ruler of Olympus, understood Athena’s request but also Poseidon’s wrath. However, he allowed Odysseus to set out on his journey home. Thus, the hero’s fate was sealed: to return to Ithaca…
00:03:22:00-00:03:30:00
I, Homer, know this story first-hand. And this is the tale of his Odyssey.
CHAPTER 2 THE ADVENTURE OF POLYPHEMUS
Chapters 2.4 to 2.6
00:03:46:00 to 00:03:58:00
Odysseus’s adventures were marked by endless trials that would take him nearly twenty years. Challenges beyond any known experience.
00:04:04:00 – 00:04:13:00
Trying to find his way home, Odysseus and his companions took on all hurdles ahead of them without fear.
Chapters 2.7 to 2.9
00:04:49:00 to 00:05:17:00
The search for food led Odysseus’s men to the island where the Cyclopes lived—terrible, one-eyed monsters who detested the presence of strangers. Starving, they began to look for provisions. They entered a mysterious cave. Inside, they discovered cheese and pots brimming with milk. All was calm—until they heard footsteps… Polyphemus, son of Poseidon was coming home….
Chapters 2.11 to 2.13
00:05:44:00 to 00:05:53:00
Odysseus realised that the only way out of that cave was to trick Polyphemus. So he urged his men to offer him a huge jug of wine.
Chapter 2.14
00:06:10:00 to 00:06:17:00
Once he was drunk, they simply had to wait for Polyphemus to appear before attacking…
Chapter 2.23
00:07:08:00 to 00:07:13:00
When Odysseus revealed his identity to Polyphemus, it instantly ignited the monster’s fury.
CHAPTER 3 THE LOTOPHAGI
Chapter 3.2
00:08:05:00 to 00:08:20:00
Having weathered the storms sent by Zeus against our heroes, the ships reached the coast of the Lotophagi—men who fed on lotus flowers and knew nothing of the hard labour of the plough.
00:08:39:00-00:08:56:00
But woe betide anyone who tasted the delicacy of their petals! No sooner did the nectar touch their lips than the desire to return home and the memory of their children and wives were erased from their minds like smoke scattered by the wind.
CHAPTER 4 THE SIRENS
Chapter 4.2
00:10:25:00 to 00:10.42:00
After fleeing the island of the lotus-eaters, Odysseus heard an almost divine melody. He realised they were beside the flower-filled meadow of the sirens—those who bewitch every man who draws near with their lily-like voices.
Chapter 4.11.1
00:13:37:00 to 00:13:52:00
Only when the song faded into the distance did Odysseus’s companions uncover their ears and untie him. They had to summon all their strength for the next trial: the descent into the underworld…
CHAPTER 5 JOURNEY TO THE UNDERWORLD (HADES)
Chapter 5.3
00:14:00:00 to 00:14:10:00
After sailing for a whole day, propelled by the breath of Boreas, they arrived where the sun never pierces the darkness.
Chapter 5.6
00:14:50:00 to 00:15:09:00
There, in the land of the dead, Odysseus dug a trench with his sword… and poured out libations of honey, milk, sweet wine and white flour to appease the dead.
Chapters 5.9 and 5.10
00:15:45:00 to 00:16:14:00
With a heavy heart, Odysseus had to prevent the spirits from tasting the blood until the soul of the blind seer Tiresias appeared. Wielding his golden staff, the seer revealed his fate: he told him of Poseidon’s wrath and the dangers that awaited him at home, on the island of Ithaca.
Chapter 5.11
00:16:16:00 to 00:16:34:00
But his grief deepened when he saw the shadow of his mother, for she warned him of the dangers his wife Penelope faced back home, haunted and harassed by the obtrusive suiters, while trying to protect their precious son Telemachus.
00:16:42:00-00:17:01:00
Odysseus returned to the ship, ordering his men to strike the waves with their oars and flee from the Hades. He had to pursue his way home, to that what he missed so dearly, there was no time to lose.
CHAPTER 6: CALYPSO, ATHENA, PENELOPE AND CIRCE
Chapter 6.3
00:17:13:00 to 00:17:35:00
Meanwhile, on the island of Ithaca, far from Odysseus, his faithful wife Penelope wove and unravelled the shroud for her father-in-law Laertes every day, longing for the return of her beloved husband. The gods bore witness to Odysseus’s fate, as he began to appear on the horizon.
Chapter 6.8
00:17:43:00 to 00:17:52:00
In her palace, the pressure from the suitors was mounting ever higher—indeed, at times it was almost impossible to cope with.
Chapter 6.9
00:17:54:00 to 00:18:09:00
Telemachus, son of Odysseus and Penelope, spoke to the goddess Athena in search of a solution to his father’s long absence. And her only answer was to urge him to go in search of his father.
Chapter 6.10
00:18:11:00 to 00:18:25:00
Telemachus set sail to King Nester, the most respected Greek hero and king of Pylos. Eager to know whether his father was still alive, he tried to get an answer from the wise king.
Chapter 6.11
00:18:27:00-00:18:43:00
But all the great king could tell him, was that Odysseus was one of the great heroes of the Trojan War, who fought so courageously alongside Nestor, Agamemnon and Achilles. However, he could say nothing else about our hero’s fate.
Chapter 6.12
00:18:45:00 to 00:19:09:00
In Sparta, Telemachus met the beautiful Helen and her husband, King Menelaus. The Spartan king confirmed to Telemachus that his father was still alive and that he could find him on the beautiful island, of the nymph Calypso, who was deeply in love with Odysseus and offered him eternal youth. Odysseus refused and spent his days weeping on the rocky shores, longing for Calypso to set him free.
Chapter 6.14
00:19:14:00 to 00:19:41:00
Telemachus returns to his mother’s palace, where the selfish and manipulative suiters continued to pressure Penelope to choose a new husband. Embolded by the news of his father’s survival, a confident and courageous Telemachus protected and defends his mother as never before. In the meantime, nobody notices the arrival of a mysterious figure: an old beggar, wandering through the courtyard…
Chapter 6.15
00:19:42:00 to 00:19:54:00
Penelope continued to weave and unweave the shroud on her loom, day after day, night after night, unknowing of what was about to come…
CHAPTER 7 SCYLA AND CHARYBDIS
Chapter 7.1
00:20:02:00 to 00:20:15:00
After his stay on the island of Circle the sorceress, Odysseus steered his doomed ship towards the strait, aware that the hour of a bitter choice had come. For no matter death laid ahead, in two forms.
Chapter 7.3
00:20:31:00 to 00:20:48:00
On one side of the strait, the divine Scylla loomed from her gloomy cave. The sailors described her as a creature with twelve claws and six enormous, frighteningly long necks, each ending in a head with terrible jaws sharped with fangs.
Chapter 7.8
00:21:17:00 to 00:21:32:00
And on the other side… the fearsome Charybdis, daughter of Poseidon: a monstrous whirlpool of superhuman strength that drew everything towards it and destroyed anyone who dared to cross its turbulent waters.
CHAPTER 8 POSEIDON
Chapter 8.3
00:22:54:00 to 00:23:27:00
Odysseus, alone, yet ever resourceful continued to battle his way toward home, to his family. And he did so by looking to the stars and to the gods for the guidance that would enable him to reach his goal. As if it were the fulfilment of a dream, the silhouette of the island of Ithaca, his home, rose before him. But it was nothing more than another deception. A mere mirage…
Chapters 8.9 to 8.12
00:23:50:00-00:23:55:00
Who would have been so heartless as to deceive him in such a cruel manner?
00:56:00:00-00:24:03:00
He could only think of one God capable of harbouring a spiteful grudge against him… Poseidon!
CAPÍTULO 1 LA ASAMBLEA DE LOS DIOSES / CONSTELACIONES
Capítulos 1.2, 1.3 y 1.4
00:00:11:00 to 00:00:20:00
Hay un lugar vedado a la humanidad. En esa inmensidad primigenia, los planetas representan su danza eterna.
00:00:43:00-00:00:58:00
Obedeciendo la música secreta de las esferas celestes, chocan, estallan, y de su fuego nacen estrellas incandescentes. El origen de todo lo no humano… la morada de los inmortales.
Capítulos 1.5, 1.6
00:01:22:00 to 00:01:30:00
Así nacieron los dioses: figuras eternas destinadas a ocupar el centro de la historia que estoy a punto de contaros.
00:01:32:00-00:01:50:00
Zeus, Atenea, Ares, Poseidón, Hermes, Apolo… no son solo nombres. Son las fuerzas esenciales que rigen el destino y trazan el camino para nosotros… los mortales.
Capítulos 1.7 a 1.13
00:01:50:00 to 00:02:00
Tras la guerra de Troya, se convocó la asamblea de los dioses para decidir el destino de uno de sus protagonistas más notables: Odiseo, el hombre de los mil ardides.
00:02:26:00-00:02:39:00
Atenea, alzó la voz y defendió al héroe que había triunfado gracias a su inteligencia. Pidió que se le permitiera regresar a Ítaca con su familia.
00:02:43:00-00:03:16:00
Pero Poseidón, se alzó airado. Con la furia de las olas y el trueno del abismo, se negó a mostrar misericordia y abandonó la asamblea. Zeus, gobernante del Olimpo, comprendió la petición de Atenea y también la ira de Poseidón. Sin embargo, permitió que Odiseo emprendiera su viaje de regreso a casa. Así, el destino del héroe quedó sellado: regresaría a Ítaca…
00:03:22:00-00:03:30:00
Yo, Homero, conocí esta historia de primera mano. Y he aquí la narración de ese viaje.
CAPÍTULO 2 LA AVENTURA DE POLIFEMO
Capítulos 2.4 a 2.6
00:03:46:00 to 00:03:58:00
Las aventuras de Odiseo estuvieron marcadas por pruebas interminables que le llevarían casi veinte años. Desafíos más allá de toda experiencia conocida.
00:04:04:00 – 00:04:13:00
Tratando de regresar al hogar —poniendo a prueba no solo la fuerza, sino el valor, la lealtad y la inteligencia de cada hombre que compartía su destino— Odiseo y sus compañeros afrontaron todos los obstáculos que se les presentaron con valentía.
Capítulos 2.7 a 2.9
00:04:49:00 to 00:05:17:00
La búsqueda de alimento llevó a los hombres de Odiseo a la isla donde vivían los cíclopes; terribles monstruos de un solo ojo que detestaban la visita de extraños. Hambrientos, comenzaron a buscar provisiones. Entraron en una cueva misteriosa. Dentro, descubrieron queso y ollas rebosantes de leche. Todo estaba tranquilo, hasta que escucharon pasos… Polifemo, hijo de Poseidón, regresaba a su guarida….
Capítulos 2.11 a 2.13
00:05:44:00 to 00:05:53:00
Demostrando una astucia sin igual, Odiseo se dio cuenta de que la única forma de salir de esa cueva era engañar a Polifemo. Así que instó a sus hombres a ofrecerle una enorme jarra de vino.
Capítulo 2.14
00:06:10:00 to 00:06:17:00
Una vez embriagado, solo tuvieron que esperar a que Polifemo apareciera para atacar…
Capítulo 2.23
00:07:08:00 to 00:07:13:00
Cuando Odiseo reveló su identidad a Polifemo, el hombre solo consiguió inflamar la furia del monstruo.
CAPÍTULO 3 LOS LOTÓFAGOS
Capítulo 3.2
00:08:05:00 to 00:08:20:00
Tras burlar las tormentas enviadas por Zeus contra nuestros protagonistas, las naves llegaron a la costa de los lotófagos; hombres que se alimentan de flores de loto y nada saben del duro trabajo del arado.
00:08:39:00-00:08:56:00
Pero ¡ay de quien probara la delicadeza de sus pétalos! Apenas el jugo tocaba sus labios, el deseo de regresar a casa y el recuerdo de sus hijos y esposas se borraban de su mente como humo dispersado por el viento.
CAPÍTULO 4 LAS SIRENAS
Capítulo 4.2
00:10:25:00 to 00:10.42:00
Tras huir de la isla de los lotófagos, Odiseo escuchó una melodía casi divina. Se dio cuenta de que estaban junto al prado florido de las sirenas; aquellas que hechizan con su voz de lirio a todo hombre que se acerca.
Capítulo 4.11.1
00:13:37:00 to 00:13:52:00
Solo cuando el canto se desvaneció en la distancia, los compañeros de Odiseo destaparon sus oídos y lo desataron. Tuvieron que reunir todas sus fuerzas para la siguiente prueba: el descenso al inframundo…
CAPÍTULO 5 VIAJE AL INFRAMUNDO (HADES)
Capítulo 5.3
00:14:00:00 to 00:14:10:00
Tras navegar todo un día con el aliento de Bóreas, llegaron allá donde el sol nunca rompe la oscuridad.
Capítulo 5.6
00:14:50:00 to 00:15:09:00
Allí, en la tierra de los muertos, Odiseo cavó una zanja con su espada y vertió libaciones de miel, leche, vino dulce y harina blanca para apaciguar a los difuntos.
Capítulos 5.9 y 5.10
00:15:45:00 to 00:16:14:00
Con el corazón atormentado, Odiseo tuvo que impedir que los espíritus probaran la sangre hasta que apareció el alma del adivino ciego Tiresias. Empuñando su bastón dorado, el vidente por fin reveló su destino: le habló de la ira de Poseidón y de los peligros que le aguardaban en casa, en la isla de Ítaca.
Capítulo 5.11
00:16:16:00 to 00:16:34:00
Pero su dolor creció al ver la sombra de su madre, Anticlea, pues ésta le advirtió de los peligros a los que se enfrentaba en ese momento su esposa Penélope en su hogar, acosada y hostigada por los intrusos pretendientes, mientras intentaba proteger a su preciado hijo Telémaco.
00:16:42:00-00:17:01:00
Odiseo regresó al barco, ordenando a sus hombres que batieran las olas con sus remos y huyeran del Hades. Tenía que continuar su camino a casa, hacia aquello que tanto extrañaba, no había tiempo que perder.
CAPÍTULO 6 CALIPSO, ATENEA, PENÉLOPE Y CIRCE
Capítulo 6.3
00:17:13:00 to 00:17:35:00
Mientras tanto, en la isla de Ítaca, lejos de donde estaba Odiseo, su fiel esposa Penélope tejía y destejía cada día el sudario para su suegro Laertes, anhelando el regreso de su amado esposo. Los dioses eran testigos del destino de Odiseo, que ya comenzaba a aparecer en el horizonte.
Capítulo 6.8
00:17:43:00 to 00:17:52:00
En el palacio, la presión de los pretendientes iba en aumento; de hecho, a veces era casi imposible de soportar.
Capítulo 6.9
00:17:54:00 to 00:18:09:00
Telémaco, hijo de Odiseo y Penélope, habló con la diosa Atenea buscando una solución a la larga ausencia de su padre. Y la única respuesta fue instarle a ir en su busca.
Capítulo 6.10
00:18:11:00 to 00:18:25:00
Telémaco zarpó en busca del rey Néstor, el héroe griego más respetado y rey de Pilos. Ansioso por saber si su padre aún estaba vivo, intentó obtener respuesta del sabio rey.
Capítulo 6.11
00:18:27:00-00:18:43:00
Pero todo lo que el gran rey pudo decirle fue que Odiseo había sido uno de los grandes héroes de la Guerra de Troya, que luchó con tanto valor junto a Néstor, Agamenón y Aquiles. Sin embargo, no pudo decir nada más sobre el destino de nuestro héroe.
Capítulo 6.12
00:18:45:00 to 00:19:09:00
La desesperada búsqueda continuó. En Esparta, Telémaco se encontró con la hermosa Helena y su esposo, el rey Menelao. El rey espartano confirmó a Telémaco que su padre aún estaba vivo y que podía encontrarlo en la hermosa isla de la ninfa Calipso, que se había enamorado profundamente de Odiseo, le ofreció la juventud eterna. Odiseo la rechazó y pasaba sus días llorando en las costas rocosas, anhelando que Calipso lo liberara.
Capítulo 6.13
00:19:14:00 to 00:19:41:00
Esperanzado por la noticia, Telémaco regresó al palacio de su madre, donde los pretendientes, egoístas y manipuladores, continuaban presionando a Penélope para que eligiera un nuevo esposo y tomara el trono de Ítaca. Envalentonado por la noticia de la supervivencia de su padre, un Telémaco confiado y valiente protegió y defendió a su madre como nunca antes. Mientras tanto, nadie se percató de la llegada de una figura misteriosa: un viejo mendigo, que vagaba por el patio…
Capítulo 6.15
00:19:42:00 to 00:19:54:00
Penélope continuaba tejiendo y destejiendo el sudario en su telar, día tras día, noche tras noche, sin saber que le depararía el futuro.
CAPÍTULO 7 ESCILA Y CARIBDIS
Capítulo 7.1
00:20:02:00 to 00:20:15:00
Después de su estancia en la isla de la hechicera Circe. Odiseo dirigió su desdichada nave hacia el estrecho, consciente de que había llegado la hora de una amarga elección. Pues la muerte acechaba inexorable ante ellos, por partida doble.
Capítulo 7.3
00:20:31:00 to 00:20:48:00
A un lado del estrecho, la divina Escila se alzaba desde su cueva sombría. Los marineros la describían como una criatura con doce garras y seis terribles cuellos larguísimos, cada uno rematado en una cabeza con terribles mandíbulas llenas de colmillos.
Capítulo 7.8
00:21:17:00 to 00:21:32:00
Y al otro lado… la temible Caribdis, hija de Poseidón: un monstruoso remolino de fuerza sobrehumana que atraía todo hacia ella y destruía a quien osara cruzar sus turbulentas aguas.
CAPÍTULO 8 POSEIDÓN
Capítulo 8.3
00:22:54:00 to 00:23:27:00
Odiseo, solo, pero contando con su ingenio, continuó luchando para regresar a casa, con su familia. Y lo hizo mirando a las estrellas y a los dioses en busca de la guía que le permitiría alcanzar su objetivo. Como si fuera la realización de un sueño, la silueta de la isla de Ítaca, su hogar, se alzó ante él. Pero no era más que otra decepción. Un mero espejismo…
Capítulo 8.9 a 8.12
00:23:50:00-00:23:55:00
¿Pero quién habría sido tan desalmado como para engañarlo de una manera tan cruel?
00:56:00:00-00:24:03:00
Solo podía pensar en un dios capaz de albergar tal rencor contra él… ¡Poseidón!
CHAPTER 1 THE ASSEMBLY OF THE GODS / CONSTELLATIONS
Chapters 1.2, 1.3 and 1.4
00:00:11:00 to 00:00:20:00
There is a place forbidden to humankind. In that primordial immensity, the planets perform their eternal dance.
00:00:43:00-00:00:58:00
(After the explosion)
Obeying the secret music of the celestial spheres, they collide, explode, and from their fire, incandescent stars are born. The origin of all that is non-human… the dwelling of the immortals.
Chapters 1.5, 1.6
00:01:22:00 to 00:01:30:00
Thus were the gods born: eternal figures destined to take centre stage in the story I am about to tell you.
00:01:32:00-00:01:50:00
Zeus, Athena, Ares, Poseidon, Hermes, Apollo… these are not merely names. They are the essential forces that govern destiny and chart the course for us… mortals.
Chapters 1.7 to 1.13
00:01:52:00 to 00:02:00
Following the Trojan War, the assembly of the gods was convened to decide the fate of one of its most notable protagonists: Odysseus, the man of a thousand wiles.
00:02:26:00-00:02:39:00
Athena, raised her voice and defended the hero who had triumphed thanks to his intelligence. She asked that he be allowed to return to Ithaca with his family.
00:02:43:00-00:03:16:00
But Poseidon, rose in anger. He refused to show any mercy and left the assembly. Zeus, ruler of Olympus, understood Athena’s request but also Poseidon’s wrath. However, he allowed Odysseus to set out on his journey home. Thus, the hero’s fate was sealed: to return to Ithaca…
00:03:22:00-00:03:30:00
I, Homer, know this story first-hand. And this is the tale of his Odyssey.
CHAPTER 2 THE ADVENTURE OF POLYPHEMUS
Chapters 2.4 to 2.6
00:03:46:00 to 00:03:58:00
Odysseus’s adventures were marked by endless trials that would take him nearly twenty years. Challenges beyond any known experience.
00:04:04:00 – 00:04:13:00
Trying to find his way home, Odysseus and his companions took on all hurdles ahead of them without fear.
Chapters 2.7 to 2.9
00:04:49:00 to 00:05:17:00
The search for food led Odysseus’s men to the island where the Cyclopes lived—terrible, one-eyed monsters who detested the presence of strangers. Starving, they began to look for provisions. They entered a mysterious cave. Inside, they discovered cheese and pots brimming with milk. All was calm—until they heard footsteps… Polyphemus, son of Poseidon was coming home….
Chapters 2.11 to 2.13
00:05:44:00 to 00:05:53:00
Odysseus realised that the only way out of that cave was to trick Polyphemus. So he urged his men to offer him a huge jug of wine.
Chapter 2.14
00:06:10:00 to 00:06:17:00
Once he was drunk, they simply had to wait for Polyphemus to appear before attacking…
Chapter 2.23
00:07:08:00 to 00:07:13:00
When Odysseus revealed his identity to Polyphemus, it instantly ignited the monster’s fury.
CHAPTER 3 THE LOTOPHAGI
Chapter 3.2
00:08:05:00 to 00:08:20:00
Having weathered the storms sent by Zeus against our heroes, the ships reached the coast of the Lotophagi—men who fed on lotus flowers and knew nothing of the hard labour of the plough.
00:08:39:00-00:08:56:00
But woe betide anyone who tasted the delicacy of their petals! No sooner did the nectar touch their lips than the desire to return home and the memory of their children and wives were erased from their minds like smoke scattered by the wind.
CHAPTER 4 THE SIRENS
Chapter 4.2
00:10:25:00 to 00:10.42:00
After fleeing the island of the lotus-eaters, Odysseus heard an almost divine melody. He realised they were beside the flower-filled meadow of the sirens—those who bewitch every man who draws near with their lily-like voices.
Chapter 4.11.1
00:13:37:00 to 00:13:52:00
Only when the song faded into the distance did Odysseus’s companions uncover their ears and untie him. They had to summon all their strength for the next trial: the descent into the underworld…
CHAPTER 5 JOURNEY TO THE UNDERWORLD (HADES)
Chapter 5.3
00:14:00:00 to 00:14:10:00
After sailing for a whole day, propelled by the breath of Boreas, they arrived where the sun never pierces the darkness.
Chapter 5.6
00:14:50:00 to 00:15:09:00
There, in the land of the dead, Odysseus dug a trench with his sword… and poured out libations of honey, milk, sweet wine and white flour to appease the dead.
Chapters 5.9 and 5.10
00:15:45:00 to 00:16:14:00
With a heavy heart, Odysseus had to prevent the spirits from tasting the blood until the soul of the blind seer Tiresias appeared. Wielding his golden staff, the seer revealed his fate: he told him of Poseidon’s wrath and the dangers that awaited him at home, on the island of Ithaca.
Chapter 5.11
00:16:16:00 to 00:16:34:00
But his grief deepened when he saw the shadow of his mother, for she warned him of the dangers his wife Penelope faced back home, haunted and harassed by the obtrusive suiters, while trying to protect their precious son Telemachus.
00:16:42:00-00:17:01:00
Odysseus returned to the ship, ordering his men to strike the waves with their oars and flee from the Hades. He had to pursue his way home, to that what he missed so dearly, there was no time to lose.
CHAPTER 6: CALYPSO, ATHENA, PENELOPE AND CIRCE
Chapter 6.3
00:17:13:00 to 00:17:35:00
Meanwhile, on the island of Ithaca, far from Odysseus, his faithful wife Penelope wove and unravelled the shroud for her father-in-law Laertes every day, longing for the return of her beloved husband. The gods bore witness to Odysseus’s fate, as he began to appear on the horizon.
Chapter 6.8
00:17:43:00 to 00:17:52:00
In her palace, the pressure from the suitors was mounting ever higher—indeed, at times it was almost impossible to cope with.
Chapter 6.9
00:17:54:00 to 00:18:09:00
Telemachus, son of Odysseus and Penelope, spoke to the goddess Athena in search of a solution to his father’s long absence. And her only answer was to urge him to go in search of his father.
Chapter 6.10
00:18:11:00 to 00:18:25:00
Telemachus set sail to King Nester, the most respected Greek hero and king of Pylos. Eager to know whether his father was still alive, he tried to get an answer from the wise king.
Chapter 6.11
00:18:27:00-00:18:43:00
But all the great king could tell him, was that Odysseus was one of the great heroes of the Trojan War, who fought so courageously alongside Nestor, Agamemnon and Achilles. However, he could say nothing else about our hero’s fate.
Chapter 6.12
00:18:45:00 to 00:19:09:00
In Sparta, Telemachus met the beautiful Helen and her husband, King Menelaus. The Spartan king confirmed to Telemachus that his father was still alive and that he could find him on the beautiful island, of the nymph Calypso, who was deeply in love with Odysseus and offered him eternal youth. Odysseus refused and spent his days weeping on the rocky shores, longing for Calypso to set him free.
Chapter 6.14
00:19:14:00 to 00:19:41:00
Telemachus returns to his mother’s palace, where the selfish and manipulative suiters continued to pressure Penelope to choose a new husband. Embolded by the news of his father’s survival, a confident and courageous Telemachus protected and defends his mother as never before. In the meantime, nobody notices the arrival of a mysterious figure: an old beggar, wandering through the courtyard…
Chapter 6.15
00:19:42:00 to 00:19:54:00
Penelope continued to weave and unweave the shroud on her loom, day after day, night after night, unknowing of what was about to come…
CHAPTER 7 SCYLA AND CHARYBDIS
Chapter 7.1
00:20:02:00 to 00:20:15:00
After his stay on the island of Circle the sorceress, Odysseus steered his doomed ship towards the strait, aware that the hour of a bitter choice had come. For no matter death laid ahead, in two forms.
Chapter 7.3
00:20:31:00 to 00:20:48:00
On one side of the strait, the divine Scylla loomed from her gloomy cave. The sailors described her as a creature with twelve claws and six enormous, frighteningly long necks, each ending in a head with terrible jaws sharped with fangs.
Chapter 7.8
00:21:17:00 to 00:21:32:00
And on the other side… the fearsome Charybdis, daughter of Poseidon: a monstrous whirlpool of superhuman strength that drew everything towards it and destroyed anyone who dared to cross its turbulent waters.
CHAPTER 8 POSEIDON
Chapter 8.3
00:22:54:00 to 00:23:27:00
Odysseus, alone, yet ever resourceful continued to battle his way toward home, to his family. And he did so by looking to the stars and to the gods for the guidance that would enable him to reach his goal. As if it were the fulfilment of a dream, the silhouette of the island of Ithaca, his home, rose before him. But it was nothing more than another deception. A mere mirage…
Chapters 8.9 to 8.12
00:23:50:00-00:23:55:00
Who would have been so heartless as to deceive him in such a cruel manner?
00:56:00:00-00:24:03:00
He could only think of one God capable of harbouring a spiteful grudge against him… Poseidon!