All language subtitles for Clash.of.the.Gods.S01E06.1080p.AMZN.WEB-DL.DDP2.0.H.264-deadorbit_track3_[eng]

[thunder rumbling]

NARRATOR: The odyssey.

It is the ultimate
adventure story.

A warrior King in
a desperate race

to get home before he loses the
woman he loves and the nation

he rules.

In his way are savage
beasts, hurricane winds,

giant cannibals, and he'll
have to outsmart them all.

Modern research is revealing
some surprising truths

behind this epic myth.

This is the real
story of Odysseus.

[music playing]

10 terrified sailors are trapped
inside the layer of a one

eyed man eating cyclops.

Two of their
companions have been

devoured before their eyes.

Each fears he will
be the next to die.

The men need a miracle,
and they look desperately

to their leader to deliver one.

His name is Odysseus.

Odysseus deceased never stops
thinking, he never lets go.

He refuses to believe that
anything can defeat him.

That's a fundamental
part of his character.

He's the sneaky guy who will
do what it takes to beat you.

NARRATOR: Odysseus is
a thinking man's hero.

A leader who relies on
his intellect, rather than

his strength, and he will
need all of his uncommon wit

to escape the cyclops alive.

The cool thing about Odysseus
is that, unlike other heroes,

Odysseus is thoroughly mortal.

He is man.

We connect with him in a
special way because of that.

There is a popularity he had
among the ancients because

of that.

NARRATOR: The story of
Odysseus called "The Odyssey,"

was written by a Greek poet
named Homer in the 8th century

BC.

The story of the odyssey,
I think, we can all embrace,

because it's about
a person faced

with a lot of frustrations
and a lot of obstacles.

NARRATOR: Odysseus'
journey home from war

is a timeless tale
of perseverance.

It is also a story that
symbolizes the dawn

of a new era in ancient Greece.

I think "The
Odyssey," in a way,

is a bit like a
James Bond novel.

If you think about
what Ian Fleming wrote,

he always put his hero
into real life places.

I think that's what
Homer was doing.

NARRATOR: In a time when Greek
sailors were exploring far

off lands across
the Mediterranean,

Odysseus represented
the modern adventurer.

There are a lot of
stories that are reflected

in the odyssey of this
expansion of the Greeks,

where the Greeks are
beginning to colonize

and reports are coming
back about various monsters

or various things, sailor tells.

NARRATOR: The story
of Odysseus begins

on Ithaca, the mythical
Greek island he rules.

KRISTINA MILNOR: He was a
happy and successful King.

He had a wife whom
he was very fond of,

she was very fond of him.

They had a young son.

NARRATOR: In the myth, Ithaca
is an oasis of peace surrounded

by a sea of enemies.

Sparta and Troy, the
regional superpowers

have been bitter
rivals for years.

Now, a sexual affair involving
the most beautiful woman

on earth will bring them to war.

Helen, the Queen of
Sparta has run off

with the prince of Troy.

Sparta pressures Ithaca
to join the fight

to bring her back home.

Bound by honor,
Odysseus enlists.

He heads off to battle
knowing that this

may be the last time he ever
sees his family or his kingdom.

Odysseus leads a fleet
of 12 ships to Troy,

where he soon finds himself
on the frontlines of war.

The battle for Helen
rages for a decade

until the Greek
forces hit a wall.

Literally.

The wall around Troy
is so massive, so

impenetrable the Greeks
believe it was built by gods.

In antiquity, people
thought it actually

had been built by some
divine intervention on behalf

of the Trojans.

NARRATOR: With the
war on the line,

Odysseus devises an ingenious
strategy to get inside the war.

He says, we should build
a hollow wooden horse,

which we will
leave on the beach.

We will pretend
that we've given up,

that we've decided the
Trojans are too much for us,

and we've gone home.

Inside the horse is going
to be our best heroes,

myself included as
Odysseus of course,

and the Trojans are going
to drag this horse inside

because they're going
to think it's a parting

gift for the gods.

NARRATOR: When dawn breaks,
the Trojans are stunned.

The Greeks are gone, and
there's a gigantic horse

outside their walls,
so goes the myth.

But what is the link to reality?

Scholars long believed
Troy was an imaginary city,

and the Trojan
War only a legend.

But in the late 19th
century, a five acre hill

in Western Turkey yielded
something startling.

An ancient city
with a massive wall,

and the remains
of a large palace,

two key features
of Homer's Troy.

The structures had been burned
just like the mythical city.

The site is close to
the coast in a region

where experts believe
Troy would have been,

and its terrain is similar to
the landscape Homer describes.

But there's more.

Among the ruins, archaeologists
found evidence of war.

BARRY STRAUSS: We have
found a number of arrowheads

and spearheads at Troy.

We've also found an
unburied skeleton

inside the city of Troy.

That's a dead giveaway,
usually, of a war,

because ancient people had
a horror of leaving bodies

unburied within the city walls.

They wouldn't do
so, unless they were

in very extreme circumstances.

NARRATOR: Did the Trojan
War really happen?

Is there also some truth
behind the story of Odysseus?

Our search for clues
leads back to the myth.

Odysseus and his men are
huddled inside the wooden horse

as it rolls through the
gates and into Troy.

The Trojans have mistaken
it for a peace offering.

A horse was a symbol of Troy.

The Trojans are known as great
horse breeders the countryside

outside to Troy was to
ancient horse breeding

what Kentucky is to
modern horse breeding.

So by leaving a Trojan
horse, it seemed as if this

was an homage to the Trojans.

A symbol of what
Troy was all about.

PETER STRUCK: The Trojans
fall for this stratagem,

they celebrate because
the war is over.

At the end of a long party,
much wine and much eating

has been done,
everybody is basically

passed out in the city of Troy.

NARRATOR: As the Trojans sleep,
Odysseus and his elite forces

emerge from the horse.

There is a
wonderful description

in our sources of the
Trojans lying innocently.

Sleeping, dreaming,
relaxing, and the Greeks

going through the
city like a mist

and creeping through
the dark alleyways.

NARRATOR: In the dead of
night, the Greeks strike.

The Trojans are caught off
guard, and the city of Troy

burns.

Odysseus' unusual
strategy has succeeded.

His Trojan horse
has won the war,

and he emerges as
the hero of the day.

Many of the heroes from
that period in Greek history

and mythology were
celebrated because they

were great warriors.

They were very strong,
good with a bow.

Odysseus was different.

He was a hero who was celebrated
because he was crafty,

he was intelligent.

PETER STRUCK: Odysseus is at his
best when he's under pressure.

He any number of times gets
into places where no human being

should be able to escape.

He faces certain death and
all kinds of different turns,

and he always seems
to find a way through.

He's like an ancient Macgyver.

NARRATOR: Odysseus has survived
10 years on the frontlines

of a brutal conflict.

He is anxious to
get home to Ithaca,

but the Trojan War
was nothing compared

with what still lies ahead,
a menagerie of monsters

and mayhem.

The odyssey is just beginning.

In Homer's odyssey, the
Trojan War has ended.

Now, the journey home begins.

Odysseus' island of Ithaca is
565 nautical miles from Troy.

In ancient times, that was
a journey of a few weeks.

When Odysseus has left
Troy, he wanted to get home,

but I don't think in any way
he's expecting that it's going

to take him 10
years to get home.

I think he thought that he
might stop along the way to go

on some raids, maybe to show
off some of his success,

in a matter of a month or
two, had every reason to think

he would be home in Ithaca.

NARRATOR: Odysseus sets out for
Ithaca with a fleet of 12 ships

and a crew of 600
war weary sailors.

It is an impressive fleet
by ancient standards,

but could it have been real?

1988.

Two scuba divers stumble
upon an unusual shipwreck

off the coast of
Southern Sicily.

The ship stretches nearly 60
feet long and 22 feet wide,

making it the biggest ancient
vessel of its kind ever

discovered.

But exactly how old is it?

To find out, scientists analyze
the tree rings in wooden planks

recovered by the divers.

The results are stunning.

The ship dates back to
approximately 500 BC.

Within two centuries
of the odyssey.

It's an exciting revelation.

This could be exactly the
type of ship homer imagined

for Odysseus.

2008.

The entire ship is finally
pulled from the Mediterranean

Sea and dry docked in
Portsmouth, England

to be studied piece by piece.

Here, experts are able
to compare the remains

with Homer's description of
how Odysseus' ships were built.

The result, it's
a perfect match.

The interesting thing about
this ship, as opposed to north

European ships is that it is
made with mortise and tenon,

and it was held
together with rope.

NARRATOR: This is the same
method of ship building

described in "The Odyssey."

Now, after 2 and 1/2
millennia at the bottom

of the Mediterranean
Sea, this ship

is giving scholars an
unprecedented glimpse

into the world of Odysseus.

This is not a
primitive vessel.

This is quite a sophisticated
piece of technology.

Odysseus' journey could well
have taken place, and what's

exciting about this is that
we've got a ship that could

well have been
comparable to the ships

that he would have been on.

NARRATOR: The myth continues.

Odysseus is headed
for home at last.

His faithful wife, Penelope,
and his now 10-year-old son,

Telemachus, are eagerly
awaiting his return.

But in his absence,
his palace has

been overrun by lecherous
men who are out to steal

his wife and his throne.

EMILY ALLEN: Odysseus
has been gone a while.

Penelope, of
course, is faithful,

but she's surrounded
by suitors, and they

want to marry Penelope, and in
marrying Penelope, of course,

they want to have the
power that goes with it

and take over
Odysseus' dominion,

so it's not a good situation.

NARRATOR: If Odysseus
doesn't make it home soon,

all that he fought
for will be lost.

Odysseus' first stop
after leaving Troy

is the coastal city of Ismarus.

There, he will seek vengeance
against an old enemy.

These were a group of
people who had been allied

with the Trojans, they helped
the Trojans against the Greeks,

and Odysseus wants to
now exact revenge on him.

NARRATOR: Ismarus
may have been one

of the settings in
"The Odyssey" that

was based on a real location.

In ancient times,
it was said to be

home to the fiercest
warriors in the known world.

BARRY STRAUSS: They're
absolutely terrific fighters,

and their particular specialty
was unconventional warfare.

Great guerrillas and insurgents
of the ancient world.

NARRATOR: But that
doesn't deter Odysseus.

In the myth, he had his men
come ashore, braced for battle.

They clobber the city,
steal all the treasure,

and they're on their way home.

Of course, they make a mistake,
they drink a little too much,

they eat a little too much,
and they pass out on the beach.

NARRATOR: Their victory
party is premature.

Early the next
morning the natives

ambush the men while they sleep.

Within minutes, 72
sailors are massacred,

the rest barely
make it out alive.

It is a hard lesson about
underestimating the enemy,

and the first in a
series of deadly mistakes

by Odysseus and his crew.

He does get away with the
better part of his force,

but he loses a lot and
learns a very painful lesson

about keeping everybody on
their toes at all times.

This is going to be a
very dangerous journey.

BARRY STRAUSS: There
is a theme in Homer

that we might simply describe
as, always be prepared, never

let your guard down.

Again and again,
we see people who

have a little taste of victory
and they immediately party,

and their enemy that's leaner
and meaner, their hunger

for victory takes
advantage of it.

This is a cycle we see again
and again in the history

of ancient, and I might say in
the history of modern warfare

as well.

NARRATOR: Odysseus and
his men are shellshocked.

They stay at sea for the next
two weeks, but not by choice.

The fleet encounters another
devastating obstacle.

A hurricane.

This storm blows
them off the map,

and from here until the
very end of his adventures,

Odysseus is kind of
in never never land.

NARRATOR: The hurricane
carries the fleet

all the way to North Africa.

There on an exotic island
just off the coast, Odysseus

and his men unwittingly step
into a mythological drug den.

The natives here
warmly welcome them

with an offering of lotus, a
sweet tasting flower with mind

altering properties.

Odysseus is
suspicious, and he's

right to be wary
in this situation,

because what happens when his
men eat the lotus is that it's

a kind of drug, and
they become very

happy and forgetful of
what they're trying to do,

which is to get home.

They want to stay in the land
of the lotus eaters forever.

NARRATOR: Some experts think
the lotus eaters were meant

to symbolize a real
scourge of ancient Greece.

Drug abuse.

Greeks knew the poppy.

There are many Mycenaean
seals and objects in which you

clearly see the poppies,
so they knew about opium,

and therefore, hashish.

The point being, human
beings like intoxication.

Within "The Odyssey,"
its function

is to show how people can
get lost on their way home,

and that's very human.

NARRATOR: Once again, the
crew has been sidetracked

by self-indulgence.

It will become a running theme
throughout "The Odyssey,"

but their leader,
Odysseus, stay sober.

He has just one goal.

To return home to Ithaca, where
his wife and son are waiting.

He just says,
come on, come on,

you knuckleheads, let's get back
on the boat, and off they go.

It's this incredibly
short episode,

and yet, it's been
written about so much,

and I think the reason is
because everybody knows

that experience.

Everybody's tired.

Everybody's been
through too much.

What could be more attractive
than to eat, drink, smoke,

ingest something that
would just let you forget?

NARRATOR: The journey
home has begun again,

but the crew's curiosity
may yet be its death.

When the fleet comes across
another island teeming

with wild game, it seems
like a dream come true,

but it's about to
become hell on earth.

Odysseus and his
men have stumbled

upon the land of a giant
man eating cyclops,

and it's almost dinnertime.

The mythical hero, Odysseus, is
trying to get back to his wife

and son after a decade at war.

But this is not the
trip home he envisioned.

After several weeks at sea,
he has lost 72 of his men

in an ambush and confronted
hurricane winds that pushed him

far off course.

Now, an unknown
island offers a chance

to replenish both supplies
and morale, or so it seems.

There are a number of
reasons why Odysseus would have

to put to shore.

One, they've been able
to sea for a while,

and you need to put ashore
for supplies and provisions,

but the other thing
that you always

have to remember about Odysseus
is he is just fundamentally

curious.

Sometimes too curious
for his own good.

He wants to know.

He is intrigued by knowledge,
and so sometimes, he

pushes that little bit too far.

BARRY STRAUSS: And
there's such an insight

into the Greek character here.

This is a period of vast Greek
expansion and colonization.

The Greeks themselves,
in Homer's day,

wanted to go out into the
world for many solid economic

reasons, but also because
they were simply curious.

NARRATOR: Odysseus
selects his 12 best men

to explore the island with him.

Just before he sets off,
he grabs one last item,

a goat skin full of wine.

It will prove to be a lifesaver.

Priority number one
for the explorers

is to find something to eat.

Just off shore, the
men hit the jackpot.

They come across a
cave filled with food.

Only one thing is
missing, the cave's owner.

When they get into
the cave, Odysseus' men

see wonderful stores
of food, and they're

ready to steal it and take
off and get out of danger.

Odysseus, though,
is very curious.

He wants to stick around.

He thinks that the
person that lives there

should owe him a
gift, and this is

traditional in
ancient Greek society,

that a person who arrives as
a stranger on someone else's

shores is owed a gift.

When a stranger shows up in
your town, you take him in.

You give him a place to
rest, you give him food,

you treat him kindly.

NARRATOR: Inside the
cave, Odysseus and his men

help themselves to a
long awaited feast.

As the sun sets,
the man of the house

finally returns, but he is
not what the sailors were

expecting.

He is a giant cyclops.

A ravenous beast with a strength
of 20 men and one massive eye

in the middle of his face.

The sight of him sends
Odysseus and his men

cowering into a dark corner.

The cyclops light his nightly
fire, and the men are exposed.

PETER STRUCK: When the
cyclops arrives home,

he sees that these men have
come in to steal his food.

He's angry, and then Odysseus
steps up and beats his chest

and says, hello, we've just
arrived from faraway lands,

where's our gift, and he's
being a little bit rude, too.

So you can see how the cyclops
is a little bit miffed.

This has all just
gone terribly wrong.

NARRATOR: In the
blink of an eye,

the cyclops lunges forward,
grabs two of the sailors,

and devours them.

He leaves not a morsel
behind, not even the bones.

When the Greeks
see the cyclops eat

two of their fellow
Greeks, they're shocked,

they're frightened.

KRISTINA MILNOR: Cannibalism
in ancient Greece

was an incredibly barbarous act.

For them, a mark of
a civilized person

was actually the way
they ate and drank.

The men are terrified.

They're also frustrated with
Odysseus for leading them

into this unkindly mess,
and they decide, well,

while he's asleep,
let's kill him,

but Odysseus, fortunately, is
the smartest guy in the bunch,

and he says, we can't kill him.

Odysseus has a problem.

If the sailors, if Odysseus
kill the cyclops now,

they'll be trapped
within the cave

because they're
not strong enough

to move the stone on their own.

NARRATOR: On the other hand, if
the men don't kill the cyclops,

they will surely die.

It is a hopeless situation, but
Odysseus has overcome too much

to give up now.

If he can't use his strength
to beat this monster,

he'll use his intelligence.

He never gives up hope.

Even though his men in the
cyclops cave feel it's over,

Odysseus is always scheming,
planning, thinking.

NARRATOR: The giant cyclops
is one of mythologies most

memorable monsters, but could
it be more than just a figment

of Homer's imagination?

Today, some experts think it was
inspired by a real life beast,

and this may be the proof.

The mythical hero
Odysseus and his men

are facing all but certain
death inside the cave

of a monstrous cyclops.

Two have already been eaten, and
the beast is hungry for more.

At sunrise, the cyclops
devours two more men.

Then he heads out
to graze his sheep,

sealing the cave behind him.

Time is running
out for Odysseus.

The mastermind of
the Trojan horse

desperately needs a new
stroke of genius and fast.

Odysseus as someone
who survives on his wits.

But what makes
Odysseus different

than all of the other
mythic characters

is that he thinks
before he acts.

He's likely to come up with a
cunning solution, rather than

a direct one.

NARRATOR: So goes the myth, but
what is the link to reality?

The giant cyclops
seems like the work

of a disturbed
imagination, but it

may be based on actual science.

There are three
very different facts

of ancient life that could
have inspired Homer's monster.

The first is a rare disease
that causes fetuses to develop

only one large high.

It's a condition
called cyclopia,

and it may have been widely
known to the ancient Greeks.

Exposure to certain
sorts of alkaloid toxins

that are found in some herbs
can cause pregnant women

to deliver children
that have cyclopia.

Now, this is very interesting,
because some of those herbs

that happened to have these
dangerous compounds happen

to be ones that ancient
Greek medical men prescribed

to their patients.

NARRATOR: Cyclopia results when
these toxins prevent the brain

from developing properly.

As a result, instead of
having two separate eye sockets,

you'll get one big one.

You have a cyclops birth.

And this could have served
as an inspiration for legends

about these one eyed creatures
that roamed the earth.

NARRATOR: But it's also possible
that Homer's cyclops was

inspired by something
much bigger, a volcano.

In the myth Odysseus
describes the cyclops

as a man mountain bearing head
and shoulders over the world.

JOHN RENNIE: It's very possible
that the ancient Greeks looking

at erupting volcanoes
like Mount Etna

might have looked at that huge
angry red eye of the volcano

as it erupted hot
rocks and lava,

and they might have pictured a
sort of monstrous man mountain

with a single eye that was
angrily raging at mankind.

[growling]

NARRATOR: But there is one
more, potential real world

inspiration for the cyclops.

Fossils dug up by
ancient archaeologists.

JOHN RENNIE: The ancient Greeks
were extremely interested

in the natural world, and they
collected lots of specimens

of everything, and
of course, they

did find samples of fossils
out in the wild as well.

Now, if you look at the
skull of an elephant,

it's a pretty impressive thing
because there's a huge opening

right in the middle
of the forehead.

The actual eye openings look
relatively small in comparison

and are shunted off to the side.

So if you didn't
know what it was,

you might very easily
imagine that this

was the skull of some sort of
gigantic, one eyed creature.

NARRATOR: The odyssey continues.

Odysseus and his
men are hostages

in the cave of the cyclops.

Unless something changes
fast, they will all be eaten.

But Odysseus remains focused.

There's a great fear that
surrounds the entire episode,

and the men around tend to
fall apart under this fear.

Odysseus never does.

He realizes in a very cold,
calculating, rational way

that these emotions
will only get in the way

and will only get in the way
of his escape and his solution

to the problem.

He focuses always on the
problem and only on the problem.

NARRATOR: While the cyclops
is out tending his sheep,

Odysseus spots the
massive wooden club he

left behind and gets an idea.

With the help of his men,
he shaves the narrow end

to a fine point, hardens
it over a flame, and waits.

As night falls, the
cyclops returns.

He snatches two more
sailors and eats them alive.

As the dust settles, Odysseus
steps forward with the wine

he brought from his ship.

He offers it to the cyclops.

The beast downs one bowl,
then another, and a third.

Instantly, he begins to teeter.

Some people might think when
they hear that the cyclops has

a couple of glasses of wine and
then passes out on the floor

that he must have been
a real lightweight.

He didn't really have any
tolerance for alcohol.

The truth is that ancient wine
was a lot stronger and a lot

harsher than wine is today.

In antiquity, there
was very strong one,

we might even call
it fortified wine,

that had a very high
alcohol content,

and typically, what one would
do is measure it out and then

delude it with water to be an
appropriate drink at a dinner.

The wine that Odysseus
gives to the cyclops

is an entirely undiluted form.

NARRATOR: As the drunk giant
stumbles around the cave,

he asks Odysseus his name
and gets a clever answer.

Odysseus says, oh,
well my name is nobody.

At that point, there's
no way that any of us

can quite realize how this
will fit into the plan,

but it's been part of
Odysseus' plan all along.

NARRATOR: With that, the
cyclops crashes to the floor

and passes out.

Odysseus springs into action.

With the help of his men,
he lifts the buried stake,

charges forward, and plunges
it into the eye of the beast.

[growling]

PETER STRUCK: Hearing the
screams of the cyclops inside

of his cave, the other cyclopses
come around and ask him, what's

going on inside of there?

We hear your screams.

Something horrible
must be happening.

The cyclops at that point then
answers, nobody is hurting me.

Nobody is harming me, and
the neighbor cyclopses then

scratch their heads
and say, well, I

guess nobody's hurting him, we
might as well go back to bed.

So this trick that Odysseus
has actually put in place

earlier on in the story by
not giving his real name

but by saying his
name was nobody,

we now see it comes to fruition.

NARRATOR: The wounded
cyclops opens the doorway

in a blind rage.

Odysseus sees his opening
and makes his move.

The cyclops is sitting
in front of the door,

and Odysseus doesn't let
them try to creep out,

he knows the cyclops
will get them,

and he doesn't let them
ride the sheep out,

because he knows he's going
to be clever enough for that.

He ties them beneath the ship.

NARRATOR: As dawn
breaks, the sheep

head out to pasture
with Odysseus

and his men clinging
to their underbellies.

The cyclops is
not entirely a fool.

He knows that the
Greeks might be trying

to escape from his cave,
but as the sheep pass by,

he feels each one on top,
but the Greeks are underneath

and he doesn't feel
them underneath.

Odysseus' escape
from the cyclops cave

is the perfect example
of brain over brawn.

It's Jack and the beanstalk,
it's David and Goliath,

it is the sneaky little guy
defeats the big dumb guy.

These much, much bigger
obstacles that we face,

this brain of ours
can overcome them.

It's this fundamental story that
is absolutely core to humanity.

NARRATOR: Odysseus is
a master of deception,

but he hasn't yet
mastered his own pride.

As his ship sails
away from the coast,

he can't resist revealing
his own true identity.

It's a mistake that will
haunt him for years to come.

The cyclops is standing
there cursing him.

Suddenly, Odysseus almost
inexplicably turns and says,

you know who I am?

I am Odysseus, son of Laertes.

Now, to us, that seems
like a really stupid move,

but the most important
thing for a Greek hero

was something called Kleos.

Fame.

So it was your fame,
your reputation

that really mattered.

So one thing that it seems is
doing at that moment is really

making sure that he gets
credit for what happened.

NARRATOR: The cyclops
is blinded and beaten,

but he has one last
hope for revenge.

His powerful father.

It turns out, the cyclops is a
son of the sea god, Poseidon,

and he intends to make
Odysseus pay with his life.

Mythologies greatest
mortal, Odysseus,

has been lost at sea for
more than two months.

He's desperate to get home to
his kingdom and his family,

but he's not even close.

All the other
heroes that are still

alive from the Greek force
of Troy have made it home.

Only one is not home
yet, and that's Odysseus.

He's literally the
last hero on the sea.

From the outset,
Odysseus' return voyage

has not gone according to plan.

He has come face to face with
a lethal army and a blood

thirsty cyclops and been
driven hundreds of miles

off course by Hurricane winds.

Threats like these would
crush the spirits of most men,

but Odysseus isn't most men.

One of the things
that, I think,

makes a decision such
an appealing character

is really every challenge that
comes along, he treats as just

an obstacle to be overcome.

NARRATOR: Now, Odysseus
must confront his most

terrifying obstacle yet.

The cyclops he just
blinded and escaped from

is the son of one of
mythologies most powerful gods.

The master of the seas.

Poseidon.

The cyclops asks his
father the god Poseidon

to take vengeance on a viscous.

To kill him, or if
not to kill him,

to make the rest of
his trip a living hell.

KRISTINA MILNOR: By
attacking the son of a god,

by attacking the cyclops
who is the son of Poseidon,

he makes a double mistake.

One is he angers a
god, but the second

is he angers the god of the sea.

He's sailing home.

NARRATOR: Odysseus now faces
two daunting challenges.

Survive the wrath of Poseidon
and get home before another man

steals his wife.

As the days and weeks pass,
the suitors courting Penelope

grow more and more brazen.

The locals realize that
here is this wonderfully,

beautiful, capable woman,
Penelope, and she's all alone.

She also happens to be sitting
atop a store of great wealth,

so there are many
people who would

try to vie for her affections.

NARRATOR: But Penelope
still clings to the hope

that her husband
is on his way home.

She still believes that
a decision is coming home,

and she is willing to do
everything in her power

to make sure that his throne
is still available for him

when he returns.

NARRATOR: A few days after
surviving the giant cyclops,

Odysseus encounters someone
who can help him get home.

On the island of Aeolia, he
meets a King named Aeolis.

King Aeolis has
a special power.

He has control over the winds.

He's able to
regulate and control

which way the winds blow.

NARRATOR: King Aeolis secretly
gives Odysseus a present.

A bag containing all the winds
that could blow him off course.

As long as that
bag remains closed,

he'll have smooth sailing
all the way back to Ithaca.

This is an enormously
important gift

for ancient travelers.

It's the equivalent
of him giving Odysseus

a fleet of jet planes.

The winds are the motive
power of ancient shipping,

so this is a very great gift
because the winds can bring you

home.

NARRATOR: For nine
days and nights,

the Greeks sail
straight for Ithaca,

aided by favorable winds.

Finally, Odysseus
is on his way home.

He stays awake the whole
way, working his ship

around the clock.

On the 10th day, Ithaca
appears on the horizon,

but in the last mile, fatigue
finally overcomes the hero.

As Odysseus dozes, his crew
seizes the chance to find out

what's in the mysterious bag.

His men immediately decide
there's gold, there silver,

there's treasures,
and Odysseus doesn't

want to share it with us.

They want it for
themselves, so curiosity

tinged with a bit of greed
leads to their undoing.

NARRATOR: With the shores
of Ithaca in plain sight,

they open the bag,
and the Poseidon curse

is unleashed with a vengeance.

In seconds, Odysseus' hopes
of getting home are destroyed.

The winds immediately drive
his fleet back to Aeolia,

but this time, he won't
get any help from the King.

Odysseus says to Aeolis,
can you help us again?

And Aeolis says, no, you are
clearly cursed by the gods.

It could not have been
easy for you to get home

given what I gave you, and
if you didn't get home,

some god has it out for you,
and I am not messing with that.

Go on your way.

NARRATOR: It's another
painful setback for Odysseus,

but he wastes no time worrying
about what might have been.

He may be knocked down just
as much as all the rest of us

and even harder than
all the rest of us,

but he always can get back up.

He can always find a way.

NARRATOR: Odysseus' ability to
persevere is put to the test

again, just days after
he leaves Aeolia.

His fleet pulls into
a mysterious harbor

and gets attacked out of nowhere
by a race of giant cannibals.

In a matter of minutes,
Odysseus' loses hundreds of men

and all but one of his ships.

The waves run red with blood.

Once again, the Poseidon curse
is devastating in its cruelty.

When Odysseus left
Troy, he did not

think this is going to
be an epic journey home.

I don't think you could
ever have imagined

the kind of journey and the
kind of troubles and adventures

that he'd find along the way.

NARRATOR: For Odysseus, the
adventures are just beginning.

The rest of his journey
home will present challenges

more daunting than any
man has ever faced.

When the story of
Odysseus continues,

our mortal hero is a marked man.

Poseidon has put a
bounty on his head.

Each day, his crew
and his chances

will diminish, until
Odysseus finds himself alone.

One man against
all odds, one goal,

get home before it's too late.

[music playing]