Summary of epics of the Iliad and the Odyssey.

The beauty
of epic poems such as The and  is that the stories
are so rich that many can return to them again and again and find completely new meanings. As a
result, distilling both into a "summary" is a difficult task indeed! Here are the two
stories, in a nutshell:

The Iliad is the story of the
Trojan War. The Trojan War began when Paris, a Trojan prince, visited a Greek king, Menelaus.
During his visit, Paris seduced Menelaus's wife, escaping with her and returning to Troy. As a
result, Menelaus rallied his fellow Greek kings, raised an army, and set sail for Troy to
reclaim his wife. The story follows the Greek army as they lay siege to Troy for ten long years
and raises thematic questions as to the value of honor and glory and the role of warfare in
human society.

The Odyssey, on the other hand, is a very
different tale. The Odyssey follows the journey of Odysseus, one of the Greek
soldiers, as he attempts to return home from the war. One of the heroes of the Trojan War,
Odysseus offends the sea god Poseidon and is punished with another decade of trials and
tribulations before he can return home to the wife, Penelope, and son, Telemachus, that he left
behind. The Odyssey considers themes such as the role of the veteran in
society and the role of ego in the face of fated events.