THE ODYSSEY - THE LONG JOURNEY HOME (Lietuvių)

Almost 3,000 years ago, in ancient Greece, stories were not watched on screens or read from printed books. They were spoken, performed, remembered, passed from one generation to the next. From that tradition came two of the most influential stories ever told, the Iliad and the Odyssey, traditionally attributed to a mysterious Greek poet called Homer. We know surprisingly little about him. We cannot say exactly when he lived, where he lived, or whether the epics linked to his name were shaped by one poet or generations of storytellers. But the story that survived under his name has lasted almost 3,000 years, and it begins at the end of a war. For ten years Greeks and Trojans had fought, thousands had died, a city had burned, and one exhausted warrior wanted one thing, to go home. His name was Odysseus, king of the small Greek island of Ithaca. Across the sea, his wife Penelope was waiting. So was his son Telemachus, only a baby when his father left for war. Odysseus had already lost ten years to Troy. The journey home should have taken weeks. Instead, it would take another ten years. His ships would be destroyed, his companions would die, he would encounter monsters and enchantresses, descend into the world of the dead, hear a song no sailor was meant to survive, and beyond it all, Penelope would keep waiting. This is a story of war, pride, temptation, loss, loyalty, and survival. This is the odyssey, Troy had fallen. In the epic tradition, Odysseus had helped break the city's defenses with the Trojan horse. Greek warriors hid inside a great wooden horse while their fleet appeared to sail away. Believing the Greeks had gone, the Trojans brought the offering inside their walls. That night, the warriors emerged, the gates were opened, Troy was destroyed. Now Odysseus turned his ships towards Ithaca, towards home, towards Penelope, towards the son whose childhood he had missed. But in the odyssey, human beings do not control their destinies alone. The gods watch, they interfere, they reward, and they punish. Odysseus would soon make an enemy of one of the most powerful, Poseidon, god of the sea. During the journey, Odysseus and his men found a cave filled with sheep, food and cheese. They entered, then its owner returned, Polyphemus, a giant cyclops with one enormous eye. He rolled a massive stone across the entrance, the Greeks were trapped. Then he seized members of the crew and killed them. Odysseus knew strength alone could not save them, so he used the weapon for which he was famous, his mind. He offered the cyclops powerful wine. Polyphemus drank, then asked Odysseus his name. Odysseus answered, nobody. When the giant collapsed into drunken sleep, Odysseus and his men heated a sharpened wooden stake and blinded him. Polyphemus screamed. Other cyclops called from outside. Who is hurting you? Polyphemus cried, nobody. And so nobody came to help. The next morning, the blinded giant let his sheep leave the cave, feeling their backs to catch the Greeks. But Odysseus had tied his surviving men underneath the animals. One by one, they escaped. It should have been perfect. But Odysseus had another weakness, pride. As his ship moved safely away, he called back and revealed his true name. Now Polyphemus knew who had blinded him. And Polyphemus had a father, Poseidon. The cyclops called on the sea god to punish Odysseus. From then on, the sea itself seemed determined to keep him from home. Still, the ships continued. Odysseus reached Aeolus, keeper of the winds, who gave him a sealed bag containing dangerous winds that could drive his ships away from Ithaca. Only the wind that would carry him home remained free. At last, Ithaca appeared in the distance. Exhausted, Odysseus slept. His crew saw the mysterious bag and thought it might hold treasure. They opened it. The winds exploded into the sky, and the ships were driven back across the sea. When Odysseus awoke, Ithaca had vanished beyond the horizon. Again, the journey continued. They