In the Ancient Greek epic The Odyssey, Odysseus takes ten years to return to his home on Ithaca after the Trojan War. Since the distance between Troy and Ithaca is not that great, why did it take Odysseus so long?
Although many people find this aspect of the legend bizarre, it actually makes a lot of sense when the details are considered.
How long should it have taken Odysseus to return to Ithaca?
The debate exists because, on paper, Odysseus’ ten-year journey home makes little sense. By all accounts, his return to Ithaca should have been far shorter—perhaps not even a single year.
Troy was situated in the northwest corner of Anatolia, while Odysseus’ home lay on the island of Ithaca, off the western coast of Greece. The route was straightforward: sail across the Aegean Sea, skirt the Greek coastline, and arrive safely back home.
Under normal circumstances, this voyage would have taken no more than two weeks. So why, then, did Odysseus’ odyssey stretch across a full decade?
Divine intervention
One straightforward reason given in the Odyssey itself is that Poseidon, god of the sea, harbored deep anger toward Odysseus. In a conversation with Athena, Zeus explains:
“It is Poseidon, the Earth-Bearer, who is always filled with implacable anger against him, because of godlike Polyphemus, the strongest Cyclops of all, whom Odysseus blinded. The nymph Thoosa bore him, daughter of Phorcys who rules the barren sea: she slept with Poseidon in the hollow caves. Since that blinding, Poseidon, the Earth-Shaker, though he will not kill him, keeps Odysseus far from his native land.”
According to this, Poseidon was angry with Odysseus for having blinded Polyphemus the Cyclops. Polyphemus, after all, was the son of Poseidon. Hence, as vengeance for this act of violence against the Cyclops, Poseidon was determined to stir up trouble for Odysseus. While he didn’t go as far as to kill him, he wanted to prevent Odysseus from reaching Ithaca.
How adverse weather conditions kept Odysseus away
As we read Homer’s Odyssey, we see countless examples of adverse conditions standing in the way of Odysseus’ return home—many of them occurring even before the blinding of Polyphemus.
When Odysseus first reaches southern Greece, he is immediately blown off course while rounding Cape Maleas. In reality, this is a notoriously treacherous stretch of sea, so the danger is unsurprising. The wind rages without pause for nine days, pushing Odysseus hundreds of miles from his intended path.
Soon after leaving Polyphemus’ island, Odysseus receives from Aeolus a magical leather bag containing winds meant to carry him home. At first, all seems to go well, and he comes close to Ithaca, but his crew, curious and impatient, opens the bag. The released winds sweep them back to Aeolus’ island, undoing their progress entirely.
Later, when Odysseus reaches Thrinacia, still near Ithaca, harsh weather again traps him. A relentless south wind confines him to the island for a full month. Finally, after leaving Thrinacia, a violent storm destroys his ship and leaves him adrift in the open sea. He eventually washes up on Calypso’s remote island, where he remains for weeks before he is allowed to resume his journey home.
The main reason it took Odysseus ten years to return to Ithaca
Another major reason Odysseus’ journey took a decade was his prolonged stays on certain islands. A minor example is the island of Aeolus, where he and his men spent a month enjoying generous hospitality. More significant, however, were his stays on the islands of Circe and Calypso.
On Circe’s island, Odysseus was held for an entire year, while on Calypso’s island, he remained a captive for seven long years. This factor alone accounts for over eight of the ten years described in the Odyssey, making it by far the most significant cause of his delayed return.
When we consider all the factors together, the reasons become clear. Beyond the eight years of captivity, Odysseus also faced extended stays on other islands due to hospitality or unfavorable winds. On top of that, storms and other natural obstacles repeatedly drove him off course, stretching his journey to a full decade.
