Odyssey - an extended adventurous voyage or trip; an intellectual or spiritual quest; any long journey,

esp.when filled with adventure, hardships, etc.

Penelope - marital faithfulness : She waits twenty years for the final return of her husband, during which
she devises various strategies to delay marrying one of the 108 suitors; she has devised tricks to delay
her suitors, one of which is to pretend to be weaving a burial shroud for Odysseus's elderly father
Laertes and claiming that she will choose a suitor when she has finished; every night for three years, she
undoes part of the shroud, until Melantho, one of twelve unfaithful serving women, discovers her
chicanery and reveals it to the suitors; whoever can string Odysseus's rigid bow and shoot an arrow
through twelve axe heads may have her hand. "For the plot of the Odyssey, of course, her decision is the
turning point, the move that makes possible the long-predicted triumph of the returning hero.
Scylla and Charybdis - Being between Scylla and Charybdis is an idiom deriving from Greek mythology,
meaning "having to choose between two evils". Several other idioms, such as "on the horns of a
dilemma"
Major Symbols in The Odyssey
Laertes' Shroud
Homer's world in The Odyssey looms large, and it presents symbols, ranging from specific objects to
geographical entities, that are large in their significance. Examples include the shroud that Penelope
weaves for Laertes, the great bow of Odysseus, the sea itself, and the island of Ithaca.
The shroud that Penelope weaves for her father-in-law, Laertes', eventual funeral symbolizes the
cunning with which she confronts the suitors. She lacks the power to fight them with physical strength
so she wards them off with her wits. The suitor Antinous bitterly tells the story of the shroud to the
assembly in Book 2: Penelope devoted herself to the shroud for three full years, promising she would
choose a husband when she finished. By day, the queen, a renowned weaver, worked at a great loom in
the royal halls. At night, she secretly unraveled what she had done, deceiving the young suitors. The
ruse failed only when Penelope was betrayed by a disloyal maidservant.
Odysseus' Bow
Primarily, the bow symbolizes the physical superiority of the king an important point in a world in
which the mighty prevail. But the bow also symbolizes the maturity and perhaps the character of the
king. The suitors can't come close to stringing it (Book 21), illustrating the fact that none of them is
capable of leading Ithaca. Prince Telemachus, trying the bow just for sport, comes close. The reader is
told that Telemachus probably could string the bow on his fourth attempt, but his father signals him to
desist. We take from this passage that Telemachus is almost ready to be king but patiently and properly
acquiesces to his father's judgment. Only Odysseus can string the bow on his first attempt, and he does
so with ease, showing that he is the proper mate for Penelope and the only man ready to be king of
Ithaca.
The Sea

The sea itself is a recurring symbol throughout the epic. It is, in effect, the sea of life. It represents a
great man's journey through life with all its victories and heartbreaks.
Because Odysseus is far from Ithaca and the only way home is by way of the sea, he shows lack of
judgment when he incurs the wrath of the sea god, Poseidon, by blinding the god's son Polyphemus. The
sea god answers the Cyclops' prayer by making Odysseus' struggle long and hard, assuring that he
returns home alone and finds formidable problems in his household. Part of the appeal of The Odyssey is
this universal journey that we all undertake, in ways great or small.
Ithaca
The island of Ithaca symbolizes home. There Odysseus can share his life with his beloved wife and son,
enjoy the wealth that he has earned, eat the food of his youth, and even sleep in the bed that he built.
Ithaca symbolizes the end of the journey, the goal of the mythic trek. Nevertheless, it is not gained
without a fight.
Odysseus must initially enter his own home in disguise. This is necessary because his home has been
invaded by the enemy: the suitors. Being the military leader that he is, Odysseus first gathers pertinent
information. He then plans the time and place of his attack, doing what he can to limit the enemy's
weapons while procuring his own. His son and two loyal herdsmen stand by him, and Athena intervenes
only enough to encourage victory so long as Odysseus fights well. The reward is that Odysseus resumes
his proper position as king of his homeland, Ithaca.