How long is Ulysses’ journey?

Odysseus’ voyage lasts a total of 20 years. It is divided into two main periods: ten years of war against Troy and ten years of wandering at sea before returning to his kingdom of Ithaca. The story, attributed to Homer, is one of the most famous epics of Greek mythology, and illustrates Ulysses’ perseverance and ingenuity in the face of trials imposed by the gods and fate.

Ulysses’ journey begins with the Trojan War, which lasts ten years. According to legend, he was one of the Greek kings called up to fight after Helen, wife of Menelaus, was kidnapped by the Trojan prince Paris. Ulysses, King of Ithaca, is renowned for his intelligence and strategic skills. He played a key role in the Greek victory with his idea of the Trojan horse, a ruse enabling Greek soldiers to enter the city and destroy it.

After the fall of Troy, the Greek kings try to return home, but for Ulysses, the journey home is particularly long and full of pitfalls.

The Odyssey recounts Odysseus’ journey after the war, which also lasts 10 years. This journey is marked by a series of extraordinary adventures and trials imposed by the gods, notably Poseidon, who seeks to punish him for blinding his son, the Cyclops Polyphemus.

Among the highlights of his journey are:

• The island of the Lotophagi, where his men risk forgetting their mission by eating the lotus;
• The episode of the Cyclops Polyphemus, whom Ulysses manages to deceive by giving him the name of Nobody before fleeing;
• The island of Aeolus, where he receives a wineskin containing the favorable winds, but his sailors open it by mistake, driving them away from Ithaca;
• Circe, the sorceress who turns her men into pigs before freeing them after Odysseus resists her;
• The realm of the dead, where he consults the shadow of the soothsayer Tiresias for advice on his return;
• The Sirens, whose enchanting song threatens to hijack his crew;
• Charybdis and Scylla, two sea monsters he must confront to continue his voyage;
• The Isle of the Sun, where his starving sailors kill the sacred flocks of Helios, triggering the wrath of the gods;
• The island of Calypso, where the nymph holds him prisoner for seven years before the gods allow him to leave;
• The island of the Phaeacians, where he is welcomed by King Alkinoos, who finally helps him return to Ithaca.

After years of hardship, Ulysses finally arrives in Ithaca in the guise of a beggar, so as not to be recognized immediately. He discovers that many suitors are seeking to marry his wife Penelope, thinking that he is dead. With the help of his son Telemachus and a few faithful followers, he organizes a stratagem and succeeds in eliminating the usurpers, thus regaining his throne and his family.

Ulysses’ journey lasts 20 years, combining 10 years of war in Troy and 10 years of wandering before returning to Ithaca. His journey symbolizes endurance, cunning and strength of will in the face of trials imposed by the gods and fate. The Odyssey, Homer’s masterpiece, continues to inspire contemporary literature and culture, illustrating the myth of the hero in search of his homeland.

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