The Odyssey

About the Book

This is the tale of the Odyssey of Homer rendered in Spencerian stanzas as used by him in “The Fairie Queen.” The story line is faithful to Lord Lytton’s famous work in prose of the Odyssey. Here, the name Ulysses is used as being better known to modern readers than Odysses.

Ulysses, sailing home to Ithaca after the Trojan War had incurred the wrath of Neptune, god of the sea, because his sailors had eaten some of Neptune’s sacred cattle. The angry god caused his shipwreck on Calypso’s island where he had been kept prisoner by the goddess in her attempt to seduce him into marriage. Jove fi nally ordered his release, but angry Neptune blocked his progress through many examples of his hate for Ulysses. After ten years of harrassment, Ulysses reached his home only to fi nd that the Suitors had established control over his palace and were engaged in consuming his wealth while trying to seduce Penelope, Ulysses wife, into marriage with one of them. With the slaughter of the Suitors by Ulysses and reunion with his wife, son and father the tale ends.

About the Author

Earl Johnson is an honour graduate in Physics and Mathematics from the University of Manitoba, 1951. He was also a member of the Royal Canadian Navy, and served on HMCS Niagara in the North Atlatic during WWII, wherin he took part in the capture of the German submarine U-471.

After graduation he served as research scientist with the Canadian government and with General Electric at Syracuse, NY. Now retired, he lives with his wife Patricia in Ottawa, Canada. He has one son Peter who lives in Toronto, Ontario.