Hannah Cline and Mackenzie Bradburn

With Mackenzie's cake-baking skills and Hannah's writing abilities, we made a combination of the two, creating a whole new way of looking at the Odssey. The cakes show Odysseus' travels in a colorfully fun way that allows the onlookers to visualize and eat each stop along the way. With the blog as a written illustration, readers are able to let their imaginations run wild with every sentence of his trip. When the two are brought together, any and everyone can explore the Odyssey like no man (or woman) has done before.

!~CAKES~!

To the right, there is the Trojan War (1)
and to the left is the Shores of Ismaros (2)

This is the Land of the Lotus Eaters (3)

This is the island of the Cyclops. Polyphemus (4)

This is where Aeolus bagged the winds for me (5)

Circe's island, where my men were transformed into pigs (6)

Where the blind prophet told me of my fate, in the Land of the Dead (7)

As we sailed through the waters, we past the waters of the Sirens (8)

Circe told me I had a choice to make. Either I run the risk of losing all my men, or only six. I decided against losing all of them (hence the the red crossed out circle showing I DID NOT choose that path) (9)

This is where my men became mutinous of me, and killed Helios' cattle (10)

Here is where I landed in Phaeacia and was treated very well by the King and his men (11)

This is where I killed all the suitors in my kingdom (12)

This is when Penelope tested my true identity, with our sign (13)

Troy

The Trojan War lasted for ten years. My idea of the hollow wooden horse with my men inside, ended it with victory for the Greeks.

* the words in italics are direct quotes from Elements of Literature The Epic pages 890- 947

The Bloodied Shores of Ismaros

After the War of Troy was done, my men and I set sail back for Ithaca, but the wind carried us west and brought us to Ismaros, the town of the Cicones. As soon as our ship arrived on their sandy shore, I stormed that place and killed all the men who fought. Plunder we took, and we enslaved the women, to make division, equal shares to all- but on the spot I told them: 'Back, and quickly! Out to sea again!' My men were mutinous, fools, on stores of wine. Sheep after sheep the butchered by the surf, and the shambling cattle, feasting... (pg. 896) My men refused to listen to me, their captain, their leader. While I was trying my hardest to get my men back on our ship, some Cicones ran back to their town, warning of my men’s’ attacks on the beach. Men after men on horseback they came, skilled in the art of fighting on their noble steed's backs. My men fought back, even though we were terribly outnumbered, and we made it back to our ship. As we sailed away from the troubles we caused, a new kind of guilt fled over my ship like a river after a night of rain.

The Land of the Lotus Eaters

During our many days of sailing, we had come across an island. I wanted to explore the land we had come upon. So I demanded that our ships come together and we anchor ourselves on land. We were on the territory of the Lotus Eaters. The men whom live upon the flower. I sent two of my men and a runner to check out the land. I noticed that the eaters of the sweet flower, did not want to harm us. The eaters offered our friends the Lotus Flower. But those who ate the succulent blossom ... Longed to stay forever, browsing on that native bloom, forgetful of their homeland. (pg. 898) I grabbed my three men and dragged them to my ship, there I tied them, now wailing to be let go, to their rowing benches. After they were securely fastened to their seats, I shouted to my men, 'All hands aboard; come, clear the beach and no one taste the Lotus, or you will lose your hope of home.' (pg. 898) My men, quickly getting into their positions, stuck their oars into the water, and we left the island.

Polyphemus, Poseidon's One-Eyed Monster

We had come to this island I was very curious to explore. My men and I left our ship to explore the cave that lay upon the land. Inside the cave, we found sheep and food to eat. Then, he arrived. The giant one-eyed monster came into the cave and threw his gathered wood to the ground, creating a loud bang and shook the ground we stood upon. After he had made himself a place to sit, he milked his sheep. He made the curds into his supper. It wasn't until after he had rekindled his fire that he had seen my men and I in the glare of the light. He stood up, startled, and asked us our purpose for being in his cave. Unsure of what to do, my men were frightened. As brave as I am, I took a step forward and told the ogre of who we were and of the protection Zeus bestowed upon my crew. At this, he laughed. He told me that monsters like him don't care for Gods, like the Almighty, Lord of the Clouds. After I pleaded he set us, the survivors of Poseidon's waters, free, he grabbed two of my men, like tomatoes in his massive hands, they were motionless. He took them apart; limb by limb, and made a meal out of my companions. My men and I fell to our knees, praying, wailing to Zeus to help us. As moments turned into seconds, my neighbors began to disappear; one after another.
After the Cyclops fell asleep, I had pondered the idea, if not more than once, to stab the giant. As the night grew on, I realized my plan would lead us no where. If the giant were to be killed, we would be stuck in the cave forever, unable to move the immense rock. My crew and I were forced to wait until the morning came. When the sun rose, lighting all of the earth, the Cyclops milked his ewes, lit his fire, and made another meal of my ship's crew. While he was allowing his flock to step into the world beyond the boulder, I began to plan more in how I would save us from this hell. Then it came to me. I took a pole from a boat the Cyclops had carried in one night. My men and I sharpened the end of the pole. Once it was right, i stuck it in the fire, turning it, until the tip of the pole was red hot. I had decided, when the Monster was asleep, i would pierce his one eye and blind him. Four of my best men, and I as their leader, we in charge of the stabbing.
As evening rolled around the corner, and the Cyclops continued his never changing routine, I told him, 'Cyclops, try some wine. Here's liquor to wash down your scraps of men. Taste it, and see the kind of drink we carried under our planks...' (pg. 903) And drank he did. The wine I had offered him was gone within seconds. The taste and delight of the drink made him call for more. To this, I brought him more bowls of the wine. After the last bowl made it's way down his gullet, i saw his face become flushed and his eyes begin to droop. I sang to him, and as his began to drift, i told him, 'Cyclops, you ask my honorable name? Remember the gift you promised me, and I shall tell you. My name is Nohbdy: mother, father, and friends, everyone calls me Nohbdy.' (pg. 904) He told me that Nohbdy would be his last meal. That I would be the last to be eaten by the Cyclops, after all my comrades were done. His head rolled to one side and his eyed closed shut. He was now asleep.
I took my spear and stuck it back into the burning flames of the fire, and we ran straight for the Monster's closed eye. We pierced right through the lid and the crater. Blood spilled out while the spear flamed. The Cyclops cried out to his companions, who heared him tell that, 'Nohbdy, Nohbdy's tricked me. Nohbdy's ruined me!' (pg. 905) With this, his friends left, not believing that he was in pain. Again, an idea came to me. I thought about how the Cyclops would open the cave and let his ewes outside of his cavern, and the idea to tie ourselves to the bottom of his flock would allow us the freedom. So like every other day, Polyphemus milked his ewes, started a fire, ate his supper, and let the flock out of the cave. But this time, the flock was accompanied by my crew and I. As we made our way to the ship, I turned to Polyphemus and shouted to him in triumph, 'Cyclops, if ever mortal man inquire how you were put to shame and blinded, tell him Odysseus, raider of cities, took your eye: Laertes' son, whose home's on Ithaca.' (908) He roared in rage and shouted to Poseidon, 'O hear me, lord, blue girdler of the islands, if I am thine indeed, and thou art father: grant that Odysseus, raider of cities, never sees his home...' (pg. 908) We sailed away from that island. hoping never to return again, but lost as to how this would be possible now that we upset the Lord of the Sea.

Aeolia, Where the Winds Are

Poseidon's anger brought us to the island of Aeolia. I made friends with Aeolus and as a favor, he placed all of his winds into a bag for us to take with us on our journey. I placed the bull's-hide bag under my after deck. My men, whom were becoming more rebellious against me, opened the bag, hoping to find treasures in the bag, but instead, they found Aeolus' winds, and we were blown back to Aeolia. We were driven away, again, by Aeolus and thankful I am still.

Laesrtrygonians

While cruising away from the island of Aeolia, we sailed past the island of the Laestrrygonians. The land of the giant cannibals. All ships were destroyed, except mine. Men and the remains of ship were scattered all over the shore, being devoured by the massive creatures.

The Witch Named Circe

As we sailed away from the disaster stricken shores, we came upon the lands of Aeaea. After we began our exploration of the island, I noticed a stone house in the woods. It was the house of the witch, Circe. She had been known to put men on a spell, making them forget about home and turn into pigs. I did not care if she would put me under her piggish spell, I wanted to go inside of her house, so I sent a few of my men to check if it was safe. As they walked down the halls of her humble abode, my men could hear a faint noise, and as they came closer and closer, they could hear her, Circe, singing. Unsure if they should enter or not. It wasn't until Polites stepped forward and told the crew they had nothing to fear. That they must greet her, weather she be Goddess or lady. Everyone agreed and quickly ran to her doors, where she greeted them with food and drink. Foolishly, my men accepted her offers, not knowing weather she was poisoning them or just being polite. It wasn't until after my men had had their share of snacks and , Scarce they had drunk when she flew after them with her long stick and shut them in a pigsty- bodies, voices, heads, and bristles, all swinish now, though minds were still unchanged. (pg. 912) Eurylochus came back running to the ship, warning me of what happened. I left my ship and ran to save what was left of my crew. As i made my way down Circe's hall, Hermes stopped me in my tracks and gave me a moly. The moly gave me the power to be protected from Circe's sorcery and weaken her powers. She let my men go after she realized who she was up against. As I shared some of her meat and wine, she begged for me to stay with her. We shared many pleasures with each other while my men begged her to be sent home. She accepts their pleas and tell me I must travel alone to the Land of the Dead where I must seek the wisdom of Teiresias, the blind prophet.

The Land of the Dead

As I approached the dead of the underworld, I remembered what Circe had told me about what I must do in order to get the blind prophet to speak to me. The dead were all around me, still sharing their blood soaked bodies with the world. I promised Teiresias my black lamb. I slit my lamb, allowing the blood to poor, making a nice pit of blood. Soon, I noticed one of the dead come forward, holding a golden staff, and he said, 'Son of Laertes and the gods of old, Odysseus, master of landways and seaways, why leave the blazing sun, O man of woe, to see the cold dead and the joyless region? Stand clear, put up your sword; let me but taste of blood, I shall speak true.' (pg. 914) I did as the wiseman asked. He drank the blood, then shared with me my fate. He told me of what I can expect to encounter.

The Sweet Songs of the Sirens

After my encounter with the dead, I went back to Circe. As we said our fairwells, she warned me of what lies ahead. Then my crew and I shuffled back onto our boat, and began, again, our journey to Ithaca. I knew what we would be encountering, so I demanded my men to fill their ears with soften wax and tie me to the mast, I told them to not let me go, no matter how loud my cries are.

Then we entered their territory. I listened to their beautiful symphonies crying to be let go, but my men just tightened the rope. We were in the sirens' land. Their sweet music could lure any man to them, but once you were on their shore, they would eat you. finally we had made it to the opposite shore. My men scraped the wax out of their deafened ears and unwound the ropes holding me in.

Scylla and Charybdis

Another encounter Circe warned me of was that of Scylla, a six headed monster, and Charybdis, a fire spitting whirl pool. She warned me that if I were to sail the way of Charybdis, I would run the risk of losing all my men, but if I went by Scylla, i would only lose only six of my men. I saved my men the trouble of panic, and I decided to keep this information between Circe and myself. Not yet willing to travel my journey alone, I traveled the way of Scylla and prevented all my men from a perilous trip. As we came closer and closer to that monster, Circe's bidding against arms slipped my mind, so I tied on my cuirass and took up two heavy spears, then made my way along to the foredeck- thinking to see her first from there, the monster of the gray rock, harboring tourment for my friends. (pg. 920-921) I lost six of my men that day to the jaws of the cruel Scylla.

The Cattle of Helios, the God of Sun

I tried to convince my crew to sail past Thrinakia, by they were becoming mutinous of my wishes, and we landed on the shore. I made my men swear no to touch any of the cattle grazing upon the shore. As the storms became worse, I went to the inside of my ship and prayed to the Gods that they would show me some way of arriving back home. As I prayed, I began to drift into sleep. When i awoke, my men had disobeyed my orders and killed Helios' cattle. When Helios', God of the Son, discovered what my men had done, he shouted to Zeus, 'O Father Zeus and gods in bliss forever, punish Odysseus' men! So overweening, now they have killed my peaceful kine, my joy at morning when I climb the sky of stars, and evening, when I bore westward from heaven. Restitution or penalty they shall pay- and pay in full- or I go down forever to light the dead men in the underworld.' (pg. 924) We set sail to leave Helios' island, when Zeus destroys my boat with his mighty thunderbolt. My men surrounding me, drown until I am the only one left.

Calypso

The waters drifted me to an island, where i was captured by the beautiful Calypso. For ten years I was a prisoner of her caves. Hermes tell Calypso that I can not stay with her any longer, she tells me, "O forlorn man, be still. Here you need grieve no more; you need not feel your life consumed here; I have pondered it, and I shall help you go..." (pg. 892) We walked back into her cave where we "thought of ideas for me to get home." We wished eachother well and I was on my way.

Phaeacia the Wonderful

I was found by the lovely daughter of Alcinous. He was the king of Phaeacia. They welcomed me into their castle, treating me as if I were a God. I asked the band to play a wonderful melody, it was a song about my feats. When I told the king and his men of who I was, they gave me many gifts. They wanted nothing more than to see me home.

The Meeting of Father and Son

Now that I had arrived back in Ithaca, I need to hide myself from the suiters after my sweet Penelope. Athena, daughter of Zeus, transformed me to look like a beggar, and I entered my kingdom safely. I went to my trusted servant, Eumaeus, where he took care of me very well. During one of our conversations, my son, Telemachus, whom I hadn't seen in twenty or so years, came bursting into the shack. For the first time in years, i was meeting my son. My son who didn't know weather i was alive or dead.

The Beggar and the Faithful Dog

Telemachus left my presence and went back to our kingdom. Eumaeus leads me, still looking like a beggar, to my old nurse. As we came upon the great gate, I saw my old dog. When he heard my voice, ... He did his best to wag his tail, nose down, with flattened ears, having no strength to move nearer his master. (pg. 932) I saw him try and use all of his strength, attempting to stand. At this, all I could do was wipe a small tear from my eye and continue by Eumaeus' side.

The Test Of The Great Bow

As I walked into my Kingdom, receiving crude remarks from the evil suitors surrounding me, I walked to my son, now aware of my true identity, and prepared for our plan to kill off the suitors. As Penelope, who had accepted the fact that I must be dead, set up the first challenge for the men to face, the test of the great bow. She told the suitors, "Here is my lord Odysseus' hunting bow. Bend and string it if you can. Who sends an arrow through iron ax-helve sockets, twelve in line? I join my life with his, and leave this palace my home..." (pg. 937) As the challenge began, man after man, no one was able to pull the bow. As I went up for my turn, suitors laughed in my face and told me i could not do it. My dear Penelope insisted that I string the bow. With my son and my servant guarding all way out, I took my position, holding the bow comfortably in my arms. Athena swooped down from the heavens, giving me the appearance of a young lad. I pulled back on the bow's string and shot. I shot the arrow smoothly through the air and, [My] arrow hit [Antinous] under the chin and punched up to the feathers through his throat. Backward and down he went, letting the cup fall from his shocked hand. Like pipes his nostrils jetted crimson runnels, a river of mortal red. (pg. 941) And as the war of the suitors and I began, the doors out were closed and I shot every single one of them, till there were no men after my Penelope.

Penelope's Final Test

I had won Penelope's first test. I told her of whom I was, Odysseus, but she was in extreme disbelief. As we walked up to the sleeping chambers, she told her maid, "Make up his bed for him, Eurycleia. Place it outside the bed chamber my lord built with his own hands." (pg. 945) As Penelope spoke these words, I realized that this would be impossible, as our bed was made of a tree. No man strong enough could ever be able to move the bed. She looked at me and exclaimed with joy, "There's our sign!" (pg. 946)