While Riordan covers multiple different epics in this novel, the most important and most commonly referenced is the myth of Odysseus, famously recorded in Homer's epic, The Odyssey. Written in 800 B.C.E., The Odyssey is one of two major epic poems we have from Homer, with the other being The Illiad. While The Illiad recounts the Trojan War through the lens of the hero Achilles' anger at losing Patroclus, The Odyssey tells the story of Odysseus, the king of Ithaca, who wanders for ten years before finally returning home from the Trojan War and reuniting with his wife, Penelope, and son, Telemachus. The story begins in media res, or in the middle of things, and tells the tales of his adventures non-chronologically over the span of 24 books. It opens with Telemachus, Odysseus's son who was just a baby when Odysseus left and is now 20 years old, living with his mother and her suitors. Telemachus is encouraged by the goddess Athena to search for information about his father. As he heads to Sparta, Odysseus is struggling to find his way home. They eventually meet in Ithaca, where they come together to devise a plan to get rid of Penelope's suitors so Odysseus can take his rightful place as her husband and as king of Ithaca.
Like The Sea of Monsters, most of The Odyssey is set on the sea, specifically the Aegean Sea. Many of the monsters Percy and his friends encounter during this book are fought by Odysseus during his ten years wandering the ocean. The Laestrygonians are the first challenge Odysseus encounters, and Odysseus extends the length of the time he'll be wandering the ocean when Poseidon curses him after he blinds Polyphemus. Scylla, Chardbis, the Sirens, and Circe are all characters that Odysseus must face during his wanderings. Though Percy and his friends escape mostly unscathed, Odysseus actually ends up losing all of his crew members, returning to Ithaca completely alone. The two texts share some common themes, with scholars often identifying the theme of nostos, or return, and xenia, meaning guest-friendship or hospitality, as central themes of The Odyssey.
Despite us currently having it in written form, The Odyssey would have been intended to be performed orally over several days, with some experts suggesting that it was actually sung. It has been translated into dozens of languages, with some of the most popular English translations being the ones done by Robert Fagles, Richard Lattimore, and Robert Fitzgerald. Considered an essential part of the Western literary canon, The Odyssey topped BBC Culture's 100 Stories that Shaped the World. As Natalie Hayes writes for the BBC, "The Odyssey is an epic of such depth, detail, and complexity that every reader can find something new in its poetry and every writer can take inspiration from its story."
