How Long Was Odysseus Gone?

Odysseus was gone from his kingdom of Ithaca for a total of 20 years.  The first 10 years of his absence were spent fighting in the Trojan War. This legendary conflict, chronicled by Homer in the Iliad, was sparked by the seduction of the Spartan queen Helen by the Trojan prince Paris and saw Odysseus and his fellow Greek warriors laying siege to the city of Troy. The war itself was a decade-long endeavor, filled with battles, strategies, and the eventual use of the famous wooden horse, a cunning plan attributed to Odysseus, which led to the fall of Troy.

After the war, Odysseus’s journey home to Ithaca took another 10 years. In this period, famously depicted in Homer’s Odyssey, Odysseus faced numerous challenges and adventures. From experiencing blissful forgetfulness in the land of the Lotus-Eaters to being captured by the Cyclops Polyphemus, Odysseus’s voyage was fraught with delay and danger. He evaded perils such as the sea monsters Scylla and Charybdis and encountered the enchantress Circe, who transformed some of his men into swine and also advised him on how to escape the temptations of the Sirens. His journey was further complicated by the wrath of Poseidon, the sea god, who sought to hinder his return.

The last stretch of Odysseus’s journey involved his captivity on the island of Ogygia, where the nymph Calypso held him for several years. It was only with the intervention of the gods that Odysseus was finally released and able to continue his journey back to Ithaca. Upon his return, he found his home overrun with suitors vying for his wife Penelope’s hand, believing him to be dead. He defeated the suitors, recovered his kingdom, and was reunited with Penelope and their son Telemachus.