The 
Odyssey  (/ˈɒdəsi/; Greek: Ὀδύσσεια,  
Odýsseia,  Attic Greek: [o.dýs.sej.ja]) is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still read by contemporary audiences. As with the 
Iliad, the poem is divided into 24 books. It follows the Greek hero Odysseus, king of Ithaca, and his journey home after the Trojan War. After the war itself, which lasted ten years, his journey lasts for ten additional years, during which time he encounters many perils and all his crewmates are killed. In his absence, Odysseus is assumed dead, and his wife Penelope and son Telemachus must contend with a group of unruly suitors who compete for Penelope’s hand in marriage.
The 
Odyssey was originally composed in Homeric Greek in around the 8th or 7th century BCE and, by the mid-6th century BCE, had become part of the Greek literary canon. In antiquity, Homer’s authorship of the poem was not questioned, but contemporary scholarship predominantly assumes that the 
Iliad and the 
Odyssey were composed independently, and the stories themselves formed as part of a long oral tradition. Given widespread illiteracy, the poem was performed by an 
aoidos or rhapsode, and more likely to be heard than read.
Crucial themes in the poem include the ideas of 
nostos (νόστος; ‘return’), wandering,  
xenia (ξενία; ‘guest-friendship’), testing, and omens. Scholars still reflect on the narrative significance of certain groups in the poem, such as women and slaves, who have a more prominent role in the epic than in many other works of ancient literature. This focus is especially remarkable when considered beside the 
Iliad, which centres the exploits of soldiers and kings during the Trojan War.
The 
Odyssey is regarded as one of the most significant works of the Western canon. The first English translation of the 
Odyssey was in the 16th century. Adaptations and re-imaginings continue to be produced across a wide variety of mediums. In 2018, when 
BBC Culture polled experts around the world to find literature’s most enduring narrative, the 
Odyssey topped the list.
From Wikipedia