Have you ever gone on a very long trip that did not turn out as planned? Find out about one of the most famous journeys, full of unexpected events, taken by a man named Odysseus in Homer's epic poem,
"The Odyssey" 8th century B.C.  An odyssey is a journey with many adventures and that's exactly what the main character of The Odyssey experiences. 

The pupils of the 3rd grade, groups 1 and 2, have studied about the adventures of Odysseus in their History class this year and they intend to take you with them on a journey back to ancient Greece; there you can meet our hero Odysseus, the king of Ithaca and live his adventures with him.

"Odysseus is smart, brave, clever, and a good fighter.  In the story, Odysseus has been away from his beloved island, Ithaca, for 20 years. He first fought in the Trojan War, which lasted ten years. During the war, Odysseus helps the Greeks win by sneaking soldiers into Troy in a wooden horse that looks like a gift. He heads back home, but this trip takes another 10 years. Along the way, he has some incredible adventures and meets many unusual characters, strange and dangerous creatures. He travels through bad storms with his men, he gets ship-wrecked, fights a giant with one eye named Cyclops, passes by the Sirens, creatures who have beautiful voices and kill sailors.Greek gods and goddesses cause trouble or help Odysseus through his travels.  Finally he is the only one to survive after his last ship is destroyed by one of the gods.

In the second half of The Odyssey, Odysseus finally returns to Ithaca, his beloved island where he disguises himself as a beggar.But only his dog and his nunny, being an old woman now, recognize him.
At home he  meets his son Telemachus and together they kill the suitors, who are trying to marry Penelope in order to gain his kingdom. Odysseus proves who he is to Penelope by being the only one able to shoot his old bow.
Penelope finds her husband again and Odysseus his loving wife! And that's the end of his long journey!"

Welcome on board!

The song heard on the video is performed by the pupils of the 3rd grade themselves and it is composed by our Music teacher, based on the poem "ΙΘΑΚΗ"- "Ithaca" of K.Kavafis.

"Σα βγεις στον πηγαιμὸ για την Ιθάκη,

να εύχεσαι να῾ναι μακρὺς ο δρόμος,

γεμάτος περιπέτειες, γεμάτος γνώσεις..."

As you set out for Ithaca
hope the voyage is a long one
full of adventures, full of knowledge

Ithaca has given you the beautiful journey
and if you find it poor
Ithaca hasn't fooled you

now that you have become wiser 
you must know what Ithacas mean...

We can all realize that  the journey itself means a lot more  than the destination!