The Adventures of Ulysses by Bernard Evslin is a really good 178-page book that retells the legendary journey of Ulysses — also known as Odysseus — as he struggles to return home to Ithaca after the Trojan War. It is filled with adventure, surprises, and excitement, just as you would expect from one of the greatest Greek myths, and it’s told in a way that’s easy to follow and truly engaging. Originally published in 1969, it is considered one of the classic retellings of Ulysses (Odysseus) and his epic adventures.
It’s definitely worth checking out if you want to experience the story in your own imagination through this well-crafted tale. Here’s a brief review of The Adventures of Ulysses to give you a sense of what to expect if you decide to read it, followed by a short biography of the author, Bernard Evslin.
The Adventures of Ulysses: Book Review & Summary
The prologue kicks things off by telling us about the famous war against Troy, which started pretty crazily over a golden apple and ended with that giant wooden horse. It all began when Peleus, the mightiest hero of his time, married Thetis, the most beautiful naiad (water nymph) around.
All the gods of Olympus attended their wedding, but Thetis didn’t invite Eris, the goddess of discord, who was also the sister of Ares, the god of war. Naturally, Eris wasn’t happy about that, and for reasons of revenge, she placed a golden apple on the feast with “To the Fairest” inscribed on it.
Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite all immediately claimed it, and chaos nearly broke out. The gods decided to leave the judgment to Paris, a handsome young man who was also secretly a prince. Paris chose to give the golden apple to Aphrodite after she promised him any woman he desired — so he picked her. Aphrodite then told him about Helen, the queen of Sparta, who closely resembled her own likeness. Helen was the daughter of Zeus and Leda — you know, the myth where Zeus transformed into a swan to be with her!
Later on, Paris found himself on a diplomatic trip to Sparta, where Helen’s husband, King Menelaus, ruled. Not long after, beautiful Helen was on a ship with Paris heading to Troy. That’s pretty much the reason why the ten-year Trojan War started — with all its battles, heroes, and legends. Of course, Ulysses (Odysseus) eventually outsmarted the Trojans with that famous Trojan horse trick. But Ulysses also ended up angering Poseidon, the god of the sea, which made his journey back home really tricky.
Ulysses sailed home with three ships, each filled with fifty men, along with plenty of treasure — the spoils of war. But their journey hit a snag when they encountered the Ciconians, resulting in a tough fight and the loss of eighteen men — six from each ship according to this book. Just had a thought: maybe that’s where the number of the beast, 666, comes from — lol!
Eurylochus, one of the crew members, believed they must have angered the gods, which might explain the continuing trouble. After getting back on their ships and being blown around the island of Cythera, they eventually found themselves near the hump of Africa, called Libya. Libya was known as the land where Morpheus, the god of dreams, played. Morpheus, the son of Hypnos — the god of sleep — had the power to make men dream. He grew a special flower in Libya, where it was always summer. It was purple and black, with one petal streaked in fiery red. The people ate nothing else, and because of that, they mostly slept — unless they were busy harvesting those magical flowers.
Ulysses and his men wandered into Lotusland, where the Lotus flowers worked their magic on them too. Ulysses started dreaming, but eventually realized that the Lotus flowers caused sleep, so he hesitated to eat any more. Even just smelling them made everyone sleepy. One by one, Ulysses had to carry his men back to the ship. Afterward, they set sail again, uncertain of what adventure awaited them next.
Then they arrive on the island of the Cyclopes, these huge, savage creatures with one eye right in the middle of their foreheads. Once upon a time, they lived deep in Olympus, making thunderbolts for Zeus, but for some reason, Zeus punished them and sent them away. Over time, they forgot all their smithing skills and then spent most of their days just trying to fill their stomachs with food.
One day, Ulysses and twelve of his crew landed on the beach. They were starving and walking up a hill when they spotted a cave. The smell of food drifted out, and they couldn’t resist. Inside, they found a huge fireplace with goats spit-roasted on it — they couldn’t pass up that meat. But then, the cave door slammed shut behind them. Turns out, it was the Cyclops Polyphemus, though they didn’t know that at the time. This is where Ulysses famously says, “My name? Why, I am nobody.”
Most people with an interest in Greek mythology know the story of how Ulysses ends up blinding Polyphemus, the giant with one eye. Ulysses and some of his men manage to escape the cave, but before they get away on their ship, Polyphemus calls out to Poseidon, praying for revenge. It’s like a curse, and it sets the stage for a lot of trouble ahead for Ulysses.
Next in The Adventure of Ulysses is Ulysses meeting Aeolus, the keeper of the winds. After that, the adventure takes him to some pretty wild places, where he encounters strange and powerful characters and creatures across the book’s many chapters — such as Cannibal Beach, Circe, the Land of the Dead, the Wandering Rocks, the Sirens, Scylla and Charybdis, the Cattle of the Sun, Calypso, Ino’s Veil, Nausicaa, and finally The Return, which shares its name with the The Return movie, starring Ralph Fiennes as Odysseus.
The Adventures of Ulysses also has a few useful extras. At the beginning, there’s a map showing his entire voyage so you can follow along. At the end, there’s a genealogy chart of gods and goddesses, plus some pages explaining the meanings behind some of the names in the story.
The Adventures of Ulysses (Odysseus): Learn More
I’d give “The Adventures of Ulysses” a rating score of 7 out of 10. It’s a pretty good read, no doubt about that. If you go into it without knowing too much about the story, I think you’d enjoy it even more. You’ll find some hidden gems in there too. These days, there’s a ton of stuff about Odysseus and his adventures, so it’s kind of hard for the book to feel totally fresh, but this novel still has its charm.
There are many cool movies and TV shows based on The Odyssey you can check out covering this amazing ancient Greek adventure. For readers who enjoy graphic novels, there is The Odyssey graphic novel, which features a unique and memorable illustration style. Although it seems to be quite popular, I didn’t like it that much. There is also the super trippy, psychedelic ULYSSES: Heavy Metal graphic novel, which I really enjoyed and personally recommend if you want to read a very cool graphic novel on this topic. But honestly, if you’re someone who loves using your imagination to bring a story to life, this book is a great pick — it’s perfect for conjuring up your own epic adventure.
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Bernard Evslin Biography & The Adventures of Ulysses
Bernard Evslin (1922 – 1993) was an American writer best known for reimagining Greek mythology. He was born in New Rochelle, New York, and later attended Rutgers University. Early in his career, Bernard worked as a playwright and screenwriter. His comedy play, The Geranium Hat, made it to Broadway in 1959 and received pretty good reviews. However, his later play, Step on a Crack, only ran for one night at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre, even though it starred Rita Hayworth. He also wrote the screenplay for A.k.a. Cassius Clay, which was about Muhammad Ali, and co-wrote the script for Journey Back to Oz.
In the 1960s, he shifted gears from plays and screenplays to writing novels and short stories. His most famous book from that time is Heroes, Gods and Monsters of the Greek Myths, which has been translated into multiple languages and sold over ten million copies worldwide.
Over his career, Evslin published more than seventy books, nearly half of which were aimed at young adults. He received several awards for his work, including the National Education Association Award in 1961, a nomination for the same award in 1975, an award for the best educational documentary on TV, and the Washington Irving Children’s Book Award from the Westchester Library Association in 1968 for his book Hercules.
Bernard was married to Dorothy Evslin, who was also an author and teacher. They co-wrote two of his mythology books, The Greek Gods and Heroes & Monsters of Greek Myth, along with Ned Hoopes. They had four children together.
Some of his other notable works include the Monsters of Mythology series, published between 1987 and 1991. In these books, he retold many stories from ancient myths, often tweaking the plots a bit. Titles in this series include The Adventures of Ulysses, Anteus, Amycus, The Calydonian Boar, Cerberus, The Chimaera, The Cyclopes, Drabne of Dole, The Dragon of Boetia, Fafnir, Fenris, The Furies, Geryon, Harpalyce, Hecate, The Hydra, Ladon, Medusa, The Minotaur, The Nemean Lion, Pig’s, The Ploughman, Procrustes, Scylla and Charybdis, The Sirens, The Spear-Birds, and The Sphinx.
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