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The real Odyssey

  In the myth – on the surface – the Odyssey is about the Greek legendary hero Odysseus' fantastic and years-long sea voyage home from the Trojan War.
But in the mystery – in secret – it is the deceased king who sails west in his ship to the realm of the dead, but who is reborn as a royal child and returns by ship from the land of sunrise and life.

  Homer says that Odysseus was king on the island of Ithaca, and that he, together with a large number of other Greek kings, went to war against the city-state of Troy in Asia Minor. They wanted to recapture the beautiful Queen Helena, who had been abducted by Prince Paris from Troy.
  Shortly before his departure, Odysseus had fathered a son, Telemachus, with his wife, Penelopeia. Telemachus was conceived in the marriage bed made from the family tree[1]. For 10 long years Odysseus fought at Troy, along with the other kings, before the city finally fell.
  The journey home from Troy was extremely eventful for Odysseus. Violent storms knocked him off course, and after 3 years of sailing he reached the realm of the dead in the far west, on the other side of the ocean. Homer tells, without saying so directly, that the king of Ithaca had died and was taken to the kingdom of the dead in the west.
  The king sailed through the realm of the dead and re-entered the world of men – from the east[2], via the Black Sea[3]. Soon after, he came to the island of the goddess Calypso. Homer says that there were four springs on the island, “From four fountains, close to each other in a row, clear water flowed in various directions …”[4].
  Odysseus was reborn at the fountain of life in a sort of Garden of Eden to the east, where day and life begin. But the king of Ithaca had to wait 7 years on Calypso’s island before she let him sail further west towards home.
  On his way home, he was shipwrecked in the Land of the Phaeacians, but here he was saved by the local king’s daughter Nausikaa. Odysseus accepted the Phaeacians offer to be sailed home. His things, as well as food and drink, were stowed in the (grave-)ship, and Odysseus went to sleep under the sheet on a bed in the ship without saying a word.
  Then it was off to the land of Ithaca, “… They spread a rug and linen sheet on the deck inside the hollow ship, at the stern, so Odysseus could sleep in peace. He went aboard, as well, and lay down in silence.”[5]. The dead king was brought home under a shroud, and when the sailors arrived in Ithaca, they carefully carried the “sleeping” hero onto the beach along with food and drink and rich gifts[6].
  When the Phaeacians sailed back to their land, the boat suddenly turned to stone[7] – to the stone sarcophagus it really was. For the deceased king had been transported home in a stone coffin or urn with accompanying grave goods.

  Back home in Ithaca, the people and the wife Penelopeia waited for the king to return home. But the belief that he would one day come was greatly waning. This led the young princes from the neighbouring countries to try to take over the small kingdom. They turned out in great numbers and wooed the “Daughter of Ithaca”.
  But in their way stood Odysseus’ son, Telemachus, who was now a grown up man. He had to be removed, murdered. But the king’s son escaped to the country of Sparta. Here he was well received, and here he was assured that the royal line of Ithaca would continue. Telemachus returned to Ithaca to fight for the kingdom that was his.

  Now, however, Odysseus finally reached home, laden with the gifts that the Phaeacians had given him, and which “he” immediately hid. The goddess Athena made him unrecognizable, so that no one discovered that it was the king who had returned.
  The king and the king’s son arrived at the same time, and the crown prince of Ithaca learned that the father was with him in secret (spiritually), protected and disguised by the goddess Athena. Telemachus thus became seriously aware of his responsibility as a king’s son.
  In the swineherd Eumaios’ cabin in the forest, Odysseus revealed himself to his son as he really was: the king who had returned. Together they decided to kill the suitors and regain the kingship of Ithaca.
  Transformed into a miserable beggar, Odysseus came to the royal palace. Here he was mocked and beaten by the suitors. But then Telemachus and Odysseus went up against the suitors. By tests of strength, and by signs and magic, it was to be shown that the true king of Ithaca had returned. Telemachus lined up 12 axes. With Odysseus’ bow, the suitors then had to shoot an arrow through the hole in all the axe-heads. None of the suitors could string the bow, but the king seized the bow and shot the arrow through all the axe-heads.
  Now, everyone could see that it was the king who had returned. The suitors were killed and the royal palace ritually cleansed with fire and brimstone. The king then celebrated (a sacred) wedding with Ithaca’s daughter, Penelopeia, his country and his people. He was now reunited with his country and his people.
  Eventually, all three generations came together: Odysseus, his son Telemachus and his father Laertes, who is suddenly introduced here, even though he had not been part of the story until then. But it wasn’t just the king who had returned from a sea adventure, it was Ithaca’s eternal royal family which had been continued.
  Odysseus’ father Laertes was the epitome of Ithaca’s royal family. He was the family’s ancestor-progenitor. The three generations: Grandfather, father and son were symbolically the entire royal family.

  Read much more about it in: ’The King Mystery. Yahweh and the Daughter of Zion’