Odysseus' Post-Odyssey Fate Revealed in Lost Epic Telegony

The article explores what happened to Odysseus after Homer's Odyssey ends, drawing on the lost epic Telegony attributed to Eugammon of Cyrene. After killing the suitors, Odysseus leaves Ithaca again, traveling to Elis and then Thesprotia (northern Greece), where he marries Queen Callidice and fathers a son, Polypoetes. He later returns to Ithaca, where Penelope has borne another son, Poliporthes. Meanwhile, Telegonus, Odysseus' son by Circe, sets out to find his father armed with a spear tipped with a poisonous stingray barb. Blown off course to Ithaca, Telegonus accidentally kills Odysseus in a skirmish. The story concludes with Telegonus marrying Penelope and Circe marrying Telemachus, granting Odysseus' family immortality. The Telegony, part of the Epic Cycle, survives only through summaries by Proclus (2nd century AD) preserved by Photius (9th century AD). Critics note inconsistencies with the Odyssey, such as Odysseus' new marriage contradicting his earlier desire to return to Penelope, and his violent death conflicting with Tiresias' prophecy of a gentle death by the sea. The article also references modern poetic interpretations by Cavafy and Tennyson.