"TELL ME, O MUSE, of that ingenious hero who travelled far and
wide after he had sacked the famous town of Troy." So begins
The Odyssey.
You are
Odysseus, wily master of landways and seaways, king of the
island state of Ithaca, husband of Penelope, and father of
your son Telemachus who has never met you.
10 long years ago, you sailed with twelve ships to fight in
the long Trojan Wars on the sands before the walls of the City of
Troy. And finally it was you, O wily Odysseus, who masterminded the
fall of Troy with the clever ruse of the Gift of the Trojan Horse
and led the final assault!
Now you set sail for Ithaca. But the Greek gods and goddesses
have other plans for you, and before you return to the arms of
Penelope, you must endure many more adventures.
O clever Odysseus, will you ever return to your kingdom?
Only the Fates know for sure.
And the Fates are not telling!
Penelope's Test
After setting sail from Calypso's island, Poseidon spies you.
With his trident he creates a terrible storm that smashes your
little raft. Into the depths of the sea you sink, but you are saved
from drowning by the sea goddess, Leucothea, who gives you a veil
of protection that will preserve you until you reach land.
You wash ashore on the lands of the kindly and good
Phaeacians who provide you with passage back to Ithaca!
But lo! Upon your return to Ithaca, you find that all is not
well! An unruly gang of suitors - one hundred and fourteen to be
exact - took over your house six years ago as they waited for your
faithful wife Penelope to choose one from among them to be her new
husband.
But you do find that your Penelope has remained faithful all of
these years!
Disguised as a beggar, you slowly reveal yourself to
Telemachus, now a young man, and trusted members of the household
staff. But as you move about your grounds, the suitors are so rude
and discourteous to you that you are further determined to have
your revenge.
And then a plan forms in your clever mind, O wily Odysseus,
to subdue the suitors despite being heavily outnumbered by them.
And as part of your plan you have your son Telemachus trick the
suitors into giving him all of their weapons for
safe-keeping.
But wait! Before you can do more, unexpectedly your beloved
Penelope tells the suitors that she will marry the man who can pass
a special test that she has devised for them.
O strong Odysseus, you who have survived many tests of
cunning, skill, courage and bravery, what is this final
test?
This cache contains one of the clues needed to find the puzzle
cache Tales of Odysseus: The Return of the King. The clue is
written at the back of the log book. In the series this cache
follows Calypso,Sea Nymph and is the final traditional cache
of the series.
The story of Penelope's Test is told in Book XXI of The Odyssey,
and Odysseus' revenge upon the suitors is told in Book XXII.
Enjoy! And happy caching!
O wily 50sumtin
And now the tale's end.
Penelope directs the servants to set twelve axe handles
upright in a line in the sand such that the holes in the handles
all form a straight line. And then she produces the bow that
Odysseus left behind when he sailed away to fight before the walls
of Troy twenty long years ago. "I will marry the man who can string
this bow and who can then shoot an arrow straight through this line
formed by the holes of the axe handles, just as Oddysseus used to
of old."
The suitors all try to string the bow and all of them fail,
even the cleverest and strongest of them.
Even Telemachus makes the attempt. And he almost succeeds. But
you, O wily Odysseus, catch his eye and give him a signal, and he
fails as well.
And then, O wily Oddysseus, still in your beggar's disguise,
you ask for a turn. And though the suitors do not like it, Penelope
grants you permission before she retires to her chambers.
As the
suitors watch you prepare to string the bow, they fail to
notice the servants closing and barring all of the windows and
doors.
And then you make your attempt! You string the bow! And then
quickly you notch an arrow, sight along the axe heads, and release
the arrow. Straight through the axe heads the arrow flies
true!
And then you spring your trap upon the suitors! You slay some
with a flurry of arrows. And then you and your son and your
household staff slay the rest of the suitors and those faithless
members of the house staff with swords until none are left
alive.
And so you have your vengence upon the suitors.
Cache owner's note:
For some months I have toyed with the idea of placing a series
of caches along the scenic Pacific coast north of Santa Cruz, each
of which would be in a scenic location near the ocean and would
also contain a clue for an overall connecting puzzle cache. And
while walking the coast at Wilder Ranch one day and taking in the
breath-taking scenic views, the Muses inspired me to make the
connecting theme for the series the adventures of Odysseus as told
in The Odyssey, as so much if not all of his homeward voyage
adventures occurred along coastal settings.
As of April 15, 2007, all of the caches associated with the
Tales of Odysseus series (including the puzzle cache) have
been placed.
I hope that you will find the series entertaining and enjoyable,
but if not, at least scenic.
This particular cache will treat you to scenic views of nearby
Three Mile Beach along the Wilder State Park coast. While there are
cliffs nearby, the cache is sufficiently away from them as to pose
little danger while seeking in good visibility. Still, I do not
recommend seeking this cache during periods of dense coastal fog.
You may park at the beach parking for Wilder Ranch and make your
way out to the cache. Or seek the trailhead for Three Mile Beach or
Four Mile Beach along Highway One.
And may you see whales!