The Story of The Odyssey

The ancient Gods and Goddesses of Olympus find themselves in a world where humankind has almost forgotten them. To restore their powers of old they must intervene, as Zeus yearns for dominion once again.

Thetis, daughter of Poseidon is forced to marry a mortal king. But an uninvited guest throws the Olympian Gods into disarray with the unexpected gift of a magical apple…

Thetis has a son, Achilles. Although he is blessed with the powers of the Gods, his life is due to end beneath the walls of a distant city.

To protect him, Thetis takes drastic action, but she inadvertently makes the slightest of mistakes that spells his future doom.

As Achilles grows to be a powerful warrior, another prince is born.

Paris of Troy. The prophets say that he will burn their city to the ground so he is left in the wild for dead.

But he is found and raised by strangers, until the day of his destiny is at hand…

Paris seeks to find the truth about his parents, and so sets off for the city of Troy.

But he is waylaid by the Olympian Gods. Zeus wants him to decide which Goddess should receive the magical apple; and his decision will tear his world apart.

Helen, princess of Sparta is destined to marry for power and politics.

But the young King Odysseus suggests that she should be the one to choose her own husband for love.

She chooses the older but wiser Menelaus, brother to the all powerful Agamemnon, who makes every ruler swear to protect the marriage with his life.

But Aphrodite, Goddess of love, has other plans.

Keep an eye on Yorkshire's beaches over the coming year for signs of large scale beach art representing characters from our story. Here was 'Helen - the face that launched a thousand ships' from April 2021

At the moment these artworks are appearing unexpectedly in different locations, but as restrictions ease we will be looking to publicise creative events on the beaches as part of our larger events.

Paris of Troy travels to Sparta on Aphrodite's instructions.

His actions trigger the start of the Trojan Wars, as Agamemnon raises a fleet of a thousand ships to sail in search of Helen.



If you'd like to hear the story in full, told by a wonderful cast of storytellers, performers and musicians from the Yorkshire Coast, then take a look at our geolocation story, which is free to download and listen to in a number of coastal locations.

Look out for episode two of the story - 'The Trojan Wars' in the autumn.

'A Thousand Ships' is a touring exhibition of a thousand paper ships created by people along the length of the Yorkshire Coast. We launched this project during the last lockdown and the response has been absolutely phenomenal!

The ships will be displayed together with an accompanying soundtrack of residents sharing what they love about the coast.

It will be touring to Whitby, Withernsea, Hornsea, Filey, Scarborough and Bridlington between July and September. Follow us on social media for the latest news on tour dates.