odyssey (noun) - a long and eventful journey, period, or trip; an extended series of wanderings or adventures involving many hardships and changes of fortune [od-uh-see]
BREAKDOWN: The Odyssey is an epic poem attributed to Homer that describes the adventures of Odysseus (known in Latin as Ulysses) in his ten-year attempt to return home after the Trojan War. Odysseus and his crew face a gauntlet of perils and tests. Clever Odysseus also appears as a key character in the Iliad–the Trojan Horse was his idea–and other works in that epic cycle.
“I had ambitions to set out and find, like an odyssey or going home somewhere, set out to find this home that I'd left a while back and couldn't remember exactly where it was, but I was on my way there… I was born very far from where I'm supposed to be, and so, I'm on my way home, you know?” —Bob Dylan
[Our Wednesday Wildcards are fascinating and important words that are not necessarily derived from classical roots.]