Odysseus started from prior to the Trojan War, which lasted a total of 10 years. He went from Troy, where he created a war band inside of a Wooden Horse where the Trojans fell for his trick and brought it inside their fortress as a token of triumph. That is where all of his men ambushed them and made off with all their valuables. From there, Odysseus and his men sailed to the island of Ismaros, which was allied to Troy, and as they were still in "war mode", they attacked them. They specifically saved a high-ranked person, so they were awarded with food and wine. They then proceeded to have a night of eating and drinking and were completed addlepated by morning, when they were ambushed by pirates and it was a running fight in which resulting in 70 men dead and the Greeks running away on their ships. This is then when Odysseus and his 12 vessels sailed to the Island of Lotus Flowers. This is the beginning of when the term 'harried' is applied to Odysseus' journey in the Homerian Odyssey.
So to explain, constantly throughout the story, Odysseus is brought with many troubles. Just a few examples would be being held captive by the nymph, Calypso, who he had to protect from the creatures, he felt a sense of need. But ultimately, he longed for home in Ithaca. He longed for his wife, Penelope, and his son, Telemachus, warmth and familiarity. He was held with the responsibility of having to save his men from the angry cyclops, Polyphemus. This resulted in him blinding the cyclops, who turned out to be the God of the Sea, Poseidon, offspring. As a result, when Odysseus managed to escape, his arrogance got to the best of him and he exclaimed his name which resulted in Polyphemus praying to his father to curse Odysseus. Now, whenever Odysseus sailed, he would experience harsh storms, and would end in places that were anywhere but Ithaca. One of the more important ones is when at the end of the story, when Odysseus must save his wife from the suitors through a bowing contest, or go to the land of the dead alone, free his men from the capture of witch, Circe. This is an example of Odysseus is constantly 'harried' throughout his journeys in the Odyssey.
Now, onto the term travail. This term means to put in a painful amount of effort, and this is a term that is applied A LOT throughout the journey of Odysseus. To give a broad example, there is section where Odysseus is leaving Calypso island after being imprisoned for 7 long, brutal years. She sends him with the supplies and he is currently on a raft back to where he came from. And just not in his favor, Poseidon returns from Ethiopia and finds out that his fellow gods have been helping Odysseus behind his back. This angers him and sends a violent storm towards Odysseus path. This storm was brutal and Odysseus is fighting for survival, until a sea goddess, who goes by the name Ino helps him by telling him to be rid of his garments and she gives him a veil. This results in his safety. He makes it into a bundle of olive stress and the story continues from there.
Now, let's get to the term beguiling. This term is applied in one of the obstacles Odysseus and his crew has to withstand after leaving Circe's island. It was the first one, the song of the Sirens. So, in order to counter this, Odysseus men put beeswax in their ears so they would not be deceived by the Siren's song. But Odysseus on the other hand decided to volunteer as captain to endure it to pass. The term beguiling means to do something a deceptive way; being enchanted for the purpose of being deceived. Many pirates and sailors have fell for the voice of the Sirens which is a fate Odysseus wanted to avoid. They were deceived by the singing as it took control of their minds, enchanting them to fall for the trap. Odysseus told his men to strap him to something so that he could not move and not to untie him no matter what he said or did. This would be an example of the term beguiling being applied to the journey of the Odyssey in the Homerian Odyssey.
Finally, the last term ponderous. This means to be clumsy with a source of great weight added onto it. And example of this and when it was applied is when Odysseus displayed his most obvious flaw when he was at the Island of the Cyclops. He had blinded Polyphemus, tricked him, and had made his escape. When he successfully escaped, he exclaimed his name which is the reason why he was mainly cursed. Because of his arrogance, Polyphemus was now able to curse him by praying to his father for the wish to be granted. In this section, Odysseus shows how ponderous he was for displaying his arrogance to Polyphemus after a successful escape.
Thanks,
Eddie