Odyssey In The Odyssey By Homer And Homer's The Odyssey

The Odyssey English Final Essay The story of Homer's the Odyssey is and is not a heroic story; Odysseus is a hero because of his return; however it is also not a heroic journey because he cheated on his wife and the lack of a treasure One of the reason that the Odyssey is considered a heroic journey is because of Odysseus return from his long journey. When Odysseus returns, the workers are overjoyed and wake up Penelope saying, "Wake up, Penelope, my dear child, so you can see for yourself with your own eyes what you've been wanting each and every day. Odysseus has arrived" (Homer, Book 23, line 70).

Homer’s epic poem The Odyssey translated by Robert Fagles completely illustrate Odysseus’s journey home after The Trojan War. Separated into twenty-four different books, the poem describes the hardships Odysseus faces and how he overcomes obstacles. Though this poem is composed for listeners and may seem incomprehensible, Homer includes a plethora of literary devices to help audiences better understand, follow, and enjoy the context of The Odyssey. Throughout this poem instances of epic simile, foreshadowing, epithet, and xenia are included to help the poem flow.

5. 168-169). Odysseus is depressed because he wants to return to his home in Ithaca and see his wife, Penelope, and son, Telemachus, after fighting in the Trojan War. He feels as if his life is transitioning from sweet to bitter. Homer uses imagery to show how Odysseus is crying for his homeland, Ithaca. It creates a depressing mood for the reader because all Odysseus wants is to see his family and return home after a tiresome war, but has failed. The metaphor of Achilles’ sweet life flowing away demonstrates how his lamentations are characterizing him as homesick and how he might not make it through his journey. Achilles struggles with not having a prize while Agamemnon struggles with not sleeping in his own bed for an extensive time. The difference between the internal conflicts is that Achilles cannot fight in war because Briseis is not with him while Odysseus cannot return home and reunite with his family after fighting in the war. Although they both have concerns for their loved ones, Achilles and Odysseus must set them aside and fight their enemies first.

Although, Odysseus has compared the goddess and Penelope his longing to go home has not changed, “Yet, it is true, each day I long for home, long for the sight of home” (line 228-229). Through Odysseus’ journey, he does not forget home. He knows more tasks are ahead and he is ready to face them, “If any god has marked me out again for shipwrecked, my tough heart can undergo it. What hardship have I not long since endured at sea, in battle! Let the trial come.” This heroic ending grasp the readers’ attention to see that Odysseus is willing to do whatever it takes to go home to Penelope. The love he has for his home land shows his determination and dedication.

During, Homer’s, The Odyssey many strengths were tested throughout the entire book. This book was a mythological Greek folk tale that was created between the eleventh and eighth century B.C, therefore it is filled with many exaggerated stories about the Gods and treacherous adventures Odysseus had ventured on. He encounters a cyclops and after battles a six-headed monster. His crew discovers their talent for making mistakes such as being turned into pigs by Circe and letting strong winds out of the bag sending them farther from home. Odysseus experiences battles with his emotional stamina as well. His depression about his travels are shown through his lamentation on Calypsos’ island and his will power to discover the loyalty of his house mates is tested by Odysseus disguising himself as a beggar in his own home. Throughout, Homer’s, The Odyssey perseverance holds significance emotionally, physically, and mentally when enduring the battles and setbacks he experiences.

Homer’s “The Odyssey” takes place ten years after the events in “The Iliad”, to which the Odyssey is an indirect sequel, and the fall of Troy; even though the story is believed to have been composed some time during the eight century B.C.E. it is estimated to be set sometime between 1300 and 1000 B.C.E. in Mycenaean Greece during the Bronze age. In this novel all Greek heroes have returned home after the fall of Troy, except for Odysseus who after a three year journey has been held captive by the goddess Calypso, who has fallen in love with him, on her island, Ogygia. After the ten years have passed Odysseus is presumed dead, his wife Penelope is courted, and his estate is auctioned off by the Suitors, the young men of Ithaca who attempt to win Penelope’s favor and hand in marriage.

Thus far in The Odyssey, Homer has introduced several characters. The Gods discussed what they should do about Odysseus’ struggles as he attempts to get home to his wife and son. Athena then appears to Telemachus as Mentor, an old friend of Odysseus’. She convinces him that he should set sail in order to find out if his father is dead or alive and to take back control of his father’s kingdom from his mother, Penelope’s, suitors. Antinous, one of her suitors, then tells Telemachus of Penelope’s deception toward them. After hearing this, they exchanged more words, and then he set sail to find his father. He goes to see King Nester who remembers what it was like during the Trojan War and tells Telemachus to be strong and brave. The Gods met again and discussed Odysseus’ capture by Calypso. Zeus sent his son Hermes, the messenger of the Gods, to tell Calypso that she must release Odysseus. Calypso reacts vividly to this, stating that the gods are unfair in their treatment of gods and goddesses. Calypso then begins to speak to Odysseus. During this conversation in book 5, Homer reveals to us the importance of a person’s wit and the deception of others in order to help yourself, as well as the importance of one’s will power.

Home is a place of comfort, clarity, and relaxation. In The Odyssey, Odysseus uses a reverse metaphor in order to prove that one is truly at home in the presence of family and loved ones. When separated from this amenity, the emotional toll can cause a change of identity. In this particular passage, Odysseus morphs into the image of a distraught woman. This dramatic change represents the effect of Odysseus’ lack of contentment within his body and soul while away from home, which is represented by his wife, Penelope.

The reader finds him out at sea on a small raft, sailing towards the land of the Phoenicians:"Poseidon god of the earthquake launched a colossal wave, terrible, murderous, arching over him, pounding down on him, hard as a windstorm blasting piles of dry parched chaff, scattering flying husks—so the long planks of his boat were scattered far and wide.”(Homer 88). For a seafaring hero like Odysseus, the struggle to reunite himself with his loved ones takes as place just as much on the sea as on the land, and the wilderness of the greek islands is unmatched against the brutality of the Mediterranean. Another trend in greek mythology is false havens, whether it be the lotus eaters or the sirens, Greek heroes are frequently tested by things that remind them of the feeling of home. A prominent example inside Odysseus’s story is that of Circe the goddess where the reader sees the following,“she enticed and won our battle-hardened spirits over.And there we sat at ease, day in, day out, till a year had run its course,feasting on sides of meat and drafts of heady wine …”(Homer 175 One of the main themes in the Odyssey is the everlasting bond of family and the hearth, here the reader sees the protagonist of

The Odyssey by Homer is an epic poem about a hero’s perilous ten-year journey home with twelve ships and hundreds of men. During this voyage, however, Odysseus and his men face the wrath of Poseidon, the wiles of Circe and the Sirens, and the peril of the monsters Scylla and Charybdis. In the end, Odysseus loses everything except his determination to return home to his beloved wife, Penelope, and his son, Telemachus. Even though he experiences many difficult challenges, Odysseus is a hero who exemplifies the Greek cultural values of bravery, wit, and loyalty.

Odysseus survives many trials and tribulations in order to fulfill his one wish; to return home to his wife and son and re-assimilate into his erstwhile life back home in Ithaca. Why would Homer, the author of “The Odyssey,” choose to paint his hero as someone who spends his life in misfortune? It is to teach us that no matter how close we are to the Gods, we have little control over fate, but we can control how we respond to the trials and tribulations that fate or human experience, puts into

The Odyssey is an epic by the ancient Greek poet Homer that tells the story of Odysseus’s journey to get back to his home on Ithaca after the Trojan War. Odysseus’s main goal is to return home with his crew on their ship. Odysseus loses everything after he couldn't control his crew and himself. Odysseus has to face many challenges to get home. In the story, Odysseus was sometimes at the point where it seemed like all hope was lost and nothing was possible.

The pain Odysseus feels being away from home for so long is unbearable to him. The only thing on his mind is his memories of home causing him to fall into a depression. Odysseus is filled with anxiety and fear knowing that the suitors have overran his house and constantly ask for his wife’s hand in marriage, but he is stuck, helpless, on Calypso’s island. When the author describes how he is “scanning the bare horizon of the sea”, it symbolizes how Odysseus is constantly looking for a way back home. After some time Odysseus makes his way to Ithaca and he is disguised as a beggar.

The Odyssey is an epic poem that showcases the heroic actions contrasted with the grave disasters of Odysseus, a tragic hero on his way home from the war in Troy. The author, Homer, shows through Odysseus’ actions that even a hero such as he, has flaws. Flaws that if not acknowledged and learnt from, can spell grave disaster in the journey yet to come. Many Greeks recognize Odysseus as the most renowned hero of the Trojan war, thanks to his own accounts of his years away from Ithaca. Following the Greek beliefs, many believe that Odysseus couldn’t have kept himself away for so long, for only the gods can do something like this, and Odysseus can’t be the cause of the crew’s deaths, only the gods could be so cruel. While

Homer's epic tale The Odyssey is a story of the triumphs and downfalls that are in store for one warrior's long pillage home.  Odysseus, the hero from the Trojan wars, has led his people of Ithaca and other Achaean soldiers to victory and now wishes to return home to his wife and family of Ithaca.  Through his twenty year journey Odysseus is often tested not only of his physical strength, but his wits as well.  The many accomplishments he achieved earned him great status and recognition throughout ancient Greece.  The mistakes he made caused the deaths of many men.  Consequently, we as readers are able to see the many personas that Odysseus carries with him.