Task, The Task In The Odyssey And The White Snake

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.

Heroes, as shown in literature, often undertake the most difficult tasks and place themselves in mortal danger in order to bring back, for themselves and their societies, both knowledge and treasure. Their stories follow “Hero Journey.” The Odyssey, as the epic story of the hero Odysseus, follows closely the complete cycle of a Hero Journey, both as a physical and as a psychological undertaking. The Hero Journey, used as a framework for both Odysseus’ physical and mental journeys, serves to bind the two together. Each of Odysseus’s physical difficulties can be viewed as a metaphor for a psychological hardship that he must overcome, and by overcoming these hardships, Odysseus matures—achieving a more complete understanding of himself and

In Homer’s Odyssey, the idea of fate is more significant than the idea and sense of duty. Odysseus’s journey begins when Poseidon learns that Odysseus blinded his Cyclops son, Polyphemous while trying to escape from his capture. This enrages the already hot-tempered sea god, damning Odysseus, his men, and his voyage. Poseidon attempts to delay and keep Odysseus from his home, Ithaca. His anger towards Odysseus is so great that Zeus has to step in to save him from the sea-god. Zeus, after Poseidon complains to him about the Phaenecians aiding Odysseus, states “Since for Odysseus now I vowed that he his home should win through many a misery yet utterly bereft not his return; for such your purpose was and decree.” (Homer, Book 13, st. 45) Zeus, in the Odyssey, acts as the hand of fate by preventing Poseidon from further stalling Odysseus’s return home. This is unlike Jupiter in the Aeneid, who dispatches Mercury to remind Aeneus of

Throughout The Odyssey, the author, Homer, recounts upon tales told to him by elders. The Odyssey explains the journeys Odysseus and his crew go through in order to get back to their homeland, Ithaca, after fighting a ten year battle in Troy. Homer consistently uses forlorn diction to create a desperate tone. In The Odyssey, Odysseus overcomes the call of the sirens.

The Odyssey by Homer, Odysseus encounters the trial of The Cyclops and he is put in the position where his survival is jeopardized and that leads to fear. In The Odyssey ,while Odysseus is venturing back to his homeland in Ithaca, one of the three trials he faces is a deadly cyclop. After experiencing the trial of the Lotus Eaters, Odysseus and his men sail to the islands of the Cyclops. When they land, the crew notices a lot of dairy and sheep. Odysseus and his crew explore the island and they meet a cyclop. The cyclop appears approachable and humane until he starts eating two of Odysseus’ men. Additionally, the cyclop keeps Odysseus and his men as hostages in his cave.“He clutched at my companions and caught two in his hands like squirming puppies to beat their brains out, spattering on the floor. Then, he dismembered them and made his meal, gaping and crunching like a mountain lion” (The Odyssey 233-237). Odysseus realizes that him and his men’s lives are in jeopardy if they do not find a way to escape the Cyclop, they will die. The horrific scene of when his men were severely beaten and killed causes Odysseus to fear but, actively think of a way to escape. Odysseus is aware that he can not just go and kill the Cyclop. He has to devise a smart and sly plan to inflict pain on it some way to escape and survive. His plan was to revert to violence by stabbing the Cyclop’s eye to take away his sense of sight so that they could have a swifter escape. Violence and fear are dependent to each other. If one feels very fearful they will go to the extreme to try to alleviate their

Around the 1200 B.C., Odysseus was sailing the Mediterranean Sea for the purpose of reaching home. In his long narrative poem, The Odyssey, Homer conveys how Odysseus desperately wishes to go home to Ithaca. However, he faces brutal treatment and obstacles from several different antagonists, and more obstacles appear when he reaches home. Odysseus came across many external conflicts, which he dealt with intelligence, determination, and loyalty.

In “The Odyssey” by Homer, Odysseus is on a journey home to Ithaca after helping the Greeks win the Trojan War. The “Hero’s Journey” by Joseph Campbell represents the difficult journey a hero must go on to defeat the “final battle,” meaning that he must overcome a really difficult challenge to complete his journey and restore the world. In “The Odyssey” by Homer, Odysseus experiences significant events on his journey home to Ithaca which includes Entering the Unknown; he receives Supernatural Aid; and he experiences the Supreme Ordeal related to Campbell’s “Hero’s Journey.”

For Odysseus the first of these trials is when Poseidon realizes his presence in the open waters and begins to release his wrath upon him once again. Odysseus being nearly drowned is saved once again by the aid of the gray-eyed Athena when she helps him to land on the island of Scheria, home of the Phaecians. The Phaecians will become the Allies that Odysseus needs to help him get through this journey. During his time with them he tells them of his past journey's in which he survived many other tests and trials. The run in with the son of Poseidon, the Cyclops, an island of cannibals, his outwitting of Circe, his journey to the land of the dead, the monsters and gods that were battled against and the account of such adventures drives the Phaecians to help Odysseus on the rest of his way home. For Telemachus the challenges are not so grand or spectacular, but challenges to the young boy all the same. Telemachus must travel for knowledge. Searching for anyone that might have a clue as to where his father is and what might have happened.

Ancient Greece was full of mystery. They told of mystical, almost supernatural, heroes and monsters. One such story was told of a warrior named Odysseus. A king who ruled over the kingdom of Ithaca, but sadly left for war, leaving both his family, and his kingdom. Fighting for almost a decade, Odysseus set off on a long journey towards home. Through thick and thin, and through all of the bloodshed and fighting, he finally has a happy ending at home. At what cost though? His men, his ship, himself? Odysseus was put into the category of a hero, one of the many archetypes modern readers use to identify main characters and all other concepts in literature.   All heroes experience the fright and thrill of adventure in

The epic poem The Odyssey, written by Homer, centers around the main protagonist Odysseus and his long journey back home. Odysseus, the king of Ithaca, returns home after defeating the Trojans in a ten year war. On his way back, he angers Poseidon, god of the sea, by blinding his son, Polyphemus the Cyclops. Due to Odysseus’ actions, Poseidon refuses to let Odysseus reach home, and Odysseus and his crew are forced to go through a series of obstacles throughout the epic. Through this adversity, Odysseus must show his heroic attributions in order to survive. Homer portrays Odysseus as a hero by giving him characteristics such as: craftiness, loyalty, and bravery.

In The Odyssey, the Greek hero Odysseus must make it back to his home in Ithaca after the battle of Troy. Along his journey, he encounters obstacles that require the upmost perseverance and willpower to survive. Some of these obstacles include a giant cyclops who wants to eat him, lotus-eating peoples that drug his crew, violent storms that

Odysseus, King of Ithaca, and the main character in homer’s The Odyssey, was gone for twenty years before finally returning to his family and his homeland. He struggled through many hardships and lost many loyal companions. The King of Ithaca would not have made it home without the assistance of the Greek gods. Despite all of the help and advice that Odysseus receives from the gods, he is a very brave man because his courage and daring in the cave of the Cyclops, his inability to give up and abandon his men on Circe’s island, and his flawless following of the gods instructions are acts of bravery that is uncommon in most men.

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.

Homer’s The Odyssey is home to many classics within its pages. From the Cyclops, Scylla and a myriad of other creatures, The Odyssey is a classic in every sense of the word and its influence on modern day culture is plain to see. However, it wasn’t just the monsters that drew people into Homer’s tale, it was also characters. Describing the tale of Odysseus, who after winning a ten-year long war thanks to his quick wits and high intelligence. The story delves into his journey on trying to get back to his wife, Penelope and child, Telemachus. For twenty years, Odysseus sailed, fought and outsmarted many obstacles, losing most of his men in the process. And when he finally reaches his home, suitors trying to court his sorrowful wife, who