Analysis Of Homer 's The Odyssey

Everyone believes a hero has fallen but the warrior is only struggling to make it home. The warrior is Odysseus in the Odyssey which is an epic poem written in about 750 BC by a Greek poet named Homer. In the epic, the protagonist, Odysseus, is faced with many challenges that test numerous aspects of his character. He has to fight his way home. When he gets there, a final challenge awaits him. A few of the many aspects of Odysseus’ character that helped him through his journey are, his intelligence and his broad skill set, these aspects of his character helped him on his journey in the Odyssey, and becoming a hero.

Heroes today are portrayed with a daring and powerful character, almost inhuman. Displayed in movies with dazzling smiles, bold capes, and an extreme physicality, hero’s show us their ability of overcoming hardships but they lack the realistic aspect of a human. In the epic “The Odyssey” written by Homer, the central character Odysseus is subject to many trials and feats throughout the course of a 10 year long journey. Unlike our cliché movie heroes, Odysseus has traits that help him defeat the odds and at the same time show his flaws and overall human character. A set mind, courage and fear, and intelligence are traits that Odysseus exemplifies, allowing him to be truly successful hero.

People have wondered what it’d be like to become a grand hero. Take, for example, the hero Odysseus and his adventures in The Odyssey, written by the blind poet Homer. Odysseus is a Trojan War hero that must fight and survive to venture back to his kingdom in Ithaca. There has been good argument on the issue of whether Odysseus is a flawed hero or not. Without a doubt, this issue is extremely important to look upon so that readers will understand who Odysseus really is. Put simply, Odysseus is a hero with flaws that endanger him and his men, and ultimately slow him down from getting home.

One of the most admired classical heroes is most certainly Odysseus, the mythological Grecian subject of Homer 's epic tale, The Odyssey. This legendary figure displays exemplary brains and muscle, appearing almost superhuman at times. He embodies the ideals Greeks heroes aspired to: manly valor, loyalty to both his family and friends, as well as keen intelligence. The popularity of Odysseus has proven timeless; to this day, he remains greatly admired as both a hero, and an ordinary man who must overcome hurdles and embark on epic adventures in order to regain the life he once had. Furthermore, he remains devoted to his homeland and uses his loyalty as motivation to remain valiant through every struggle.

In Homer’s The Odyssey, loyalty is not only a vital character trait for Odysseus, but also an important trait for any dutiful citizen. Odysseus personifies loyalty as he journeys back to Ithika in, but his wife and servants also display an extreme amount of devotion to their lost king. Those that are loyal are rewarded, while those that aren’t are punished.

A traditional Greek hero possesses qualities including bravery, confidence and a desire for glory. The character Odysseus in Homer’s Odyssey additionally displays a characteristic guile in his depictions. While presented largely similar in the passages from books IX and X, small changes are observed through his interactions with Eurylochus, Polyphemus and Hermes.

The Homeric epic poem The Odyssey demonstrates the ways in which heroism has evolved from the Archaic period. The Achaeans had a rigid definition of what defined a hero; they possessed qualities such as loyalty, guileful intellect, and were known to be warrior, contrasting the contemporary structure of heroism, which has become more vague. Illustrating this is the fact that no longer are only warriors characterized as heroic figures, our definition having expanded to encompass a plethora of other traits such as passion, and influential leadership. Odysseus, hero of The Odyssey, possesses the mêtis, an ancient Greek word meaning ‘cunning intelligence,’ having survived the Trojan War and the subsequent obstacles he faced on his journey back to

In stories from ancient times, all heroes possess the same qualities such as courage, confidence and intelligence. Homer’s Odysseus is nothing short of these qualities. In fact, he is the paradigm if a hero.

Violence in Literature can take any form, whether it be natural disaster like and earthquake or a human based disaster like war (Campbell). In Homer’s The Odyssey both types are found… whether it’s Odysseus’s hardships like making it home or dealing with the wrath of the god Poseidon. Every violent scene has its own reasons, some are more reasonable than others. For instance, the gods were angered by the disobedience of the mortals, this is more reasonable than the killing of the Cyclops. While we always relate violence to men and the gods, women also had their moments of rage, but their initial violence wasn’t necessarily due to anger. Moreover, violence in The Odyssey is based on jealousy, territorial rights, and last getting revenge. Overall violence is what makes The Odyssey so intriguing.

Throughout our lives, no doubt we have seen countless heroes. They may be a doctor, a war veteran, or a comic book superhero from a fond childhood. A hero has a thousand faces as mythologist and author, John Campbell, puts it; the only requisite for being one under his definition is completing what he calls The Hero’s Journey. In Homer’s The Odyssey, the violent Odysseus was seen by the Ancient Greeks as a cunning and brave hero, but is he according to John Campbell’s definition? The Hero’s Journey is broken down into six steps one must complete, leaving home, embarking upon a quest, facing dragons, meeting the final dragon in all-out combat, incurring a wound, and gaining new wisdom. Five of these Odysseus flawlessly completes. He leaves his “home” as he departs from the battlefields of Troy, his quest in search of Ithaca. As he sails through the seas in search of his beloved hearth and home, he combats “dragons,” from the radiant enchantress Circe to the infernal six-headed behemoth Scylla, his final dragon and all out struggle fought on his homecoming, slaying the suitors that defiled his wife and name. Crawling out from the battle, his wounds lay deep; his kingdom in shambles, his crew deceased, and twenty years of a lifetime forever stolen. However, this is only as far as he goes, for no wisdom does he acquire, barred by a disassociation from empathy. Odysseus’ name embellished by

In Homer 's The Odyssey, a growing adolescent, Telémakhos, resolves to search for his war-lost father after realizing that his home is teeming with rude, power-hungry suitors that wish to marry his mother, Penelope. With inspiration from Athena, Telémakhos travels to former comrades of his father, Odysseus, in a journey that is eerily similar to that of his father. Telémakhos and Odysseus 's journeys to bring the latter home are distinguishable in very few ways, most notably in how they are guided by men and women, respectively. The similarities in their experiences, due to conditions that affect their journeys, have differing results than the distinctions, which are a product of their emotional accustomations. Together, these situations lead to the collecting of information achieved by both parties, Telémakhos and Odysseus, as well as allowing both to further develop in maturity and social-emotional knowledge.

Homer’s The Odyssey is about Odysseus’s journey back home after war. Just like in every journey, Odysseus changes as the story progresses but the one the thing that does not change is the use of his mind and sharp-witted he is. There is an underlying theme of body versus mind in this epic. This theme is noticeable in book eight lines 174 to 194. In this passage Odysseus is responding to Làodamas’s challenge of joining in their games. In Odysseus’s response he focuses on “birth, brains, or speech” and brings up the question of which is more important body or mind. Through his choice of wording and a few metaphors, Odysseus makes it seem like the mind is more important to him all within twenty lines.

The idea of heroism is virtually as old as humankind itself. Many scholars recognize heroism to be found at the center of virtually any ancient civilization. Heroes of classical Greek literature embody a set of moral and cultural values selective to the mindset of their society (Lowrey). Today in Western civilization, society’s mindset is not so clearly definable. Collective understanding of the term “hero” is vacillated at best. Moreover, society’s idea of what it means to be a hero has become increasingly more and more individualistic. As a result, it is likely that Odysseus’ misadventures could never be deemed heroic today.

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.

For centuries, tales of legends and heroic figures were written in Greece. These tales were about everything from the conquering of unknown lands to the quarrels of god-like beings. Although, these legends are widely praised for bravery in fearless leaders , Ancient Greeks had another theme of importance. Tales such as The Odyssey focused on heroes that still possesed fatal flaws and were forced to accept their imperfections. In this way, the hero learns to embody excellence in all things including their already given strength in battle, this is key component of most heroic characters, Greek writers believed that a true heroic figure must well rounded in all aspects. The Odyssey illustrates Odysseus’s journey to his homeland, but at the same time also contained his personal journey to excellence. Throughout his voyage, the epic portrays the motif of overcoming hubris as an action of becoming a humble and well rounded leader. Odysseus gained the skills that he needed in order to help the people of his city Ithaca, grow as well. This ideology remains true today in the sense that a leader must possesses excellence in all qualities in order to make the country in which he rules excellent; today society’s citizens must follow a leader like Odysseus. When a leader possesses arete that then influences the community he leads to embody those same traits as well.