Monsters In The Odyssey

Homer’s great literary classic, The Odyssey, represents and illustrates many emotional and mental values. All of these values can be classified under three different main themes that are constant throughout the epic tale. These themes are: A boy’s struggle to be a man, a king’s struggle to reclaim his kingdom, and a man’s struggle to return home. As one reads this book it will become more and more evident to them that a man’s struggle to get home is the most important theme throughout Homer’s adventure.

One of the most interesting qualities of Greek mythology is probably the depiction of monsters in the myths. However, these monsters are not all unique. In fact, they all fall into very distinct categories, making them almost the same. Most monsters in Greek mythology look and act in the same ways. Several monsters from these myths look the same in that they have very similar qualities such as being large, snake or human like. However, they are also very alike in that they behave in very similar ways, from guarding something or roaming freely and causing chaos. Generally, the monsters in Greek mythology follow this outline and are depicted in a way to show these qualities.

Many years after the end of the Trojan War, Odysseus still hasn’t returned home to Ithaka. Many believe that he is dead, but the author lets us know that he is being held as a sex captive on the goddess Kalypso’s island. Kalypso has no plans of letting him go to return home either.

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

Even great heroes must face difficult challenges, and even great heroes receive advice on how to overcome them. In “the Odyssey,” written by Homer, the hero Odysseus faced three different adversaries on his way back to Ithaca: the Sirens, Scylla, and Charybdis. The goddess Circe advises Odysseus on how to overcome them.

A monster is something that causes a person to stray away from their original plan or lifestyle. It makes them feel as though they need to restrict themselves to fit the needs of the monster. These restrictions are displayed in changes in character, prejudicial thoughts, and self-confidence. In The Odyssey by Homer, Odysseus and Telemachus are haunted by a variety of monsters, predominantly themselves and their companions.

“It” in its origins, is Stephen King’s 1100 page literary masterpiece that has bred Coulrophobia within many who dared to sojourn through the novel. Nevertheless, it was the novel’s subject in focus, Pennywise the Clown, embodied in full flesh by Tim Curry that amassed a sadistic following and obsession with the arrival of the 1990 TV miniseries on ABC. Curry’s portrayal of the dancing clown quickly became a hallmark image for the horror canon, if not the face of horror movies altogether. Flash forward 27 years later, the fear of clowns has burgeoned into a commonplace phobia and horror trope. With all this to say, no clown has terrorized us in our nightmares quite like Curry’s Pennywise. Well, that was the case until Bill Skarsgård came along with a darker rendition of the fiendish entity in Andrés Muschietti remake of “It.”

Homer's epic poem The Odyssey was written after his Iliad which told the tales of the Trojan War. This Odyssey told of the wanderings of a prominent warrior and ruler, Odysseus. Odysseus fought in the Trojan War and, after the Greeks claimed their victory at Troy, began his prolonged journey home. During his travels Odysseus faced many obstacles which he had to overcome. Through his wanderings, Odysseus had to prove his valor, intellect, and determination. Incorporated into The Odyssey are many current-day characteristics of man including a constant dependence on others, the presence of a greater vision, or lack there of, and the essence of a sensitive side behind courage and pride.

In the opening scene of the movie, a little boy is shown playing in the rain. The boy’s name is Georgie and he is doing what kids have done in the rain for years, which is playing with a toy boat in the gutter. The camera then shows Georgie’s paper boat unfortunately flow into a gutter in the sidewalk. Georgie starts yelling “NOOO” at the loss of his boat and scarmbles up to the gutter. At first the gutter appears empty, until the audience hears a terrifying voice say “Hi Georgie!” and the terrifying clown head shown in my image appears inside the gutter. The clown we know as penywise. Pennywise asks if Georgie wants his boat back and Georgie says yes. Pennywise then asks Georgie if he wants a balloon and cotton candy. Georgie eagerly reaches inside and the demonic clown pulls him in and murders the boy.

In The Odyssey, monsters like the Sirens, Scylla, and Polyphemus provide “new and interconnected methods” of defining what it means to be human (Cohen 7). The Oxford English Dictionary defines a monster as a “creature which is part animal, part human.” According to this definition, Odysseus becomes monsterous when he gives into the animalistic part of himself. When Odysseus meets the Sirens in Book 12, they immediately sense his presence and knew everything about him. They know how to draw on his insecurities and how to tempt him to come closer. He is also distracted by his sexual desires when he is first introduced to Circe. She draws out more sensual and carnal qualities of him, which is arguably more animalistic. All along the way, Odysseus is hesitant to explore new places because of his inherent biases and fear of the unknown. The monsters in this epic help reveal all of these aspects through Odysseus, As a human, he is always subject to weaknesses like fear, distractions from women like Circe, and bias which causes him to have preconceived notions of the foreign.

The Hero’s Journey, as defined by Joseph Campbell, is a set of stages a protagonist must undergo to reinter into his known and normal world after facing many challenges. One specific challenge the hero must face is described as the Supreme Ordeal, which is the moment the greatest fear is confronted. In The Odyssey, Odysseus must kill the suitors who took over his household to reach the next stage of his journey. As Odysseus slaughters the suitors in the hall of his home in Book 22, not only does he enter the Supreme Ordeal stage of the Hero’s Journey to face his greatest fear, but also is one phase closer to reintegrating with society.

It is important to keep reading, “The Odyssey.” Even though it is 2800, years old, students still need to learn about it. It is important to continue studying “The Odyssey” because is it a moral story, the historical significance is important, and it is essential to study other culture’s mythology.

Simpson4decision within the House of Hades, to which the gate is wide” (The Odyssey). Odysseus was sent to the underworld because he needed help about how to get home, and also whathis future was to be. Aeneas' being in the underworld is similar to Odysseus in that he toodesired to know his future. Both authors shared the same idea of an underworld, and bothgive clear pictures about how horrifying the underworld can be. The final comparison is that of the Greek and Roman games. Again, both authors give a clear description of the games. The games that were played by the Romans were taken very seriously, and it showed Roman values in society and culture. The Greek games were taken seriously like the Romans for the same reasons. All

Ten years after the fall of Troy, the victorious Greek hero Odysseus has still not returned to his native land Ithaca. A band of rowdy suitors, believing Odysseus to be dead, has overrun his palace, courting his faithful—though weakening—wife Penelope, and going through his stock for food. With permission from Zeus, the goddess Athena, Odysseus' greatest immortal ally, appears in disguise and urges Odysseus' son Telemachus to seek news of his father at Pylos and Sparta. However, the suitors, led by Antinous, plan to ambush him upon return.

Greek Mythology has influenced many “monsters” we reference in various works of current literature. Anywhere from 3 headed dogs to women with snakes for locks of hair, all of these deformed common things originated from Mythology. Not only do we still reference the monsters themselves in all forms of art today but also we implement the qualities the monsters posses unto characters in our stories.