The Great Hero Odysseus ' Return Of Ithaca

The Odyssey of Homer is a fascinating epic of the homecoming of Odysseus, one of the most influential heroes of the Trojan war. This homecoming journey of Odysseus which serves as a means of teaching him greater lessons of life and humility. Furthermore, Odyssey beautifully portrays the transformation Telemachus, the son of Odysseus, from a scared little boy to a confident warrior.

As aforementioned Penelope is the main reason for Odysseus's return to Ithaca, as well as wanting to be united with his son Telemakos.  He is driven throughout his entire journey to go back and see his wife.  Odyssey even goes as far to turn down the gift immortality with the beautiful Calypso in order to continue with journey home:

Throughout the story, Odysseus 's goal was to return home to Ithaca and spend the rest of his life with his son, Telemachos, and his wife Penelope. Even though is he greatly enjoying himself on all of his adventures, there is a part of him that still longs for his native soil. He loved being on the island with Calypso, but everyday he dreamt of his wife and son sitting at home, waiting for his return. He endured all of his

Throughout the Odyssey, Odysseus experiences many ups and downs throughout his journey home. He is throw into peril and there often seems to be no hope for his return home. While he remains victorious in the end, returning to his wife, son, and father, the poem itself is filled with many darker moments filled with doubt and sadness. Odysseus is the hero of the Odyssey, and in order to exist as a hero he must be relatable. His story cannot be one entirely of triumph, it must include a more human perspective. Triumph cannot come without strife, and heroism cannot come without tribulation. Athena and Odysseus’ experiences as divine and human, respectively, and define whether or not they are heroes. By comparing Odysseus to Athena, it is apparent that what makes Odysseus a hero before anything else is his humanity.

During Odysseus’ journey in ‘The Odyssey’, Odysseus runs into a couple problems. He leaves home ready to fight in the Trojan War. Although he had plans on coming home, he never made it home. His wife Penelope and his son Telemachus assumed that Odysseus was dead. It was not until Athena came to Telemachus and gave him everything he needed to make it to his dad. What Telemachus did not know was that Odysseus wanted to come home, but he could not because he was being held prisoner on an island named Ogygia. Odysseus wants nothing more to return home and see his lovely wife Penelope.

Odysseus, the main character of The Odyssey, is an amazing example of an ancient hero that went through many different challenges. Heros, to me, are people who do great and help many different people in a lot of different ways. Odysseus is a good example of an ancient hero because he helped his city defeat Troy with his great trickery, courage, and strength. A great example of a modern day hero is Superman. Also known as Clark Kent, Superman is an outstanding hero. He helps out his city whenever they are invaded by evil super villains. He is able to accomplish these challenges with his superpowers, his willingness to protect the citizens. I believe that Odysseus has a lot of similarities with Superman in a hero’s journey.

During his journey back to Ithaca, Odysseus’ main concern was how to win back Penelope from the suitors. He was barely worried about the condition of the city he had left many years ago. He wanted to return to his homeland for the sheer satisfaction of renewing his title of king.

They all think he had gotten prizes or treasures from Aeolus and didn’t think it was fair that everyone Odysseus met, gave him gifts and not his men. So they proceeded to “[loosen] the sack, whereupon the wind flew howling forth and raised a storm that carried [them] weeping out to sea and away from [their] own country.” (Homer 104). This blew Odysseus’ ship farther away from Ithaca. Odysseus proceeds to keep searching for a way to get home despite being so close to getting home, he keeps going.

In Homer's The Odyssey, Odysseus shows time and again his heroic characteristics such as, courage, leadership, and cleverness that prove him and others to be a hero, even today. Odysseus’s goal is to return home to Ithaca after fighting in the Trojan War, but is forced to overcome obstacles set throughout his journey designed to make him fail. Odysseus uses his heroic traits to conquer these obstacles. The same traits that make Odysseus a hero are also present in many of the people who are labeled as heroes today. For example, Martin Luther King Jr., an undeniable hero, is courageous, a leader, and clever. Odysseus’s courage helps him to stay determined while he propels himself through bumps in his journeys on his way home.

How does power change a man? The Odyssey tells of the journey of a man named Odysseus, along with his crew, who tries to find his way home to his kingdom of Ithaca. Odysseus is seen to change greatly in character from the time he leaves to the time he arrives in Ithaca. In The Odyssey, written by Homer, Odysseus’ character changes from the courageous, trustworthy man he was when he left, into the selfish, ignorant man be becomes as he returns to Ithaca. Odysseus left Ithaca to fight in the Trojan War and defend his kingdom.

After reading The Odyssey, you may wondering who Polyphemus hates more than Odysseus? Nobody! In Odysseus’ quest to return to Ithaca, he encounters many people with whom he makes acquaintance or enemy and he also succeeds in almost every challenge that arises in his journey home. Odysseus is revealed as an epic hero by Homer in The Odyssey because he shows that he is larger than life when he undertakes a dangerous voyage, goes through a change, and demonstrates traits valued by society through his successes during the Challenges, the Transformation, and the Return. Odysseus portrays his cunning and valiant personality and how he is larger than life when he has undertaken a dangerous voyage during the Challenges when he faces the cyclops,

Odysseus is an example of a true greek hero. A hero is defined as a man of distinguished courage or ability, admired for his brave deeds and noble qualities. There are an inestimable number of brave deeds that Odysseus performs. The Odyssey by Homer is about Odysseus's journey and how he gets cursed by the sea god (poseidon) causing him to have a rough time getting home. The Adventures of Odysseus By Hugh Lupton another version of this story but is less detailed and easier for younger ages to read.

The Odyssey is a classic that has influenced massive amounts of literature that followed it and there are many versions that people read. There are two main versions of the Odyssey, one of them is the complete story, while the other is an abridged version where the first four books are cut off. The details lost in the removal of these books cripples the plot and confuses the reader. The abridged version loses a lot of interesting details, such as why Odysseus so desperately needs to return to Ithaca, we wouldn’t know that Penelope is in fact loyal to Odysseus, and why Athena, a god, would ever find interest in this situation.

In book five Odysseus is presented with a very great and tempting barrier. Calypso confronts him with this statement, “But if you only knew, down deep, what pains are fated to fill your cup before you reach that shore, you’d stay right here, preside in our house with me and be immortal.” She promised him that he would possess a trait that no other human in the odyssey has, immortality. Even though her offers are very tempting and would be self fulfilling, he promptly rejects because all he wants is to go home and the love of his life, Penelope. This act alone shows that he was willing to give himself and up for a greater cause. He showed great discipline and faithfulness to reject Calypso’s offer and to continue on his journey home. At the beginning of the epic, Odysseus did have one flaw that could have been detrimental to his homecoming journey and that was self-glorification. By the end of the Odyssey, Odysseus overcame his pride and tempered it with patience because at the end of the day he didn’t really know that Penelope would be waiting on him, but he was willing to put in the effort to find out what was at the end of the road.

Odysseus’s strong desire to return to his family inspires foreign rulers to assist Odysseus in returning home. Odysseus states, “Nevertheless I long—I pine, all my days— / to travel home and see the dawn of my return” to Calypso (5.242-234). Odysseus stayed with the goddess Calypso as her “unwilling lover” until he leaves on a raft (5.172; 179-187). Calypso grants Odysseus leave from her island because he is in grieving over being separated from his family. Odysseus lands in Phaeacia after leaving Calypso’s island. While begging for passage home, Odysseus says, “How far away I’ve been / from all my loved ones—how long I have suffered” (7.180-181). King Alcinous