The Hero's Journey: A Short Story

To summarize book five of The Odyssey, all of the gods met to decide Odysseus’s fortune, and Athena persuaded Zeus to intervene. Zeus sent Hermes to Calypso’s island to tell her to let Odysseus return home. Calypso agrees with the request from Zeus to let Odysseus go, and she helps him build a new boat. Also, she provided him with food for his journey home. When Odysseus sailed off the island, Poseidon spotted him.

Odysseus was a very robust individual who was obligated to leave his kingdom of Ithaca to embark on a journey to fight the battles of Greek and win over Troy. To do this, he was required to leave behind his newborn son Telemachus, and his wife Penelope the Queen. The war lasted 10 years, and once the battle was over Odysseus and his fleet split and attempted to sail back to Ithaca. There, he was favored by Athena, goddess of handicrafts, learning, and the arts, and despised by Poseidon, god of the sea. His journey back home went off track and Odysseus eventually returned home after 20 years. Throughout the journey, Odysseus encountered many different situations in which he made some respectable choices, but the poorer ones landed him in a

Zeus, the incredible goddess is able to persuade him to allow Odysseus to eventually reach Ithica

In Poseidon's rage over Odysseus' blinding Polyphemus, he has continued a prolonged punishment from the hubris received. The gods and goddesses sometimes need to intervene on Poseidon's wrath through deception. Athena, Odysseus' and Telemachus' guardian goddess, intervened at the island Phaeacia after Poseidon left. When he left, Athena don a invisibility cloth over Odysseus that changed his physical appearances. Odysseus run into the princess and hand-maidens of Phaenica near the ocean. Nausicca, princess of Phaenica, is persuaded through a dream by Athena disguised as a ship captain’s daughter, Dymas, on the prospect of marriage. According to Bolton, her’s efforts to aid Odysseus come from the motivational hope to marry him. She is told to ask King Alcinous for a wagon with a few mules. Before arriving to the Palace of Alcinous and receiving a lecture on xenia, a hospitality custom created to applease travelers thought as a immortal being that would test the host on giving housing, food, and clothing

Odysseus comes to learn that after being presumed dead, his son who is now a man, goes and searches for him. Telemachus returns home and finds that his father is alive and well. Telemachus is overwhelmed with curiosity, but falls happily into his father’s arms. The Goddess Athena who had protected him through all his path and trials, appeared to him and asked him what troubled him so. Odysseus’s main concern was to know if his wife Penelope had stayed true to him after his long and extended

Scientists say rain was created from a process called the water cycle, little do they know rain was created by a young Goddess with a broken heart, named Raina. Raina lived in the clouds with her family. She was a young Goddess with beautiful dark hair that shined in the sun, and fierce green eyes. Raina was lonely, although she was surrounded by love from her family she desired more. Raina desired a husband, a significant other to spend her days with. Raina was so excited to go on this adventure in hopes of finding true love, she decided to confide the news of this adventure to her family, the only people she had ever loved. One night during supper Raina stood up and announced, “ I have some news, before any of you say something let me finish speaking. Although you all love me dearly I desire a compain, a husband to love me. I have decided to go on an adventure to find this true love”   Overjoyed Raina’s mother Willow, stood up and exclaimed, “ My only daughter is going to find love! She will find a man whom someday she will hopefully marry. I have been waiting for this day forerver.”  A tall burly man with a rounded stomach, who had been quietly observing the girls, finally stood up and said, “Who will the lucky God be?” Raina was extremely disheartend once her father uttered those words, for Raina wanted to marry a human not a God, Raina had found Gods egotistical and uncaring. Raina sighed and said, “ I do not want to marry a God father, I desire a human.” Greatly

Athena was the goddess of wisdom, craft, and battle. Athena did the right thing and was able to save the island of Ithaca and keep Odysseus's family together. At the time when Odysseus was at Nausicaa's palace, Athena was disguised at Odysseus's home to see what was going on. What Athena saw was not pleasant, Penelope, Odysseus's wife, had many men courting her and Penelope did nothing to stop them. While Penelope missed Odysseus she did not know if she could wait long enough for Odysseus to come back so she allowed men to court her. Athena had then informed Odysseus's son that Odysseus would be coming home soon, and his son later asked many people to provide him information about Odysseus's whereabouts. When the people of the kingdom were debating about what should happen to Odysseus's kingdom Athena disguised, yet again, to help keep the kingdom under Odysseus's family reign, to reassure everyone that he is coming soon.

Homer’s Odyssey is one of the great epic poems of Western literature and explores a variety of profound themes. Critical among these themes is man’s relationship with the gods and how this relationship frames his path through life in pursuit of ancient Greek heroic ideals. This report introduces and explains these ideals and then explores how Odysseus’s adventures throughout the Odyssey fit with them. It will be demonstrated that although Odysseus, like all heroes, strives for a good measure of self-determination and independence from the gods, and the varied episodes in which he finds himself have close parallels with the gods’ own experiences as documented throughout the broader canon of classic Greek mythology.

Now, how on earth could I forget Odysseus? ...No, it’s the Earth-Shaker, Poseidon, unappeased, forever fuming against him for the Cyclops whose giant eye he blinded…” (The Odyssey, 79). Immediately, Zeus is at the psychological mercy of his daughter; she has used his past love for Odysseus, the devout warrior who has many times before made sacrifices in Zeus’ name, against him. Her father, unaware that he is falling for her plan, states that he and his fellow gods will “work out [Odysseus’] journey home” (The Odyssey, 80). Always two steps ahead; Athena states her plan for the gods, placing herself in charge of its fruition, therefore giving herself power over the situation.

The Odyssey is an epic that shapes and defines the roles of many great leaders. These leaders are made up of mortals, alive and dead, and immortals. The trip taken by Odysseus is not only a journey of a war hero back to his homeland, but is a journey in all of the characters lives, which develop a better sense of personal identity and selfhood as the epic goes on. It is the many disguises that each character uses that uncover their true identities from their experiences. The revelations of each characters identity are what teach the lessons that Homer is trying to portray to his audience, and what lead to each character’s success in their personal journey.

On his way back home Odysseus and his men went through many hardships that resulted in almost everyone dieing. Odysseus and his men came across an island filled with sheep and a cyclops by the name of Polymorphous. Polymorphous trapped them in a cave, but Odysseus outsmarted him and escaped. Next stop was Aoilia where they met with the god of the winds, Aeolus. Aeolus Gave Odysseus a flask containing all the winds except the one that would bring him home. Within sight of Ithaca Odysseus’ men, out of curiosity, opened the flask and Odysseus’ ship was blown back to Aoilia. After enduring more obstacles like sirens, the death of all of his men, and his ship capsizing he returned home and killed all of the suitors that were competing for the hand of penelope and won her back as his

Throughout Homer’s epic poem The Odyssey we encounter a homecoming journey for a once beloved King of Ithaca. This king was Odysseus, a warrior, a leader of men, a father, and a husband. A man of many roles you can say, but arguably his most important, was played in disguise with the help of contributions from Athena, daughter of Zeus. Athena is portrayed in many roles and also many disguises, but most importantly she serves as a mentor to both Odysseus and Telemachus. Odysseus, was given a plan to complete his homecoming journey and the ultimate recapture of his palace, but without the guidance of Athena, could this journey be completed? Athena guided Odysseus along his journey and is able to not only disguise herself, but also disguise Odysseus in times of need. Ultimately, through the element of disguise, Athena was the most influential aspect of Odysseus’s homecoming to Ithaca and eventual restoration of his kingdom.

The second part of the poem tells the story of Odysseus. After he has spent seven years in captivity on Ogygia, the island of Calypso, she falls in love with him, even though he has spurned her advances. Calypso is finally convinced to release him by Odysseus ' great-grandfather, the messenger god Hermes, who has been sent by Zeus in response to Athena 's plea. Odysseus crafts a raft and is given provisions by Calypso. When Poseidon learns that Odysseus has escaped, he wrecks the ship, but, aided by a veil given to him by a sea nymph, Odysseus swims to shore to the island of the Phaeacians. Tired and exhausted, he hides and falls asleep. The next morning, awakened by the laughter of girls, he sees Nausicaa, who has gone with her maids to wash clothes after Athena told her in a dream to do so. He asks her for help. She tells him to seek the hospitality of her parents, Arete and Alcinous. Odysseus is welcomed and is not asked his name. He remains for several days, takes part in a pentathlon, and hears the singer Demodocus recite two poems. The first is an incident of the Trojan War, called the "Quarrel of Odysseus and Achilles"; the other poem is a tale of a love affair between two gods, Ares and Aphrodite. Finally, Odysseus asks Demodocus to return to the

Moreover, the goddess, Athena, was also vital in Odysseus ' journey home. She was always with him providing him with hope, help, and motivation in order to return home. Athena stayed with Odysseus throughout everything he went through. She met him through her disguises, and would encourage him whenever he felt like he was failing. Athena also used her magical powers in order to make Odysseus a beggar to disguise himself and help save Ithaca. Odysseus would have given up his journey way in the beginning if it was not for Athena. Athena was vital in keeping him strong and helping him move on into his journey back.

Odysseus returned to Ithaca after twenty years of struggle and fighting the monsters, he travelled through the foreign lands and served all the hardships during his journey. No wonder he is regarded as the literature’s most famous veteran, “But now brilliant Odysseus awoke from sleep in his own fatherland, and he did not know it/having been long away.” He have been away from his homeland for a very long time fighting and killing people and moreover the goddess of Athena has changed the