The Odyssey As A Hero Journey

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 Hero’s Journey is made up of a series of landmarks in which any hero follows on their journey. In Homer’s Odyssey, Odysseus, the main protagonist, follows through each step of this journey. His journey begins with his call to adventure. The start of his epic journey from Troy back home to Ithaca begins with his voyage to the Trojan War. Following when the war adjourned, Odysseus was called to lead his men home from the war which is the call to the journey that is explained in the epic. One of the most prominent parts of Odysseus’s journey is his Supernatural Aide or Mentors. There are many gods and goddesses whom offer their assistance to Odysseus along his journey. Following the start of Zeus’s curse on Odysseus in response to the

Becoming a Man When the word hero is brought up, names such as Harry Potter or Katniss Everdeen probably come to mind. While Harry and Katniss might seem like absolutely different people, but they do have one thing in common. All heroes follow a pattern called the hero's journey. The hero's journey is a common cycle that most protagonists follow.

In The Odyssey, Odysseus is trying to get home after battling in the Trojan War for ten years. Odysseus is a key character that changes drastically through the course of the epic. From the start to end of the epic Odysseus goes from being cocky and arrogant to becoming a patient and observant man; these changes all help him have a safe journey back home.

During his ventures to the underworld, he had encountered Tiresias, a Theban prophet. Tiresias foretold that he would eventually do so, however, he warned him that “the god would make it hard for him…But even so, he still might come back, after much suffering, if he could contain his own desire.” (171) After being gone for 20 years and facing much misfortune, Odysseus successfully returns to Ithaka. The perseverance that he had throughout his journey allowed him to face obstacles and keep going until he reached his goal. However, now that he has reached it, instead of being satisfied with returning, he continues this persistence, pushing on to reach his final goal. Taking Tiresias’ advice, he does whatever it takes in order to demolish the suitors. He enters the palace disguised as a beggar, the lowest form of human life. As angry as he is with them, he maintains the strength to keep his composure and disguise himself until the time is right. He must do what it takes to outsmart them, even if this means losing his dignity. Upon entering the palace and encountering the suitors, one of them becomes angry and “kicks Odysseus on the hip..Odysseus and his men successfully do so as they engage in battle, ridding the palace of all suitors because they “were destroyed by the doom of the gods and their own hard actions…So by their own recklessness they have found a shameful death.” (332) Bringing this recklessness upon themselves, they went against the will of the gods. Odysseus felt it necessary to kill all of them in order to bring justice to show that this is not an acceptable action while taking

One faces enormous challenges throughout life. In the famous saying, “Life isn’t about how many times an individual falls, but rather how he picks himself up,” its obvious obstacles make up his character. This applies to Odyssey who follows a hero’s journey. Several times he fails and goes through rough patches. But, in the end he is able to return to his home above all. Odysseus works through challenges to become a hero earning this status by his perseverance, humility, and cleverness.

Odysseus was a leader who faced many challenges throughout his long journey and overcame them with the heroic attributes of intelligence, bravery and cleverness. When he completed his service fighting in the war, he could not have guessed the trials that would come his way. However, throughout the story, we have much evidence to show the strength and determination he showed, especially when facing the one-eyed cyclops, Polyphemus.

After the Greek reached troy, and the war started. Odysseus played a particularly role as strategist and advisor, he managed to prevent Agamemnon from withdrawing the war. After the Trojan War, Odysseus made a ten year journey to reached his home, ‘Ithaca” Odysseus was a genius leader he managed to trick Polephemus and along with his companion, blinded the Cyclops, but he did the mistake revealing his identity to plyphemus.

Odysseus' journey home from the Trojan War is enough to glorify him and label him as brave. On this journey, Odysseus finds himself being challenged time and time again. Shown in the introduction of this story, "This is the story of a man, one who … endured many troubles and hardships in the struggle to save his own life" (3). Though, Odysseus did encounter a few storms along his

“The Odyssey and its Hero” In The Odyssey, a book originally composed by Homer, the story focuses on a man by the name of Odysseus suffering from the wrath of Poseidon, the God of earthquakes. The story takes place after the Trojan war, a 10 year battle finally won by the epic hero’s brilliant tactic, the famous “Trojan Horse” all students have heard about at some point in their lives. Over the span of another 10 years, the attention is directed to watching him and his crew fight to return home, battling the elements and temptations along the way, as well as the monsters and heathens so conveniently placed for his misfortune. Not only does he have to conquer such deadly creatures, but his fellow Achaeans as well in their efforts to court

Composed circa the end of the eighth century BCE by Greek poet Homer, The Odyssey retells the story of Ithaca’s king Odysseus and his journey home to Ithaca after the fall of Troy. The ten-year voyage is a classic example of the Hero’s Journey, for it contains within it not only all the necessary plot requirements, but more importantly the archetypes: heroes, heralds, mentors, threshold guardians, tricksters, shapeshifters, shadows, allies, and temptresses are present throughout the poem in both Odysseus’ journey and his son Telemachos’ as well. Although the epic presents each archetype differently and with their own characteristics, never are they described to deviate from the basic definition of their role.

A hero has many definitions from a Mythological or legendary figure often of divine descent endowed with great strength or ability, an illustrious warrior, and many other definitions. What makes a hero and how does one remain loyal to those he trusts around him? “To be heroic is to be courageous enough to die for something; to be inspirational is to be crazy enough to live a little.” ― Criss Jami, Venus in Arms. Growing up I’ve read books that were bigger than me, like mythological books because it had adventures and heroic people that would risk their lives for another.

The plan itself is unremarkable. It’s simply the best way to go about his return to Ithaca: take every precaution to avoid warning the suitors. What’s remarkable is the way that Odysseus carries out this plan. Although he does make some mistakes (such as letting himself be bathed by Eurycleia), he doesn’t let temporary emotions get in the way of what he knows he has to do. He doesn’t tell anyone until it is necessary for that person to know. He is willing to keep his identity hidden from his son, wife, and loyal servants, all of whom rejoice when they learn it. (He screws up with Eurycleia, but the important thing is that he had the self-control not to tell her before she found out. That was forgetfulness, not lack of control.) It’s the same thing as in the story (first in Book IV) where Odysseus, of all the Acheans in the Trojan horse, is nearly the only one able to control himself when Helen calls to them. Tempered by some of the mistakes he made on the journey (such as taunting the Cyclops), that resolve is what enables him to carry out his plan without giving in to

The Hero’s Journey is a format of writing that follows a similar path: Separation, Initiation, and Return. Odysseus’s adventure, in the epic poem The Odyssey, is a perfect example of the Hero’s Journey. Odysseus is separated from his hometown during the Trojan War, and is put through multiple trials and obstacles that slow his return home. Eventually, he makes his return to Ithaca. I am Matt Farruggio, although I have only been on this Earth for 14 years, I have followed the hero’s journey as well. In my life, I have had some experiences that embody the style of the Hero’s Journey. In my life, I have had to change schools and my dad has had a stroke; during these times I’ve needed to embark on a trip that resembled the Hero’s Journey. My journey changed my way of life as it made me more independent. My school transfer and my dad’s stroke forced me to become a more responsible and resourceful person.

Odysseus left Calypso’s Island and began his journey back home. His odyssey might be described as one’s own life struggles. There are ups and downs to every situation, and through reading The Odyssey, readers can connect parallels between Odysseus’ experiences and lessons learned in their own life. Human weaknesses can still prevail through even the strongest men you may think of; examples of this are shown in this epic. Even though there is a large gap in space between Odysseus’ travels and the present, human nature and weakness still share the same obstacles.