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Essay on The Odyssey

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The Odyssey

Set in ancient Greece, The Odyssey is about the hero Odysseus' long-awaited return from the Trojan War to his homeland, Ithaca, after ten years of wandering. The current action of The Odyssey occupies the last six weeks of the ten years, and the narrative includes many places - Olympus, Ithaca, Pylos,
Pherae, Sparta, Ogygia, and Scheria. In Books 9-12, Odysseus narrates the story of his travels in the years after the fall of Troy, and this narrative includes other far-flung places, such as the island of the Cyclops. The main action of the poem takes place in Ithaca, after a disguised Odysseus reaches there in Book 13. In Books 13 to 24, Odysseus is slowly reunited with his family and takes revenge on the …show more content…

His travels in search of his father help him to mature, and, on Odysseus' return, he fulfills his duties, as the son of a hero should. Athene - the goddess of wisdom and the daughter of Zeus. She is Odysseus' champion amongst the gods, and she aids him and Telemachus throughout the poem, displaying great tact, intelligence, and cleverness in all her endeavors.

Minor

Nestor - the King of Pylos. He had fought on the side of Agamemnon in the
Trojan War. When Telemachus sails off to find news of Odysseus, he first visits Nestor at Pylos. Nestor contributes very little to Telemachus' knowledge of his father, though he is generous and helpful.

Menelaus - the King of Sparta. The Trojan War was fought to rescue his wife,
Helen, who was abducted by Paris. In The Odyssey, both husband and wife are back at Sparta. An old friend of Odysseus, Menelaus welcomes Telemachus into his home.

Helen - the wife of Menelaus and the cause of the Trojan War. Helen's portrayal is more striking than that of Menelaus. She is back with Menelaus at
Sparta, happy and at peace, having learned from her sufferings. The tenderness which she possesses in The Iliad is turned to new purposes here in
The Odyssey.

Antinous - the most vociferous and proud of the suitors. He plots Telemachus' death and often leads the suitors in their mistreatment of Odysseus and his household. Eurymachus - another outspoken and powerful suitor. In Book 22, he

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