The Role Of Odysseus In Homer's Odyssey

In my eyes a hero is a person who shows courage, is humble, does not give up, and is someone everybody can relate to. The protagonist in “The Odyssey” by Homer, Odysseus is a hero because although he is emotional throughout the book and lets his emotions take over his actions, he displays immense courage and perseveres through his journey and hardships.

This time spent on Circe's island was a test of whether he could resist lust from a goddess, and he fails. At first it appears as though the only reason Odysseus sleeps with Circe is to regain his companions, but she easily persuades them to stay. What makes it worse is the fact that Odysseus is not even the first one ready to go. His men are the ones who urge him to leave: "What ails you now? It is time to think about our own country" (Book X, line 472). At a glance, it appears that Odysseus is merely succumbing to Circe's schemes for reasons related to their health and well being, if we read between the lines, we soon begin to realize that Odysseus is weak in the voracious hands of lust. Odysseus arrives on Calypso's island in her cave. At first, it seems like Odysseus doesn't seem much to mind her taking care of him, but over time it is plainly evident that he is unhappy with her. When Hermes arrives on Calypso's island to give her the message from Zeus to release Odysseus, he is bawling on the beach-- a daylong activity for him. Calypso is holding him with her by force; she has no companions to help him back to Ithaca, nor has she a ship to send him in. Athena pleads with Zeus to give Odysseus good fortune,

Because of Athena, Odysseus shall sail “home to his native country unharmed” (Book V, line 30). At this, Zeus sends Hermes to tell Calypso she is to let Odysseus go, and allow him to return 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

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.

Once they passed they passed the cliffs they came to Helios island.Odysseus told his men he knew they were tried but they had to keep going.Eurlochos stood up demanding they stop and rest also to eat.Odysseus said okay but he made his men promise not to touch Helios’s cattle and sheep.After one month the men ran out of food and they were starving.His men decided to kill some of Helios’s cattle.When Helios found out he was furios and prayed to Zeus asking him to kill them Zeus said he would strike a lighnighing bolt down on Odysseus ship.So Zeus had done it.Odysseus’s men were all dead he no longer had a boat and he was now the only surviver.Odysseus made a raft and went into Charybdis’s base she took in water and spat it out.Odysseus held on to a tree while the raft went in.Odysseus had prayed to the gods until they brought him to Calypso island.In this ponit of the story stops because Alkinoos had already known of his time with the

Penelope is also important because she (along with Telemachus) is the main reason for Odysseus to return home. Odysseus shows his great love and determination when goddess Calypso offers him immortality (Book 5) on the condition that he remains on Ogygia as her husband. At Odysseus's first opportunity he builds a raft and sails away, leaving the lonely Calypso behind. When he reaches Phaeacia, he is then offered the hand of King Alcinous daughter, Nausicaa, who must have been beautiful because Odysseus had mistaken her for the goddess Artemis on first site. Instead Odysseus wished to return to Penelope.

Calypso greets Odysseus with great welcoming, and a proposal to sleep with her. Calypso welcomes Odysseus by saying, “Come, sheathe your sword, let’s go to bed together, mount by bed and mix in the magic work of love- we’ll breed deep trust between us” (Homer 10: 369-372). Calypso seduces Odysseus quick enough to make him stay with her for seven years. Until one day, he decides to go back to his journey to return to his wife Penelope. This demonstrated that Odysseus was determined to continue his journey home to go to his family.

Calypso lusts for Odysseus so much that she holds him captive for many years. Odysseus, however, does not feel this lust for her. At this point in the epic, he wants nothing more than to reach his home and his wife, whom he loves very much. Finally, the gods tell Calypso that is time to release Odysseus, and she obeys.

Odysseus arrives on Calypso’s island alone, after the loss of his men and ship. Calypso rescues him and loves and cares for him in her cave. At first, it seems like Odysseus doesn’t seem much to mind her taking care of him, but over time it is plainly evident that he is unhappy with her. When Hermes arrives on Calypso’s island to give her the message from Zeus to release Odysseus, he is bawling on the beach a day-long activity for him. Calypso is holding him with her by force; she has no companions to help him back to Ithaka, nor has she a ship to send him in. Athena pleads with Zeus to give Odysseus good fortune, saying that "he lies away on an island suffering strong pains in the palace of the nymph Kalypso, and she detains him by constraint, and he cannot make his way to his country, for he has not any ships by him, nor any companions who can convey him back

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

As Telemachus tracks Odysseus' trail through stories from his old Comrades- in- arm, Athena arranges for the release of Odysseus from the Island of the beautiful goddess Calypso, whose prisoner and lover he has been for the last seven years. Odysseus sets sail on a makeshift raft, but the sea god Poseidon, whose wrath Odysseus incurred earlier in his adventure by blinding Poseidon's son, the Cyclops Polyphemus, conjures up a storm. With Athena's help Odysseus reaches the Phaeacians. Their princess, Nausicaa, who has a crush on the handsome warrior, opens the palace to the stranger. Odysseus withholds his identity for as long as he can until finally, at the Phaeacians' request, he tells the story of his adventures.

There have been many proposed theories to the great hero Odysseus’ return to Ithaca. Odysseus has wandered long and far to make his return to his home soil. He fought Cyclopes, fled from cannibalistic Giants, spent seven years on a nearly deserted island, and literally went to hell and back just to breathe the air of his motherland. There has been great debate on what kept the enduring hero from giving up. He could have accepted his fate as an immortal on the Island of Calypso or allowed his will power to dwindle and fallen into the jaws of Charybdis. What did the hero truly desire so much that he refused the will of the Gods to reach his native land. It was his beloved wife Penelope.

Even though Odysseus is the hero in this epic, it is shown he is only human and he makes mistakes too. No matter how noble or strong we may be, it is only natural to error. When he traveled to Circe’s home, he was enchanted by her and was unfaithful to his wife, Penelope. By being around a beautiful goddess and not having seen your wife in years, Odysseus naturally had a tendency to cheat on Penelope. We see that in our culture today. When spouses are gone for too long and if you know they don’t have a chance to find out about your whereabouts, people succumb to their