Odysseus, son of Laertes, and husband of Penelope. Journeys through the epic to participate in the Trojan War. Then, unfortunately, gets thrown off course and has been travelling island to island to find his home. While Odysseus tries to arrive home, he meets interesting creatures, goddesses, kings, and enemies to help and hinder him in his journey home. In the epic poem The Odyssey by Homer, the three characters that hindered and helped Odysseus are Calypso, Athena, and Antinous.
The character that hindered Odysseus specifically in book five is, Calypso, a goddess. Homer explained the way Calypso hindered Odysseus is by, capturing Odysseus and keeping him on her island for seven years and not wanting to let him go. Homer says “For seven of ten years Odysseus...has been held captive by the goddess Calypso…” (Homer italics 1206). Zeus sends Hermes, messenger of the gods, to make Calypso release Odysseus from her island. She then, obeys Hermes and starts to give Odysseus advice on how to get home from her island. Another piece of evidence that made Odysseus journey extremely difficult is Odysseus missing home. Odysseus started to cry since he has been on that island for so long, he thought he would never return home. “The Odyssey” quotes, “Odysseus who sat apart…and racked his own heart groaning, with eyes wet scanning the bare horizon..” (Homer Line 39-42, 1208). The days of Odysseus’s life was running out, while he was captured by Calypso.
The character that helped Odysseus
Penelope, while she probably a little worried that Odysseus wasn’t coming back, she didn’t know how little progress he was making. Odysseus was constantly making progress towards getting home, then something else would push him back to square one. He was extremely close to reaching Ithaca, then Poseidon decided it wasn’t his fate to return at that moment. Even when he was trapped on Calypso’s island. He had his boat fall into Charybdis, the monster living in the whirlpool. Odyssey then was forced to hold onto debris of his ship as he was whisked away wherever the ocean took him. He then stumbled upon Calypso's island, was trapped for many years, and could not leave. Another emotional burden he had on him, was that when they were travelling through the Strait that occupied Scylla, Odysseus knew that 7 of his men would have to sacrifice. He had to be able to keep to himself that some of them would not make it. He did this in order for him and the rest of the crew to survive. However, it was a large burden to carry and was difficult for him especially because he couldn’t do anything about
The Odyssey by Homer is an epic poem consisting of 24 books that share individual stories. The Odyssey tells a story of Odysseus, son of Laertes, known as a Great hero. Odysseus fought in the Trojan War for ten years and it took another ten years for him to return home to his grieving wife Penelope and son Telemakhos. Throughout the poem, Odysseus and Penelope go through pain, hardships, and sacrifices always showing their heroic qualities of courage and wits.
Odysseus, king of Ithaca, was probably on of the greatest warriors in the history of Ancient Greece. It is said that the poet, Homer, wrote the story of the Odyssey. In this story, Odysseus and his crew are trying to make their voyage back home to Ithaca after they have fought with the Trojans. During the long journey, Odysseus will show some of his character traits which include his bravery, cleverness, and wisdom that will assist him with the situations he encounters on his journey home.
In the Odyssey, Odysseus is quite the legend known to people, whether you are high up in the sky with Zeus, or deep in the ocean with Poseidon, everyone knows Odysseus. In the epic poem, the Odyssey told by the one and only Homer, the brave, the godlike human, Odysseus is finding his way home after the big battle victory against the Trojans. This story is about his travels home and how he got caught up in other business. Let’s just say he stabbed Poseidon’s son, had his crew turned into pigs, faced a six-headed monster and whirlpool, and that is to say the least. He may as well be on America’s most wanted list with all the trouble he was causing. Even though Odysseus is a troublemaker, he has multiple great characteristics of a leader. Odysseus, when it comes to his crew and family, is confident, compassionate, wise, and always knows a way to get out of any problem.
In the “Odyssey”, Odysseus goes through obstacles throughout the book that a normal man couldn’t subside. One example is in book 9, his main obstacle that he is trying to face is to escape from being held hostage in a cave by a Cyclops better known as Polyphemus. Odysseus is a archetypal hero, he is also a role model, with an ambition to get to his homeland Ithaca. He goes through resisting temptation and using his intellect and physical strength to get him there, no matter the obstacle nor the negative flaws that he faces. Odysseus put himself and his men in that situation by being curious and wanting to know what kind of land his ship and the winds led him to. This was selfish of him because it cost him some of his men, but a leader and hero has to play that role and some lives will be dealt with on the way. Odysseus says, “The rest of you will stay here while I go with my ship and crew on reconnaissance. I want to find out what those men are like, Wild savages with no sense of right or wrong Or hospitable folk who fear the gods” (Homer 429). Saying this quote alone makes Odysseus a humble man due to the fact that not even a piece of land is going to slow him down on his journey back home.
Gorgeous women, vengeful gods, helpful gods, numerous riches, ugly monsters, and a hero with his crew. The Odyssey of Homer, translated by Allen Mandelbaum, tells of the hero Odysseus' journey home from Troy. At his home in Ithaca, Odysseus' estate and wife, Penelope, have being overtaken by suitors. Odysseus' son, Telemachus, begins a journey to discover news of his father. After being away from home for numerous years, Odysseus' main goal is to reach home and regain his wife and estate. Along the way Odysseus learns many lessons about life as he grows from an immature lout to a humble, mature man.
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.
Odysseus is the main character in an epic poem called the Odyssey. In the poem Odysseus has had some bad luck getting home, with some of the gods helping him and some hindering him; his journey towards home is a constant struggle. In this poem we see a man being broke and rebuilt, through constant irony his faith was damaged and without the help of Athena he probably would have given up on his journey. Through his hard work and wise spirit he finally does achieve his goal.
Within the masts of ships, the tests of loyalty, and the authority of the social pecking order lays the similarities and differences among powerful female characters. The Odyssey by Homer was written as a sequel to his previous work The Iliad. These books follow The Trojan War and the events following this massive war. Specifically, The Odyssey follows the journey of war hero Odysseus on his way back home to Ithaca. On his campaign filled with trials and tribulations, Odysseus received help from many important women. Bright-eyed Athena, the goddess of strategic warfare, serves as a mentor throughout Odysseus’ journey to his homeland, Ithaca. Calypso, the nymph with the human voice, houses Odysseus on his journey home. Eurycleia, the nurse in his placae, provides care and support to her superior, Odysseus. These three women can all be compared and contrasted to one another because of their close relationships with Odysseus, master of tactics. Odysseus would not have been successful on his journey home to Ithaca if it were not for women such as Athena, Calypso, and Eurycleia.
Odysseus the Great Imagine heavy rain on a stormy sea as a ship comes back from war. It gets blown off course in a god’s rage toward the captain and makes the crew take many years to get back home to their kingdom. In the epic poem, The Odyssey by Homer, Odysseus, the main character shows many brave qualities in his adventure home from the war at Troy. He goes to many different islands and cities. He fights hard to return home to his wife and son, Penelope and Telemacus.
The epic poem The Odyssey, written by Homer, centers around the main protagonist Odysseus and his long journey back home. Odysseus, the king of Ithaca, returns home after defeating the Trojans in a ten year war. On his way back, he angers Poseidon, god of the sea, by blinding his son, Polyphemus the Cyclops. Due to Odysseus’ actions, Poseidon refuses to let Odysseus reach home, and Odysseus and his crew are forced to go through a series of obstacles throughout the epic. Through this adversity, Odysseus must show his heroic attributions in order to survive. Homer portrays Odysseus as a hero by giving him characteristics such as: craftiness, loyalty, and bravery.
Odysseus is one of the greatest epic heros in the history of literature. The Odyssey, by Homer, is an epic poem, which depicts the journey home of Odysseus. Angering many gods, this voyage takes him through multiple obstacles, and ends up taking almost twenty years longer than it should've. Throughout his journey, “The Son of Laertes” must get his crew out of trouble multiple times. He uses his intellect and other strengths to do so, and never gives up, no matter the circumstance. Even after losing everything he needs in a storm worthy of the gods, Odysseus still never gives up, and gets himself out of trouble yet again. Throughout his entire journey, coming home from the Trojan War, Odysseus repeatedly uses many heroic traits to get himself and his crew out of many unfortunate situations. These heroic traits, how Odysseus uses them, and the steps of his journey all come together to illustrate that he is an epic hero. Odysseus characterizes himself as an epic hero based on how he almost perfectly follows the characteristics of an epic hero, gets his crew out of trouble multiple times, and follows the Hero's Journey.
Odyssey Character List 1) Agamemnon-(ag-uh-mem-non) In Greek legend, he was the king of Mycenae or Argos. When Paris (Alexandros), son of king Priam of Troy, carried off Helen, Agamemnon called on the princes of the country to unite in a war of revenge against the Trojans. 2) Alcinous-(al-sin-nos) In Homer’s Odyssey, Alcinous is the King of Phaeacians who offered Odysseus and his men hospitality after they were shipwrecked.
Homer's epic tale The Odyssey is a story of the triumphs and downfalls that are in store for one warrior's long pillage home. Odysseus, the hero from the Trojan wars, has led his people of Ithaca and other Achaean soldiers to victory and now wishes to return home to his wife and family of Ithaca. Through his twenty year journey Odysseus is often tested not only of his physical strength, but his wits as well. The many accomplishments he achieved earned him great status and recognition throughout ancient Greece. The mistakes he made caused the deaths of many men. Consequently, we as readers are able to see the many personas that Odysseus carries with him.
Odysseus of Ithica, is the true hero of the Odyssey, he is the one that gave the idea of the trojan horse to the greeks and ended the war with Troy, and despite all of the harsh challenges that the gods threw at him, he never lost hope on the idea of returning home to his wife and son, and also he is the one that completely eradicated the conflict in Ithica.