Carl Jung's Odysseus: An Epic Hero

The character of Odysseus is often used by scholars to help define an epic hero, with many arguing that he is the classic representation of the archetypal hero as described by Carl Jung and expanded by Joseph Campbell. Jung created the concept of the archetype and the collective unconscious to explain the unity of images within different people’s dreams. Jung believed (1990: p. 64) that individual and social behaviours originate from a shared tableau of characters that the mind preserves from early consciousness. According to Jung, the archetypal hero is representative of the mind’s search for individualism, the process making each consciousness unique. Joseph Campbell expanded upon this, encompassing all of the world’s mythologies, discovering

In light of this, Odysseus may be considered a traditional hero, however his heroism does not extend to the contemporary audience, bound by the restraints of the ancient Greek ideals in which he is situated. Irrespective of how well Odysseus fits the classical criteria for heroism, to a modern reader, Odysseus is the antithesis of what a contemporary hero should be. To many, Odysseus is ‘the self-serving liar, the brutal murderer, the indulgent adulterer’ (Howell 2012: p. 62) that modern audiences

We do not worship the Gods of pantheon nor do we live by the warrior code. But, has humanity evolved so much that our archetypes have evolved beyond recognition? I think not, perhaps there is a subtext to the Odyssey suggesting that there is a very real reason why the reader questions the heroism of Odysseus – because we are supposed to. Odysseus is used as a covert warning of hubris, forgetting where you came from and the wrath of the Gods. I believe that Homer wanted us to question Odysseus, thus championing the underdog, allowing us to see the hero within the common man, not only within Ancient Greece, as his muse ‘[sings] for our time, too.’ (Homer, 1946: p.