The Odyssey by Homer

1327 Words3 Pages

As society has progressed, composers have adapted and appropriated the archetypal quest so as to reflect the values of the time’s culture appropriately. This has been a necessary course of action, to ensure their writing conveys the quest and its respective elements in a manner that will be understood by the responder in the relevant time period. The texts ‘The Odyssey (Homer 8th Century BC), In the Shadow of No Towers (Art Spiegelman 2004) and The Picture of Dorian Gray (Oscar Wilde 1890) have appropriated the archetypal quest in their respective time periods to reflect the values of their context.
“The hero ventures forth from the world of common day into a region of supernatural wonder: fabulous forces are there encountered and a decisive victory is won: the hero comes back from this mysterious adventurer with the power to bestow boons on his fellow man” Joseph Campbell has eloquently expressed in this excerpt from ‘The Hero With a Thousand Faces’, the adventure the hero will experience, and the transformation they may ultimately undergo as a result of their quest.
Homer’s The Odyssey reflects the time period of the 8th Century, BC in Greece. The Greek society and its culture’s predominant values were athleticism, hospitality, ingenuity, intuition, justice, loyalty, respect and teamwork. These values are reflected throughout the Odyssey and its characters. The text communicates to the responder, that within this society it was very much expected of the men to prove themselves, most often through a task or completing a quest. The completion of their trial, signified their transition into true manhood. Much like the elements of the archetypal quest, a man living in the Homeric society would go through many trials and experiences...

... middle of paper ...

...ficant differences in the type of quest depicted. Significant differences in the novel’s values were present due to the time gap in between the dates of publication. The archetypal quest has been continually appropriated into almost every genre of text as it is relevant in every society and period of time. Humans continually experience ‘quests’ throughout their lives, as they develop, mature and move into different stages of their lives. Throughout these ‘life quests’ one will have varying experiences that will alter and potentially broaden the human perspective on life and the world. It is because people individually experience parts of the archetypal quest throughout their lives that it is so relevant and relatable to them. For this reason, the quest will continue to be appropriated into compositions as society progresses, and will continue to do so indefinitely.

More about The Odyssey by Homer

Open Document