The Odyssey

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Throughout vast journeys of many heroes, no other hero had a more complex journey than Odysseus. This journey is called The Odyssey, written by Homer. It is an epic poem or story told of a hero name Odysseus on a 20-year voyage trying to get back home from the Trojan War. The great epic poem known as The Odyssey and attributed to Homer was probably first written down around the eighth century BC, but the origins of the ancient story in myth, legend, and folklore and art appear to be much older. Greek Epic Hero When you think about Greek Epic heroes, Odysseus will most likely come to mind. Odysseus is the main character in Homer's poem "The Odyssey." "The Odyssey" is a narrative poem that describes Odysseus' adventures and obstacles in his quest to return home to Ithaca, where he is king, from the Trojan War. Odysseus has been gone for two decades. All the other chieftains have returned home. However, Odysseus' whereabouts are unknown. One of the things that make Odysseus a Greek hero is that the gods favor him. In the Odyssey the gods help Odysseus many times. When Poseidon struck Odysseus' ship with lightning, Odysseus was able to survive because a goddess named Ino gave him a magical cloak. The cloak prevents Odysseus from drowning. When Circe turns Odysseus’ men into swine, Hermes the messenger god gives Odysseus a magical herb that prevents Circe from using her spells on him. Due to this Odysseus was able to gain favor in Circe's eyes and he convinced her to turn his men back to normal. Towards the end of the book, when Odysseus returns to Ithaca, Athena disguises him as a beggar. The disguise was to fool the suitors, who are eating Odysseus out of his home and are harassing his wife Penelope, and to get Odysseus access to the palace. The ancient Greeks used to say that a true hero must show respect to the gods by giving them sacrifices and praying to them. Odysseus gives sacrifices to the gods in many instances in “The Odyssey." When Odysseus goes to Hades, the underworld, he sacrifices a ram and an ewe to the gods. When Odysseus defeats Polyphemus the Cyclops who is the son of Poseidon the god of the sea, Odysseus gives sacrifices to the gods. Lastly when Odysseus defeats those horrible suitors that outnumbered him by so much Odysseus realizes that it was the gods who helped him do this. A mere mortal could not perform the fea...

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...d wars are true. Let’s take Ithaca for instances, is a real landmass in the Ionians Islands of the western part of Greece. Through the Trojan War, there is some truth to that because researches have found some parts and signs that deal with a war that took place a great time ago. They found that Troy is in what we call present-day Turkey. It is very hard to understand the book because of the depth it goes into. The translator E. V. Rieu said that “The Odyssey” was one the hardest books to translate mainly because Homer writes with emphasis on his works. But in the movie, the director Andrei Kanchalovsky said “the movie was hard to make because it was to many books that translated The Odyssey in many different ways.” In actuality, the article was the best summary of the book and half as good as the movie.

Fayetteville State University
By: Adrian Williams
History 110
11-16-00

Book:
Homer. The Odyssey. 375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014, USA. Penguin Books Inc, 1946.
Movie:
“The Odyssey”. Directed by Andrei Kanchalovsky. Starring Armand Assante, Vanessa L. Williams, and Eric Roberts. 1997.

Article:
http://members.nbci.com/blademaster/myths/odyssey.html

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