Archetypes of The Odyssey and the Connections
Archetypes bring order to everyday life- without them there would be chaos. Humans use them to predict what may happen, and to empathize with people all around the world. Homer’s The Odyssey has several archetypes. The Odyssey is an epic poem, written down at the time of Ancient Greece. Archetypes are characters, actions, or situations that are generally a prototype of human life. Today, readers can gain insight into Ancient Greek culture through the archetypes in The Odyssey. Three main archetypes are: the hero, the monster or villain, and the crossroads.
The hero represented in The Odyssey is Odysseus. Odysseus always places his trust in the gods. In the book, The Hero’s Journey, it explains
The suitors are bullies, and fall into the villain category. In line 1228 of The Odyssey, a suitor hits Odysseus, disguised as a helpless beggar, with a stool. They insult his family by taking advantage of his wife and planning to murder his son. The suitors are the type of men society would similarly hate now. The Cyclopes are classic monsters. The article, Monster Archetypes in the Odyssey, says, “This is a monster who would function in the same horrifying capacity in a modern horror film,” (Richardson). Meaning, the same terrors of the ancient Greeks are just as scream-worthy today. For example, in entertainment, the idea of a villain with facial disfigurement and homicidal tendencies is common. Scylla and Charybdis are two other common monster depictions. In line 821 of The Odyssey, “She [Scylla] ate them as they shrieked there, in her den…” (Homer 821). The crew members were eaten alive, which is just as relatable and horrifying today. The Odyssey compares Scylla’s feast to a man surfcasting, making the deaths tragic and bloody. The placement of Scylla and Charybdis creates a different archetype as well: a
There is a small strait between Scylla and Charybdis. “Scylla to port and on our starboard beam Charybdis…” (Homer 796). Odysseus must pick which monster will be less dangerous and which to sail nearest to. In other words, Odysseus must choose the lesser of two evils. To put this into a more modern context, the idiom “stuck between a rock and a hard place” perfectly describes Odysseus’ dilemma. In another situation, Odysseus must decide to plunder the Cyclops Polyphemus’ home, or wait to meet him. In lines 165-171, the crew wants to plunder, and Odysseus must weigh the benefits or ramifications. Either choice could have dangerous consequences. The term, “a crossroads”, comes from an actual cross of roads. It is currently used as an analogy of a critical decision that could take the traveler in different directions. This appears frequently in modern culture. The crew’s final crossroads are when they consider eating the cattle of the sun god. In lines 865-875 of The Odyssey, they contemplate starving, or eating the cattle and dying quickly. The crew calls famine the “most pitiful,” of the two decisions (Homer 866). In conclusion, the Greeks did not find starvation an honorable way to die, leading the crew members to pick a fatal road to traverse. Most people today would choose a life-fulfilling way to die. However, it was not just the Greeks who had crossroads. People today face many
Throughout literature characters have relied upon entities greater then themselves to furnish them with aid as they meet the many challenges they must face. The Odyssey is a tale of Odysseus’ epic journey and the many obstacles that bar his return home. But Odysseus is not alone in this struggle and receives aid from many gods, especially the clear-eyed goddess Athena. There are times when Odysseus beseeches the gods for aid, but other times he is too foolhardy to receive aid from even the immortal gods. In Homer’s The Odyssey, Odysseus’ journey revolves around the cyclical phases of his dependence, independence and his return to reliance upon the gods’ aid.
In this paper, I will argue that although the surface meaning of this passage is the slaughter of the suitors by Odysseus and his men, the deeper meaning of the passage is the
There are numerous heroes throughout “The Odyssey,” but none of them are as significant as Odysseus. “The Odyssey” is a narrative poem written by Homer (around 800 and 600 BCE) to show the numerous adventures and experiences Odysseus goes through. Throughout the Odyssey, Odysseus a prominent Greek epic hero is on a quest to return back to his home in Ithaca; to his wife Penelope, and his son Telemachus. Just like real life, not all heroes are picture-perfect; they all have imperfections. In this case, Odysseus is sometimes insolent, and discourteous; but he is still considered an epic hero because of the many heroic qualities he endures. Odysseus proves himself to be an outstanding hero in various ways such as showing loyalty, intelligence, bravery, strength, and courage which are all some of the most momentous qualities found in a hero. If a true hero can prove they are a true hero, makes them a true hero.
Odysseus’ character , as seen in the Iliad, is much like that of a Homeric hero. A hero in Homer’s world entails many attributes other than physical strength including, but not limited to, courage, honor, respect, intelligence, and good morals. Throughout The Odyssey, some of these character traits are illustrated, and some are slightly changed.
Throughout the Odyssey there are many themes that Homer uses to portray different people and events. To name a few, there are the themes of Betrayal and Revenge,Greed and Glutony, Hospitality, Role of the Gods and Wealth (the amount of money one had determined the status he held in the greek society, and this explains Odysseus's love for plunder).
Each species of monster within The Odyssey represents one or more qualities that the Greeks have demonized in comparison to themselves. The one-eyed Cyclops present a monster with extremely barbaric qualities that the Greeks abhor.
Every story uses archetypes, including the Odyssey. Since the movie Oh Brother! was based on the Odyssey, they both share and have differences in archetypes. They use the same archetypes in the form of the hero, the temptress, and the fall. These archetypes are used the same and differently in these stories as seen in these examples.
Odysseus is faced with many obstacles in which he must make smart decisions. Throughout The Odyssey, Odysseus is frequently faced with hard decisions that he must make to benefit himself and his crew. One of the most difficult decisions that Odysseus is forced to make is the choice between crossing the path of Skylla or Kharybdis. On one hand, if they go to the side of Skylla, then six of Odysseus’s men are bound to be captured and eaten by the monster. On the other hand, if they go to the side of Kharybdis, than it is a lottery between losing all the crew members to a deathly whirlpool, or everyone making it out alive. In this case scenario, Odysseus chooses to cross the path of Skylla because it would be a better decision for the crew to sacrifice only six members than to threaten the lives of all the crew members. As guaranteed, six crew members were captured and eaten by the creatures...
The Odyssey, an epic poem written by Homer and translated by Robert Fitzgerald, is about the war hero Odysseus' ten year adventure to return home after the Trojan War. At one point in the epic poem, Odysseus is retelling his adventure at the land of the Kyklopês, in which he and his crew go to an island filled with these creatures. Through Odysseus, Homer uses contrasting connotation when speaking of the crew and the Kyklopês to convey that mankind is better than the Kyklopês using two different domains domains of society.
Throughout the Odyssey, there are many relationships that represent love between two people. These relationships show loyalty, compassion, and the wanting to be near one another. Two of these kinds of relationships are between Odysseus and Telemakhos, and Odysseus and Penelope.
The power and influence of women is symbolized in Odysseus’ encounter with the dead in Hades. In the Underworld, Odysseus meets more women than men. He meets his mother and then a “grand array of women” (334). They all were “wives and daughters once of princes” (334). All of them are the legendary women who were the mothers of the greatest Greek lineages. This symbolizes how Greek civilization was founded by women; they were the ones who gave birth to the heroes. Similarly, The Odyssey is a story created by women. The plot revolves around the actions of women. Athena orchestrates all the events. The seductresses, such as Circe, the sirens, and Calypso, attempt to stop Odysseus from reaching home. The helpmeets, such as Nausicaa, Arete, and Athena, aid Odysseus in his homecoming. The wise and virtuous Penelope is the object of Odysseus’ quest. Unlike Helen who forsakes her husband, Penelope remains faithful. Unlike Clytemnestra who assassinates her husband, Penelope patiently waits for Odysseus. She becomes a model of female patience and of female intelligence. Her craftiness is the only one which can match up to Odysseus’. The Odyssey presents a wide array of women and demonstrates the influence that women have in the life of a
Odysseus was within arms reach of home but because of how naive he was he was forced to keep going on his journey. After all of Aeolus’ hospitality and such a powerful gift Odysseus is still mindless at what this meant and because of him not being cautious, he could not complete his adventure. It’s surprising knowing that after being on a powerful god’s bad side and being forced back to sea, that Odysseus can be even more of a fool.
The image of seductresses is a recurring motif in The Odyssey. These women are a temptation to Odysseus. They attempt to keep Odysseus from accomplishing his goal: his homecoming. Circe is a bewitching goddess. She entices Odysseus’ crew into her palace with her enchanting voice. However, after she feeds them, she promptly turns them into pigs. Circe also succeeds in enticing Odysseus; he stays with her one year as her lover. It is so long that his crew declares that it is “madness” (326). They say that it is “high time” that Odysseus thinks of his homeland (326). Later on, Odysseus and his crew encounter the sirens. Knowing the danger they pose, Odysseus has all his men’s ears stopped up with wax. However, Odysseus wishes to hear their song; so he asks his crew to tie him to the mast. The song of the sirens is so sweet and enticing. Their “ravishing voices” almost make Odysseus forget his desire to return home (349). His heart “throbbed” to listen longer; he signals for his men to let him go free. The grea...
In conclusion, the “Odyssey” is one of the greatest literary works ever known and this literary analysis should help the reader to understand the important components of the novel such as theme, characters, relationships, symbols, motifs, literary devices, and tone.
Picture this: a hero of great legends who travels to the underworld and back to get directions to his home from a blind prophet. It sounds like quite an impossible journey, but that is exactly what makes Odysseus all the more fascinating. The Odyssey, an epic poem orally transmitted by Homer, a Greek poet who wrote The Iliad, had to contain some variety of attributes that Greeks valued in a person. That one embodiment of what the Greeks found intriguing in a character is Odysseus. Odysseus is known as what is called an epic hero. An epic hero is a protagonist of a story that represents the most important attributes of a civilization. Odysseus, being based in ancient Greece, is the embodiment of intelligence, loyalty, and strength.