herody Little Heroism in Homers Odyssey Essay -- Odyssey essays

Little Heroism in Homers Odyssey Could I forget that kingly man, Odysseus? in that respect is no mortal half so wise no mortal gave so much to the lords of the open sky. proclaims Zeus, the king of all gods in Homers The Odyssey. He, among countless others, harbors in high spirits regards for Odysseus, the mastermind of the Trojan War turned lost sailor. However, the epic poem is sprinkled with the actions of gods and goddesses pushing Odysseus towards his path home to Ithaka, giving the mortal war hero miniscule exposure to the limelight. So when does all the high and mighty talk of Odysseus power prove true? Only in the absence of godly intervention tolerate the title character live up to his name. In Homers The Odyssey, excessive reliance on the gods assistance weakens the overall effect of Odysseus as the hero while, as a break from the norm, Odysseus single-handed defeat of the Kyklops Polyphmos adds true disbelief to the story as well as merit to Odysseus ch aracter. The gods interfere with Odysseus on his quest in angiotensin-converting enzyme of two ways, for the better or for the worse. Zeus, genus Athene, Herms, Persephone, and the Nereid Ino all help Odysseus return home. On the other hand, Poseidon and Hlios, the embodiment of the sun, hinder his journey home. While the nymph Kalypso and the becharm Kirk balance between helping and hindering. Athena, the goddess of wisdom and daughter of Zeus, plays the most crucial role in the story. Odysseus patron goddess practically weaves the outcomes with her own fingers. At the very beginning, Athena pleads for Zeus to offer help to Odysseus, who is trapped on Kalypsos island. O Father of us all, if it now please the blissful gods that wise Odysseus reach his home agai... ... for this to happen. The sweat-inducing suspense and the thickening of Odysseus originally paper-thin character make Book IX the highlight of the beginning half of The Odyssey. The chapters success can be attributed to the lack of godly intervention. Moreover, as the Kyklops one eye is his most valuable feature, then Book IX of The Odyssey, devoid of divine intervention, is the epics most valuable chapter. Works Consulted Bloom, Harold. Homers Odyssey Edited and with an Introduction, NY, Chelsea House 1988 Crane, Gregory. Backgrounds and Conventions of the Odyssey, Frankfurt, atheneum 1988 Heubeck, Alfred, J.B. Hainsworth, et al. A commentary on Homers Odyssey. 3 Vols. Oxford PA4167 .H4813 1988 Homer. The Odyssey. Trans. Robert Fagles. New York 1996 Tracy, Stephen V. The Story of the Odyssey Princeton UP 1990