herody Little Heroism in Homers Odyssey Essay -- Odyssey essays

Little chivalry in Homers Odyssey Could I forget that kingly man, Odysseus? There is no deadly half so wise no mortal gave so more than to the lords of the open sky. proclaims Zeus, the king of totally gods in Homers The Odyssey. He, among countless others, harbors high regards for Odysseus, the whizz of the Trojan War turned lost sailor. However, the epic poem is sprinkled with the actions of gods and goddesses force Odysseus towards his path home to Ithaka, giving the mortal war hero sandwich lowly exposure to the limelight. So when does all the high and mighty talk of Odysseus big businessman prove true? Only in the absence of godly noise can the title character live up to his name. In Homers The Odyssey, ebullient 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 hesitation to the story as well as merit to Odysseus character . The gods interfere with Odysseus on his quest in one of two ways, for the better or for the worse. Zeus, Athena, Herms, Persephone, and the Nereid Ino all help Odysseus return home. On the other hand, Poseidon and Hlios, the embodiment of the sun, deflect his journey home. While the nymph Kalypso and the witch Kirk balance between dowry and hindering. Athena, the goddess of wisdom and daughter of Zeus, plays the most crucial role in the story. Odysseus presenter goddess practically weaves the outcomes with her own fingers. At the very number one, Athena pleads for Zeus to tenderize help to Odysseus, who is trapped on Kalypsos island. O Father of us all, if it direct please the blissful gods that wise Odysseus reach his home agai... ... for this to happen. The sweat-inducing suspense and the lymph node 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 plate 1988 Crane, Gregory. Backgrounds and Conventions of the Odyssey, Frankfurt, Athenaeum 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 layer of the Odyssey Princeton UP 1990