The Odyssey

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 makes Odysseus a Greek hero is that

he is favored by the gods. 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 Odysseus' men are

turned into swine by Circe, 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 Ithica, 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. The

feats of strength and the ability to overcome

insurmountable odds could not be performed by a mere mortal

without help from the gods. Therefore he makes sacrifices

to the gods. When Odysseus is in trouble he always shows

that he is depending on the gods by praying to them. The

fact that the gods usually listen to him shows that he is

well liked by the gods. In order to be a Greek hero you had

to be liked by the gods since religion was such a big part

in their lives.

Odysseus, with the help of the gods, can survive adventures

that kill most other men. Odysseus travels to the island of

the Cyclopians. The Cyclopians are giants that have one

eye, they don't fear the gods because they believe that

they are better than the gods and they eat people. They

represent the opposite of what Greek men should be.

Odysseus and his men meet Polyphemus the cyclops.

Polyphemus being a cyclops eats some of Odysseus' men.

Odysseus with the help of the gods figures out a plan to

escape and he does. Scylla is a ferocious monster with six

heads that kills most men that pass by her island. She

kills six of Odysseus' men. Odysseus prevents her from

killing himself and more men . There is another ferocious

monster named Charybdis. Charybdis sucks in water from the

sea and creates a whirlpool that kills any ship that passes

by. Odysseus passes by her. His crew is killed and his ship

is destroyed in the whirlpool but Odysseus alone survives.

There is an island that Odysseus