The Odyssey Essay

What do you think of when you hear the word hero? Do you imagine someone wearing tights and a cape with cool powers? There is actually a set of characteristics an archetypal hero must have. An archetypal is a model that all other versions are based on. The characteristics a hero must have are unusual circumstances of birth, leaves family or land to live with others, experiences a traumatic event that leads to a journey, has a special weapon, faces challenges through which he must prove himself, has a fatal flaw or unhealable wound, has problems with father that are resolved, has a trusty sidekick, the hero is rewarded in death, and has supernatural help. Odysseus of Homer's The Odyssey is an archetypal hero. Odysseus is an archetypal hero because he leaves his family to fight in the Trojan War, faces challenges through which he must prove himself, and has supernatural help from Athena,

Odysseus leaves his family to fight in the Trojan War and faces many obstacles when trying to go home.
Originally, Odysseus didn't want to go to war and pretended to be mad to avoid war. “Showing plainly that he was no mad man. After that, Odysseus could no longer refuse to fulfill his promise"(Benson.2) Since he couldn't pretend to be crazy to avoid war, he had to leave his family to go fight. Another obstacle Odysseus faced when trying to go home is when he gets trapped on Circe's island then Calypso's. "Calypso tried it hold me back... So did Circe, holding me just as warmly in her halls"(9.34­36) Both woman tried to keep
Odysseus with them but eventually Odysseus left. Odysseus facing obstacles when trying to get home allows him to grow wiser so he is able to learn from his mistakes. For example, when he is disguised as an old man and beats Eumaeus at a fight, he could've easily shown hubris and said that it was the great
Odysseus that defeated him but he was able to keep his disguise. The archetypal trait Odysseus shows is leaves family or land to live with others.

Throughout the whole story Odysseus faces many challenges through which he must prove himself. One of challenges is when his men were trapped in the Cyclops’s cave, Odysseus had to prove himself as a leader that is able to save his men with his quick wit. “How could we with our bare hands heave back that slab he set to block his cavern's gaping maw?"(9.341­342) If Odysseus doesn't prove himself then his men die and he would never get home. Another instance in which Odysseus proves himself as a leader capable of saving his men is when he tells Circe to turn his crew from pigs back into men after winning her affections.
“Circe­how could any man in his right mind...set them free, all my beloved comrades"(10.422­427). If
Odysseus hadn't told Circe to give back his men then they would've been stuck as pigs forever and
Odysseus would be stuck on Circe's island. Odysseus faces challenges through which he must prove himself gives him the ability to demonstrate leadership and this helps him when he tries to kill the suitors because he has is able to lead the small army he created to destroy the suitors. The archetypal trait that is shown is faces challenges through which he must prove himself. Athena's supernatural involvement in Odysseus life is what helps Odysseus throughout the story. For example, Athena is what got Odysseus off of Calypso's island. Athena tells Zeus to never let a king be as kind and gentle as Odysseus because no one remembers him now. Zeus is surprised by this and tells
Hermes to tell Calypso to let Odysseus go home. "No one who he ruled remembers Odysseus now...Announce to the nymph with lovely braids our fixed decree: Odysseus journeys home­the exile must return"(5.8­35). If Athena hadn't pleaded with Zeus then Odysseus would have been stuck on Calypso's island. Zeus saying that Odysseus can leave makes it so that Calypso cannot stop Odysseus or else she would be a victim of his rage and she doesn't want that. Another time when Athena helped Odysseus greatly is when she disguises Odysseus as an old beggar man so the suitors will not kill him when he enters his home in Ithaca."She shriveled the supple skin of his lithe limbs..."(13.493­500). If Athena hadn't disguised him as an old man then there would have been no way he could have entered his home and gotten his

revenge on the suitors. Odysseus supernatural help from Athena helps him gain power. When Odysseus shows power when he defeats Eumaeus with Athena's help and he shows power when he defeats the suitors with Athena's help. The Archetypal trait Odysseus shows throughout the story is supernatural help. Odysseus is an archetypal hero because he fits certain characteristics. For example, Odysseus leaves his family to fight in the Trojan war and later get trapped by Circe then Calypso when trying to return home showing that he leaves family or land to live with others, Odysseus faces several challenges that prove his quick wit and leadership to others showing that he faces challenges through which he must prove himself, and Odysseus gets help from Athena showing supernatural which helps him greatly throughout the book.
Throughout his journey he has gained leadership, power, and wisdom. In Ancient Greece a hero must have power, quick wit, wisdom, rise above all obstacles, is favored among the Gods, and must be a good leader.
Odysseus is what a hero should be in Ancient Greece.