What Is The Hero's Journey In The Odyssey
In “The Odyssey” by Homer, Odysseus travels home after participating in the Trojan War. Odysseus goes through many trials and challenges testing his loyalty and wit before he finishes his difficult journey home.
Odysseus shows that he is a smart leader while coming back to his kingdom and family.
Odysseus was clever after he tricked the cyclops, Polyphemus, to drink Odysseus’ wine. This caused the cyclops to become drunken and fall asleep. This allowed Odysseus to stab and blind Polyphemus. This was a both, clever and smart decision because if Odysseus killed Polyphemus, Odysseus and his men would be trapped by the massive boulder that Polyphemus put to block intruders from entering and exiting his cave. The Odyssey describes the sabotage as a bloody and gory event, “... straight-forward, lifted it, rammed it deep into his crater eye,’ ( Homer Pt. 1). The steps of the hero’s journey show similar insight, “ The hero's progress through a series of tests… obstacles that make them stronger,” ( Campbell 3). In the Odyssey the tests were an example of the fight with Polyphemus. …show more content…
This shows his importance because a normal person without any divine powers is unlikely to get help from a god or goddess such as Athena. Odysseus proves his help from the gods by explaining to his son Telemachus, “ suppose Athena’s arm is over us and Zeus her father’s,” ( Homer Part 2). Athena helps Odysseus by assisting him with valuable information for his journey home. In the hero’s journey this same concept is explained, “ a character who has mastered the laws of the outside world and come back to bestow wisdom upon them,” ( Campbell 3). The hero’s journey is just like this when Athena explains how and what will happen when Odysseus returns
Odysseus shows that he is a smart leader while coming back to his kingdom and family.
Odysseus was clever after he tricked the cyclops, Polyphemus, to drink Odysseus’ wine. This caused the cyclops to become drunken and fall asleep. This allowed Odysseus to stab and blind Polyphemus. This was a both, clever and smart decision because if Odysseus killed Polyphemus, Odysseus and his men would be trapped by the massive boulder that Polyphemus put to block intruders from entering and exiting his cave. The Odyssey describes the sabotage as a bloody and gory event, “... straight-forward, lifted it, rammed it deep into his crater eye,’ ( Homer Pt. 1). The steps of the hero’s journey show similar insight, “ The hero's progress through a series of tests… obstacles that make them stronger,” ( Campbell 3). In the Odyssey the tests were an example of the fight with Polyphemus. …show more content…
This shows his importance because a normal person without any divine powers is unlikely to get help from a god or goddess such as Athena. Odysseus proves his help from the gods by explaining to his son Telemachus, “ suppose Athena’s arm is over us and Zeus her father’s,” ( Homer Part 2). Athena helps Odysseus by assisting him with valuable information for his journey home. In the hero’s journey this same concept is explained, “ a character who has mastered the laws of the outside world and come back to bestow wisdom upon them,” ( Campbell 3). The hero’s journey is just like this when Athena explains how and what will happen when Odysseus returns