Archetypes In Homer's Odyssey

Similar to several other stories, the epic poem ‘Odyssey’ written by Homer uses the different archetypes to describe the characters that take part in the mythology. The Swiss psychologist Carl Jung had named and defined the twelve different archetypes, that were most commonly used in the history of literature and can still be found in tools of entertainment of all culture, for instance, in movies, books or plays.
Examples of archetypes can be repeatedly found in chapters of the epic poem. For instance, in the chapter where the protagonist Odysseus faces the fearsome cyclop Polyphemus, Odysseus can be identified as the hero. The hero is the one who shows courage in challenging situations, who seeks ways to improve the world and who strives to be strong and fears to be weak. All these definitions can be related back to Odysseus, who had used his cunningness and courage to rescue his men and himself in a seemingly hopeless situation. Furthermore, Polyphemus, the Cyclop, can be seen as the outlaw as the outlaw is an expert at destroying and desires revenge. The outlaw despises being weak, and so did Polyphemus who was outraged by the trap Odysseus had put for him.
Last but not least, the archetype ‘magician’ is demonstrated by Polyphemus’ father, Poseidon, god of the seas.
The magician can make things happen; he can …show more content…
Therefore, when archetypes are present in characters of a story, the reader is more likely able to relate to the characters which establishes a personal relationship between the story and the reader. For instance, the archetype ‘lover’ strives to be in a relationship with people, work or surroundings they love, and they fear to be alone and unwanted - traits humans can often relate to. So if a story character shows these traits, the reader can connect to that character and build up empathy for the fictional person, which is a goal authors try to achieve in their