Heros Journey In The Odyssey: The Hero's Journey

The hero’s journey is the layout of which a hero’s adventure starts and comes to an end. This is a common template used by writers in their stories. The hero’s journey can be seen in many different historic literature and continues through today’s literature. Homer’s the Odyssey and the Bible’s Gospel of Matthew, are both examples of the Hero’s journey being used in ancient literature. Through the Hero’s journey, the hero will go through twelve steps to complete their adventure. The first step to a hero’s journey is called the ordinary world. This is the step where we see the hero living their normal life until their call to adventure. In the Odyssey, Odysseus’s “ordinary world” is in Ithaca with his wife Penelope and his new born son Telemachus …show more content…
Athena, the goddess of war and wisdom becomes Odysseus’s right-hand woman. Although Athena was instructed by Zeus to not help Odysseus, she still feels bad for him and decides to help him arrive home (Odyssey). She is the only god who supports Odysseus. She, saves Odysseus from death on multiple occasions and gives him guidance along his journey. Comparable to Odysseus, Jesus also has a god as his mentor, in fact his mentor is God himself. God looks out for his son and influences him through his journey. God guides Jesus to Israel and gives him the knowledge and information that is needed to share the word of God (Bible). A hero’s mentor is a key component to their journey. The mentor gives advice and impacts their …show more content…
In this step, the hero is rewarded for his near-death experience. In the Odyssey, the King of Phaeacia, gives Odysseus and men passage back to Ithaca as his reward for venturing down to the underworld (Odyssey). The Gospel of Matthew takes a different approach to this step than most. Since, the hero has been executed, Jesus finds his reward in the faith of his followers. His followers don’t give up on everything Jesus had preached. They continue to believe in Jesus and share his wisdom with others (Bible). As the hero continues his journey, he comes to the tenth step, known as the road back home. This is the process in which the hero must leave the special world and starts the journey to get back to the “Ordinary World”. Once Odysseus returns home, he comes to realize that suitors have taken over his home in hopes to take over Odysseus’s kingdom and family (Odyssey). He then must take care of the situation so that he can return to his family and the people of