There have been many epics throughout the ages. They are one of the easiest ways to view what a culture values and their ideal individual. One of the earliest and most well-known epic heroes is Odysseus from Homer’s The Odyssey. It’s assumed that Homer didn’t actually construct the Odyssey, but rather just wrote it breaking the oral tradition of the epic. The Odyssey itself is a Greek epic poem following the struggle of soldiers trying to get home after a very long war with the Trojans. In the Odyssey there is plenty of divine intervention, benevolent and malevolent from a range of different sources amongst monsters and other supernatural beings. Odysseus and all epic heroes seem to possess strength, bravery and divine favor. One very clear
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In the Odyssey, Odysseus was truly a hero with many great traits such as his strength and bravery, yet those traits don’t make an epic hero alone. The supernatural are a key part of epic poems and in particular that divines. It’s not luck that saved Odysseus from Calypso, but rather Athena appealing to Zeus. It was not luck that saved him from dying at sea with the rest of his men, but again Athena. It was not luck that coursed through Odysseus veins when he slew the suitors, but the essence of Athena. It was not luck that kept his identity concealed upon returning to his home of Ithaca, but Athena’s favor in the form of a disguise. Odysseus was not lucky to return home, but rather favored by the Fates and a divine. I think it’s apparent that no amount of luck would have been able to save Odysseus for he also had many divines working against him. The same goes for other epic heroes, they’re not the legendary figures they are because of luck, but rather their divine favor.
Odysseus was an epic hero with many impressive traits. He was incredibly strong and a very fit individual. He was incredibly brave and proved his bravery many times. However, most importantly he was favored by the Fates and had a divine on his side. That is why he was a hero of such massive
In the Odyssey, Odysseus was truly a hero with many great traits such as his strength and bravery, yet those traits don’t make an epic hero alone. The supernatural are a key part of epic poems and in particular that divines. It’s not luck that saved Odysseus from Calypso, but rather Athena appealing to Zeus. It was not luck that saved him from dying at sea with the rest of his men, but again Athena. It was not luck that coursed through Odysseus veins when he slew the suitors, but the essence of Athena. It was not luck that kept his identity concealed upon returning to his home of Ithaca, but Athena’s favor in the form of a disguise. Odysseus was not lucky to return home, but rather favored by the Fates and a divine. I think it’s apparent that no amount of luck would have been able to save Odysseus for he also had many divines working against him. The same goes for other epic heroes, they’re not the legendary figures they are because of luck, but rather their divine favor.
Odysseus was an epic hero with many impressive traits. He was incredibly strong and a very fit individual. He was incredibly brave and proved his bravery many times. However, most importantly he was favored by the Fates and had a divine on his side. That is why he was a hero of such massive