Symbolism In Homer's Odyssey And The Iliad

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The Odyssey is a mythological epic about the travels of a man and his crew along the waves of the sea. The Odyssey was written by a blind poet named Homer and it is said that he dictated the story poetic style in Greek with the intention of the story to be conveyed orally. There has been speculation that while Homer was verbally telling The Odyssey and The Iliad, scribes recorded these epics. Homer is estimated to have been born in eight-hundred BCE and died in seven-hundred BCE. The Odyssey is the sequel to Homer’s The Iliad and occurs after the fall of Troy. The Iliad occurred in the war against Troy, which is why experts believe that The Odyssey is the second epic to The Iliad because The Odyssey occurs after the war. The Odyssey is about a man named Odysseus who is on his way home from the Trojan war with his men. His loving wife Penelope and his son Telemachus wait for Odysseus’s return. While waiting, Penelope endured being irritated by many suitors hoping to take Odysseus’s place. Odysseus’s travel to his home, Ithaca, is filled with mythical beings and Gods in his path. This epic story has an abundance of elaborate symbolism, …show more content…
In the beginning, the atmosphere is described as filled with luxurious island foundations such as magnanimous amounts of life. Most of the life plants and trees such as cedar, sandal, alder, poplar, and cypress. Homer describes the herbage and beds of violets to be luscious. Another part of the abundant life on Calypso’s island is birds, as there are owls, hawks, and sea crows building nests all around. It is not written in this passage, but in the Greek mythology it is known for Calypso’s island to be filled with women, who are notorious nymphs. The setting is tied together by creating an atmosphere that is irresistible for men, “Even a god could not help being charmed with such a lovely spot (Homer line

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