What Is The Hero's Journey In The Odyssey

Trials of the Hero’s Journey An epic is a lengthy narrative poem, ordinarily concerning a serious subject containing details of heroic deeds and events significant to a culture or nation. In the epic poem “The Odyssey”, the author Homer describes the fictional journey of a Greek hero, Odysseus, as he travels through many physical and emotional stages of hardship and success. There are three stages of his journey; the Separation, the Initiation and Transformation, and the Return. These three stages are the key parts of a Hero’s Journey that allow Odysseus to grow as a hero. The Hero’s Journey commences with the Separation that every hero must go through to begin their journey. According to Greek mythology, Odysseus is called to Troy to fight alongside Menelaus in retrieving Queen Helen back from the love-struck Paris. This Call propels his separation from his home island, Ithaca, and beautiful wife Penelope for 20 years. Odysseus doesn’t really want to depart and go to war, but he knows that he needs to help an ally in need. To start his journey, Odysseus must pass through the Threshold which is the Ithacan boat he leaves on to reach Troy. The Separation can be difficult, so a helper of some sort is necessary to …show more content…
These misadventures allow Odysseus to grow as a hero, and reach his full potential. Although Homer never informs us on Odysseus’ future, as readers we may imagine that he can finally be at peace and live a normal life as a retired hero. Even so, Odysseus still needs to confess to Penelope the infidelity he committed when he was away since they depict Penelope as faithful. The Hero’s Journey is a common theme in everyday literature and in life. The average person goes through these types of stages in life. A problem can be analyzed in these stages: the Separation, Initiation and Transformation, and the