Characters in the Odyssey

Have you ever spent a long time away from your friends and family? In The Odyssey by Homer, Odysseus explains the obstacles he had to go through when he was away from his home for 20 years after the Trojan war. To get back home to his wife and son, he had to show several key character traits. Odysseus and I both show cleverness, compassion, and pride. The second trait that Odysseus and I share is compassion. Odysseus shows compassion multiple times through the books. One time that Odysseus…

The Character of Odysseus Odysseus endures suffering on his journey in The Odyssey, a challenge that develops loyalty and perseverance and fosters moral growth. After spending two decades in the city of Troy after the Trojan War because “Helios, the Sun God, took away the day of his homecoming” (27), Odysseus is finally allowed the opportunity to return to his home in Ithaka as “that very year came in which the gods had spun for him his time of homecoming” (27). However, the trek home is not…

Usually, epic heroes share common character traits such as Brave , smart , and strong. In Homer’s Odyssey, it is my belief that Odysseus is heroic mostly because he was smart. For example, in the movie on his first trip home he met Poseidon’s son the cyclops. In that scene the cyclops asked for Odysseus’s name and he was smart enough to say “ nobody” so that when the cyclops went to tell his father or anyone they would think it was nobody. Also in the scene of the cyclops Odysseus and his men…

Perseus is a demigod which means he is half god and half human. He is viewed as a hero because he shows strength and courage. Perseus traveled very far to kill Medusa and bring here head to Polydectes. Before Perseus was born King Acrisius had a very beautiful daughter, but the king wanted a son. So he went to a fortune teller of that time and asked if he would have a son. The fortune teller said that he would not but that his doughter would have a son that would kill him. He decided to cage up…

While Odysseus was struggling to return to his homeland, many of the maids in his palace were not anticipating his arrival back home and became disloyal and harming, but many maids remained loyal and helped men in the process, . With Odysseus gone, Odysseus’’s once-loyal maid Melantho harms Odysseus and the suitors through her disloyalty. When Melantho first caught sight of the old beggar roaming in the palace, she “mocked him shamelessly” even though Penelope has “treated [Melantho] as a child…

In the novel The Odyssey, written by Homer, the main character is put in conflicting challenges, which overall shape him into a strong and thoughtful man. Odysseus in the beginning of the story is self-centered and cares about his ideas and opinions more than others. He was more interested in activities that could potentially endanger the well-being of his friends and family. This brought bad tidings to himself when the gods realized his poor behavior. A specific god named Poseidon saw his…

central plot of Homer’s Odyssey follows Odysseus and his quest back home, another powerful message reveals itself in the subplot regarding Telemachus, Odysseus’s twenty-year old son. As the man of the house, he has to take on the responsibility of running the household and defending his mother Penelope and himself from the dangerous appetites of the hundreds of suitors who nag Penelope. Even though he still has a long ways to grow, Telemachus, from what we see in Homer’s Odyssey, has potential…

Within the first four books of The Odyssey, Athena brings Telemachus to manhood by giving him the push that he needs to achieve his clios. Prior to Athena’s visiting to Telemachus under the disguise of Mentes and then Mentor, Telemachus’ childish behavior and young perspective constrict him. He is unable to establish confidence in himself to rid his home of the suitors and find out what had happened to his father, whom he does not even know he is related to. Athena visits Telemachus at the…

literature and storytelling, character development has always been one of the most necessary aspects of a successful story. Homer, author of The Iliad and The Odyssey, is considered one of the greatest storytellers of all time and utilized this practice quite well. In both of these epic poems, a plethora of characters grow in some regard or another. Agamemnon is the quintessential developing character in ancient Greek literature as seen through his change of character and evolution of…

In the epic poem The Odyssey by Homer, Odysseus is often considered a character who is flawed by some of his characteristics. However, throughout the course of the piece he continuously displayed qualities that prove he is, in fact, a leader. Odysseus, without doubt, is an outstanding hero due to his shrewdness, bravery and selflessness. Odysseus faced many challenges throughout the poem, however, he was always sharp-witted when making decisions. In The Cyclops, Polyphemus grabbed two of the men…