Archetype In The Odyssey

Since the inception of literature, heroes have been created to embody the most important traits of a culture. In The Odyssey, an epic poem composed by Homer in Ancient Greece, Odysseus is an epic hero, representing the classic values of Greek rulers and warriors through his long journey back from the Trojan War. Including his time in Troy, Odysseus was absent from his estate in Ithica for twenty years, during which his son Telemachus grows up in a home where arrogant suitors abuse his hospitality, consume all of his resources, and attempt to court Penelope, believing that she will lose hope that her husband Odysseus will ever come home. Odysseus' nostos, or return trip, has been prolonged by Poseidon, the Greek sea god who begrudges him for

One particular situation occurred while Odysseus was on the Phaekians' island, being taunted by young athletes, and even after his long, tiring voyage, he “picked up a hefty discus... / ...much heavier than the ones used by the Phaekians / … / [and] sent it flying from his powerful hand … / … / … / [after which] it sailed beyond the marks of all the other men” (VIII. 238-244). Odysseus' behavior in that instance shows that he is reluctant to humiliate his generous hosts, but if challenged, he can overpower almost any human. Following his return to Ithica, Odysseus participated in a contest devised by Penelope, where the man who could string Odysseus' own bow and shoot an arrow through the holes in twelve axes would have her hand in marriage. After all the suitors, 'Ithica's finest youth', fail to bend the bow far enough to string it, Odysseus took the bow and “just as someone really skilled / at playing the lyre... / ...[would loop] a string around a brand-new peg, / … / … Odysseus strung that great bow” (XXI. 571-572). In this case, Odysseus distinguishes himself as the widely celebrated Trojan War hero, instead of the old beggar he appears to be, by virtue of his great strength and skill, showing the importance of that trait to the storyline and the Greek people of that time. Odysseus' physical strength assists him in defeating many enemies, human and mythical, and is fundamental to his role and an epic