Examples Of Assistance In The Odyssey

The Odyssey Paper : Assistance in a Journey Throughout our lives assistance is necessity to continue on and move forward. In other words, we can never grow up to be successful and understand our world. Teachers, adults, and even siblings come to our aid when we don’t understand the situation or problem. We need support in our daily lives, and with both short-term and long-term goals. In the past, many heroes in Greek mythology have received aid in their journey, whether it’s Perseus or the Gorgon Medusa, or Theseus and the Minotaur, Odysseus himself has also received assistance. The Odyssey is an epic, spoken by Homer, centered around the character Odysseus, searching for his way back home. Despite being portrayed by Homer as a incredibly

When Odysseus first arrived on Aeaea, it was due to his crew opening the bag of winds. Therefore, opening it let out every bad wind in the bag, causing him to go off route home. On his arrival of Circe’s island which he has never seen before, the messenger of the gods Hermes, greets him. Hermes explains to Odysseus who is on this island, the witch goddess Circe and what she is planning to do with him if he arrives. Homer discloses, “Look, here is a potent drug. Take it to Circe’s halls— its power alone will shield you from the fatal day. Let me tell you of all the witch’s subtle craft … She’ll mix you a potion, lace the brew with drugs but she’ll be powerless to bewitch you .” (164) In this episode we see Hermes giving Odysseus assistance in one of many difficult hard challenges. Circe is a powerful witch, who has been expecting Odysseus for a while. She wants to keep him by using a potion that will make him powerless and submit to what she wants. Hermes assists Odysseus by a great deal because with this herb it makes Circe powerless compared to Odysseus. Instantly overpowering Circe, Odysseus gets her to be on his side with reaching back home. Without Hermes’ help, Odysseus could possibly have been stuck on the island for an incredibly long time. Eventually with Circe’s cooperation, she gives directions on where to go, Sooner or later, Odysseus meets

They argue that even if Odysseus did receive help, in the end he really didn’t need it. Odysseus himself was able to survive Zeus throwing a thunderbolt, which is a very powerful weapon that killed his entire crew and destroyed his boat. Odysseus also was able to to come up with the plan of the Trojan Horse. It took the Greek soldiers over 10 years before they were able to win against Troy. However as it is seen in The Odyssey, it indicates that Odysseus does need assistance to complete his journey. Without the help of humans, gods, and goddesses he never could have possibly made it home after the war. Athena gave him a large helping hand, she destroyed Poseidon’s storm headed towards Odysseus and provided Odysseus with help of retaking his throne at Ithaca. Hermes warned Odysseus what lied ahead of him allowing him to get Circe on his side. Tiresias gave Odysseus further gives directions on how to redeem himself from hurting Polyphemus by giving him guidelines on what to do.. Finally, Telemachus, his son, was one of the last few people who helped him. Telemachus helped him fight against the suitors successfully and retake his throne by hiding the suitors’ weapons and fighting with his father against the suitors. Ultimately Homer implies that from The Odyssey, that any hero requires assistance