The Odyssey, Homer, takes the reader on a man's journey back home after being faced with many struggles for 15 years. Throughout the epic poem, The Odyssey, several examples of epic concepts are shown, such as; epithets, epic similes, and archetypes.
Epithets are most commonly seen throughout this epic poem. This is evident because there are many examples of epithets in each book of The Odyssey. For example when the gods and goddesses were discussing Odysseus' fate they used a epithet. Shown in the text, "Wise beyond mortal men, ready beyond all to offer sacrifice to the lords of the broad heavens" (Homer 5). This shows how brave and wise Odysseus is, making this an epithet; because wise Odysseus is being described. Another point made about epithets occurs when Poseidon was getting revenge on Odysseus. According to the text, "Then he gathered the clouds, and stirred up the deep with his trident: he roused all the tempestuous winds and covered in clouds both land and sea; night rushed down from the heavens." (Homer 68). This is considered a epithet because the quote shows what Poseidon is capable of and that he is does not have
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That epic similes occur less throughout the text, but still are an element that make The Odyssey an epic poem. To illustrate this element, "she looked like Artemis, when bowel in hand she comes down from the mountains, over lofty Taïgetos or Erymanthos to hunt the boars..." (Homer 77). In the quote "She" is being compared to Artemis, which is how the quote is identified as a epic simile. Another example of comparison in The Odyssey is when Odysseus is being compared to a lions heart. In the text the epic simile is illustrated as, "Long ago I lost a good husband, a man with a lions heart..." (Homer 61). Penelope compares her husband of having a lions heart meaning Odysseus is very courageous. Epic similes are another component of creating this epic simile known as The