Examples Of Similes In The Odyssey

Homer's epic similes or also called Homeric similes are used to give a deeper understanding of the characters and situations throughout The Odyssey. Homeric similes are used for comparing known things to the unknown parts of the story to give a deeper understanding of the significance of a passage.

An Epic simile or Homeric Simile is described by the Poetry Foundation as a “detailed, often complex poetic comparison that unfolds over the course of several lines.” These epic similes are found throughout The Odyssey. Epic similes give detailed comparisons for certain situations, a physical description, and the character’s emotional state.

One way Homer uses epic similes to describe Telemachu’s safety is when the suitors target him and plan to

The epic simile serves to compare Odysseus with a mountain lion who violently consumed an ox. The mountain lion is covered in fresh blood and it's quite a terrifying scene. Just as Odysseus’ appearance was covered in blood and equally terrifying. This epic simile can demonstrate the murderous fight to the reader after Odysseus killed the suitors trying to marry his wife. The suitors had been such a nuisance throughout the story as they plotted to kill Telemachus. Or how they ate all the food and killed the

In the middle of the story when Odysseus is reunited with his son Telemachus. Telemachus and his father have been separated for 20 years. The relief they feel when they have finally rejoined after years apart. This emotional scene shows the care they have for each other and how hard the separation must have been. Especially when most people believed Odysseus was dead because he was gone for so long. Once Telemachus recognizes his father because of Odysseus’s appearance change their reuniting is described as:

They both wailed aloud, as insistently as birds, like two sea eagles or hawks with curving talons whose young chicks have been carried off by country folk before being fully fledged. That’s how those two men let tears of sorrow fall from underneath their eyes (Ian Johnston)

This simile compares Odysseus and his son to birds “whose young chicks have been carried off” who “let tears of sorrow fall from underneath their eyes”. Giving us a clear understanding of what the feelings are between Odysseus and Telemachus. In the simile, they are both the birds and their chicks. Odysseus and his son are both crying and wailing like the two sea eagles who have lost their chicks, but also the chicks who were separated from each