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Odysseus Journey In Homer's Odyssey

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In book XIV in the Odyssey, by Homer, the main character Odysseus goes through a series of events that can be considered a hero's journey. According to Joseph Campbell a hero's journey is defined as: ""a pattern of narrative (...) that appears in drama, storytelling, myth, religious ritual, and psychological development. It describes the typical adventure of the archetype known as The Hero, the person who goes out and achieves great deeds on behalf of the group, tribe, or civilization." In the beginning of the hero's journey the hero encounters his enemies, which for Odysseus is the Cyclops. After he leaves the Trojan War he goes to the island of the cyclops where he sees them in a field. He describes them as a race of lawless, hermit-like, one-eyed giants. The next day, Odysseus and his crew move towards the mainland to meet the Cyclopes. Once they reach the mainland, they realize that they are substantial in height and mass. As he crossed he was carrying a goatskin with sweet liquor and gifts to give to the Cyclopes as a gift. When they reached his cave, Odysseus' men wanted to steal his goods, but he didnt allow them to since he wanted to meet the owner. As they wait for the Cyclops they hide until he enters his home, and starts doing his chores. The Cyclops, Polyphemos, sees …show more content…

The first symbolism is the cyclops giganticism. The cyclops giganticism symbolizes Poseidon’s power since he is one of the most powerful gods. Poseidon instead of giving his sons his power and moral he gave them an immense body, which also has power, but in muscular power and not in wisdom. The cyclops gigantism also relates to sharks since both of them are strong and enormous creatures. The second symbolism in the conflict between Odysseus and the cyclops, is the cyclops one eye. Polyphemos’ one eye represents a person who is narrow minded, since they can only see through one

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