Perseverance In Homer's Odyssey

“Sometimes you have to get knocked down lower than you have ever been to stand back up taller than you ever were” by unknown. Often times when we bounce back from our lowest point, it makes us stronger than before. Similarly, in the epic poem Odyssey, there were many instances in which the main characters, Telemachus, Penelope, and Odysseus were on the verge of breaking down. Nonetheless, all three of them persevered and emerged more powerful. Homer’s purpose of writing the Odyssey is to convey the message that life is full of obstacles and one must overcome them through perseverance. By employing katabasis, the author presents how various characters coped with their challenges.

Telemachus, the son of Odysseus, suffered greatly after his

Odysseus left for the Trojan War when Telemachus was a young baby. When Athena arrives to facilitate Telemachus to find his father he says, “My mother says that Odysseus is my father. I don't know this myself. No one witnesses his own begetting. If I had my way, I’d be the son of a man fortunate enough to grow old at home. But it's the man with the most dismal fate of all they say I was born from” Telemachus is quite conflicted because he doesn't know his father’s true identity. Furthermore, he considers himself unfortunate to be born into his family because his mother his a troubled widow and his father [according to everyone else] is dead. Basically, Telemachus believes he lives in a messy and troublesome family. This is an example of katabasis because Telemachus is skeptical and confused about his family, especially his father. It serves as a low point because he thinks the long, heroic tales about his father are just rumors and the god-like Odysseus is not that great after all. To add on, everyone holds high expectations of Telemachus, Those who knew Odysseus and his great

He suffered immensely during his voyage back home. The main reason Odysseus couldn't go home was that he infuriated Lord Poseidon. “Poseidon is stiff and cold with anger because Odysseus blinded his son, the Cyclops Polyphemus, the strongest of all Cyclops… The Earthshaker has been after Odysseus ever since, not killing him, but keeping him away from his native land” Odysseus desperately longed for home after fighting the war at Troy. Nevertheless, his desire could not be fulfilled because he maddened a god. As a consequence, Odysseus was kept away from Ithaca. This is an example of katabasis because even though he was successful at Troy, one small mistake cost him the chance to see his family and home again. This was one of Odysseus’s most miserable time in the epic poem. In addition, Odysseus finally reaches home but to his dismay, the tumult in Ithaca was so widespread that he could not recognize it. “Odysseus sprang to his feet and gazed at his homeland. He groaned, smacked his thighs with his forehands, and in a voice choked with tears, said: ‘What land have I come to now?... I should have stayed with the Phaeacians’.” Odysseus finished a long, treacherous journey and finally returned to Ithaca. However, it had changed so much that he could not recognize it! All the efforts Odysseus made to come back home were futile because it looked like an unknown land.