The Identity-Forming Hardships Of The Israelites And Odysseus

The Identity-Forming Hardships of the Israelites and Odysseus

Andrew Draper

February 23, 2023

CLAS1010

In the broadest sense, The Odyssey and Exodus tell the stories of a person or people returning to their homeland. These grand returns are both preceded by a form of hardship, the Trojan War and captivity in Egypt respectively. In their returns, both experience an arguably more difficult hardship than what was put upon them before their return. In this return, both Odysseus and the Israelites cultivated their individual and collective identity. Their identities are not merely represented and conjured up from someplace within them from these hardships, but rather, their identities are forged and molded by

As both Odysseus and the Israelites face the existential threat of eradication, there is a necessity to define oneself, whether that be as a people united under one God or as a man to be individually capable in a land of gods. Whether a god is for or against them, a person or people must find strength within themselves to manage the hardship. The Israelites and Odysseus alike developed a distinctly new identity from the work and influence of what at first appears to be directed through the machinations of a supernatural entity, but I would rather argue that through hardships put upon them by both themselves and the supernatural, they grew to accept this development of a new identity.

Considering the modern identity of Jewish people, a group notable for using past oppression to make

In the book chronicling his trip to Hades, Odysseus undergoes many changes from how he views his family to how he views his past actions. Among these, the most notable change in the identity of Odysseus is perhaps the change that would be most difficult for him to enact: to use his power to curb the wild power of him and his crew so they all return home safely (Od. 11: 117-119). This is not the only change experienced by Odysseus in this visit, as he both renews a desire for his family and faithful wife as well as develops a newfound appreciation for his life outside of the land of the dead. Following receiving advice from Tiresias as well as his overall changed perspective, Odysseus exhibits a major change in action and identity following this point. Though he may have exhibited an inability to control his crew during his sleeping state on the island of Thrinica, up until that point he had interacted with his circumstances in a much more humbled manner. Following his time in the land of the dead, Odysseus reacted to situations in vastly different ways, from having his crew tie him to the mast when passing the Sirens (the old Odysseus would have most likely believed he could withstand the temptation) to tactfully avoiding revealing his identity