herody Little Heroism in Homers Odyssey Essay -- Odyssey essays

Little Heroism in Homer's Odyssey      Ã‚   "Could I forget that kingly man, Odysseus?   There is no mortal half so wise; no mortal gave so much to the lords of the open sky." proclaims Zeus, the king of all gods in Homer's The Odyssey.   He, among countless others, harbors high regards for Odysseus, the mastermind of the Trojan War turned lost sailor.   However, the epic poem is sprinkled with the actions of gods and goddesses pushing Odysseus towards his path home to Ithaka, giving the mortal war hero little exposure to the limelight.   So when does all the high and mighty talk of Odysseus' power prove true?   Only in the absence of godly intervention can the title character live up to his name.   In Homer's The Odyssey, excessive reliance on the gods' assistance weakens the overall effect of Odysseus as the hero; while, as a break from the norm, Odysseus' single-handed defeat of the Kyklops Polyphà ªmos adds true suspense to the story as well as merit to Odysseus' character.    The gods interfere with Odysseus on his quest in one of two ways, for the better or for the worse.   Zeus, Athena, Hermà ªs, Persephone, and the Nereid Ino all help Odysseus return home.   On the other hand, Poseidon and Hà ªlios, the embodiment of the sun, hinder his journey home.   While the nymph Kalypso and the witch Kirkà ª balance between helping and hindering.   Athena, the goddess of wisdom and daughter of Zeus, plays the most crucial role in the story.   Odysseus' patron goddess practically weaves the outcomes with her own fingers.   At the very beginning, Athena pleads for Zeus to offer help to Odysseus, who is trapped on Kalypso's island.   "O Father of us all, if it now please the blissful gods that wise Odysseus reach his home agai... ... for this to happen.   The sweat-inducing suspense and the thickening of Odysseus' originally paper-thin character make Book IX the highlight of the beginning half of The Odyssey.   The chapter's success can be attributed to the lack of godly intervention.   Moreover, as the Kyklops' one eye is his most valuable feature, then Book IX of The Odyssey, devoid of divine intervention, is the epic's most valuable chapter.    Works Consulted: Bloom, Harold.   Homer's Odyssey: Edited and with an Introduction, NY, Chelsea House 1988 Crane, Gregory.   Backgrounds and Conventions of the Odyssey,   Frankfurt, Athenaeum 1988 Heubeck, Alfred, J.B. Hainsworth, et al. A commentary on Homer's Odyssey. 3 Vols. Oxford PA4167 .H4813 1988 Homer. The Odyssey. Trans. Robert Fagles. New York: 1996 Tracy, Stephen V. The Story of the Odyssey Princeton UP 1990