In Homer's epic The Odyssey the reader is taken on a journey through the trials of King Odysseus, who was returning from a ten year long Trojan war. While the reader knows the identity of "the man of twists and turns" (book 1 line 1) Odysseus, the hero does not name himself until he had made known the story of his life and hardships. By putting off the meaning of Odysseus' name until the end of the epic, Homer makes the meaning of the name, and the events Odysseus went through more dynamic and fitting.
             Odysseus's suffering is first seen when Calypso, a nymph who holds Odysseus captive on her Island for seven years, sets him free. While the reader has not yet learned the totality of Odysseus' strife, the disbelief he displayed at Calypso's release of him makes his struggles seem more painful and real. "Passage home? Never. Surely you are plotting something else, goddess..." (Book V line 192-3). Even when he is given a means to return home in the form of an axe, rope, and lumber, Odysseus has been so teased at the thought of homecoming that he can't believe it could happen.
             After Odysseus built the raft with the tools he had been given and set sail, his path home would be far from smooth. He would have to face the waters, which were rules by the vengeful god of the sea, Poseidon, who had a grudge against Odysseus. Surviving, as in many other occasions, did not mean homecoming. Odysseus would first find himself at the land of the Phaeacians. With his cunning and ability to speak well, the tortured Odysseus would receive help from Nausicca who was the daughter of the King of the Phaeacians, Alcinous. Odysseus would eventually find himself at the knees of Queen Arete, and after pleading his case, and becoming a welcome guest in the palace, he would "tell a tale of still more hardship..." (Book VII Line 248-49) It was that tale of hardship that made Odysseus question the si...