odyssey essay

Many different things happen in the exciting epic, The Odyssey .In The Odyssey, reoccurring themes appear, character’s roles change, and a homecoming for an epic hero is finally accomplished. Book 23 may be the one book in this poem that can be related the closest to the poem as a whole.

First, in this book, we can see the relationship of a god/goddess and a human being as a reoccurring theme throughout Homers works. This god/human relationship is shown throughout the poem mainly through the actions of Athena, who is trying to assure that Odysseus receives the glorious homecoming that he deserves. Book 23 concludes Odysseus’s twenty-year homecoming journey by uniting him with his beloved wife, Penelope. The homecoming that is looked forward to by so many throughout the poem is finalized by the romantic reunion of Odysseus and Penelope This reunion shows a cunning side of Penelope that is almost the same as her husband, Odysseus, shows numerous times throughout the epic. This cunningness by Penelope exhibits a different example of the role of women in the time of the Odyssey. The relationships between humans and gods are looked at numerous times in both the Iliad and the Odyssey. Gods in these poems hurt some humans and help othe

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The goddess, Athena, and Odysseus are two characters that are very similar to one another in their personalities. He tricks the Cyclops in order to escape death, and he disguises himself in the presence of the suitors to assure that he is not recognized, and therefore, can organize his plan. Also, the reason that Odysseus eventually received his homecoming is because of the admiration and love of the goddess, Athena. The relationship between Athena and Odysseus is shown in book 23.

Many times within the Odyssey, Odysseus either physically disguises himself or tells artful lies in order to hide his true identity. The relationship between Athena and Odysseus is important, because if not for the goddess, Poseidon may have fulfilled his own goal and destroyed Odysseus. Where we usually see Odysseus lying to people to assure their loyalty, Penelope shows that she is truly Odysseus’ equal by using this form of trickery on him. In book 23, Penelope lies to a person who is closer to her than anybody in the world, because she has doubts about him. Her appreciation is seen in line 287 of book 8 when she “smiled on him, and stroked him with her hand” after he made up a long, detailed story to try and trick her. Like Odysseus, her lying is for a worthwhile reason. This is done in order to gain the righteous homecoming in which he has been striving for. Odysseus’ quick wit seems to be what Athena appreciates most about him. For example, he does this with Polyphemos the Cyclops, with the suitors, and even with his own wife. In addition, we see Penelope use Odysseus-like trickery in order to assure her husband was whom he said.

Approximate Word count = 1032
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

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