Journey Of Odysseus Essay, Research Paper

In The Odyssey written by Homer and translated by Richard Lattimore, several

themes are made evident, conceived by the nature of the time period, and customs

of the Greek people. These molded and shaped the actual flow of events and

outcomes of the poem. Beliefs of this characteristic were represented by the

sheer reverence towards the gods and the humanities the Greek society exhibited,

and are both deeply rooted within the story. In the intricate and well-developed

plot of The Odyssey, Homer harmonized several subjects. One of these, was the

quest of Telemachos, (titled "Telemachy") in correlation with the

journey of his father. In this, he is developed from a childish, passive, and

untested boy, to a young man preparing to stand by his fathers side. This is

directly connected to the voyage of Odysseus, in that they both lead to the same

finale, and are both stepping stones towards wisdom, manhood, and scholarship.

Through these voyages certain parallels are drawn concerning Odysseus and

Telemachos: the physical journeys, the mental preparations they have produced,

and what their emotional status has resulted in. These all partake a immense

role in the way the story is set up, stemming from the purpose of each

character?s journey, their personal challenges, and the difficulties that

surround them. The story commences when Odysseus, a valiant hero of the Trojan

war, journeys back home. Together with his courageous comrades, and a several

vessels, he set sail for his homeland Ithaca. Fated to wander for a full ten

years, Odysseus?s ships were immediately blown to Thrace by a powerful storm.

The expedition had begun. Upon this misfortune, he and his men started a raid on

the land of the Cicones. However, this only provided them with temporary

success. The Cicones had struck back and defeated a vast majority of

Odysseus?s crew. This was their first of many disastrous experiences to come.

Storms then blew his ships to Libya and the land of the Lotus-eaters, where the

crew was given Lotus fruit from which most lost their entire memories from home.

Odysseus, and the others who had not tasted it, recovered the sailors by force,

and set sail again, westward, this time to the island of the Cyclops, a wild

race of one-eyed giants. Leaving most of his men in a sheltered cove, Odysseus

then entered the island with one crew only. They wandered around, encountering,

and foolishly entering an immense cave, awaiting the owner. Moments later, a

Cyclops named Polyphemos, son of Poseidon, entered and pushed a huge bolder

covering the entrance to the cave. Upon this, he immediately ate two sailors,

and promised to eat the others in due time. The morning came, and Polyphemos had

promptly eaten two more seamen, against the will of Zeus. Odysseus, soon

realized that killing him asleep would do no good since the mouth of the cave

was still inescapable. The captain had then devised a new plan. When Polyphemos

returned that evening, Odysseus showered the monster with wine until he had

fallen under a drunken spell. Then, with the help of his companions took a sharp

pole and rammed it into his large eye, blinding him instantaneously. As the crew

sailed away into the vast dimensions of the sea, Odysseus had unwisely revealed

his name in taunting the poor beast, boasting his excessive pride. Polyphemos

then made a prayer to his father, asking to punish the man who had caused him

this harm. Several days later Odysseus and his men arrived at the island of

Aeolus, keeper of the winds. There, they stayed for about one month, and

departed, in sight of the long-awaited Ithaca. However, before they left,

Odysseus was presented with a container of winds, carrying each but the needed

West wind. As Ithaca approached, the crew not knowing the contents of the

"skin", opened it up and released all of the winds, depositing the

ships back at the island of Aeolus, who refused to help them any further.

Setting sail once again, the group headed back west, where they had come across

the Island of the Laesrtygonians, a savage race of cannibals. Everyone, but

Odysseus, lined their ships at the harbor, covered with rocks. The entire party

was attacked and eaten by the Laestrygonians, who had bombarded them with giant

boulders. Having but one vessel left, Odysseus sailed his ship to the Island of

Dawn, inhabited by the sorceress Circe. A group of men were sent to explore the

island, who were then lured, feasted, and the turned to swine by Circe. Knowing

this Odysseus went after her, and on his way encountered Hermes who gave him a

potion to withstand the spell. Circe tried, and then she failed. Odysseus had

then requested for his crew to be turned back to normal. She complied, and

eventually housed Odysseus and his shipmates long enough for him to father three

children. Homesick and distraught, Odysseus was then advised by Circe to search

the underworld for Teiresias, to tell him his fortune, and how to appease

Poseidon. Odysseus agreed and made a trip to the underworld, where he discovered

many of his dead companions from Troy, and most importantly, Teiresias. With his

new knowledge, he returned to Circe, which had provided him with just the

information he needed to pass the Sirens. They then departed from the island and

continued on there journey, ears filled with wax. What Odysseus was about to

encounter next would be a very difficult task. He needed to direct his ship

through a straight, between two cliffs, on one side the whirlpool Charybdis, on

the other, a monster Scylla. Trying hard to avoid Charybdis Odysseus came too

close to Scylla, and six members of his ship suffered the consequences. As the

journey continued the Island of Helios stood in path. Helios was the sun-god,

and nurturer of the cattle of the gods. Knowing this, but at the same time

extraordinarily hungry, Odysseus waited for his sea-mates to fall asleep and

slaughtered several of the cattle. This was much considered a lack of respect

not only to Helios, but to the rest of the gods as well. Zeus, angered by his

gesture, struck his ship with thunder, destroying the entire thing and killing

the rest of the crew except for Odysseus, which floated off to the Island of

Ogygia, where he would there spend the next seven years, made a lover, by the

sea nymph Calypso. Upon Poseidon?s departure to Ethiopia, Zeus had then

ordered that Calypso release Odysseus, who gave him an ax. With this, he

constructed a float, and continued his expedition. Back from his trip, Poseidon,

saw Odysseus floating in the ocean and felt compelled to drown him, which he

almost did, if it was not for the goddess Ino, who had spared him a magic veil.

He tied this to his waist, and swam to a beach where he immediately fell asleep.

The next morning he was awoken by maidens playing ball after doing the wash.

There he saw Nausikaa, daughter of king Alkinoos. Odysseus gently supplicated to

the princess. She first took him to the inhabitants of the island, the

Phaiakians, and then Alkinoos, the king. There he listened to Odysseus?s

stories, and presented him with lavish gifts and a furnished ship back to

Ithaca. Resenting this fact, Poseidon turned the new crew into stone for their

generosity. This is the time, nearly twenty years after his fathers departure,

Athene wisely advises the worried, and still immature Telemachos to go in search

of his father. Telemachos agrees with her orders, and before his departure he

makes it clear to the suitors (robbing his home and proposing marriage to his

mother Penelope) that he wants them all out of his house. He then requested a

ship and twenty men, and sailed off to the Island of Pylos. There he was

immediately greeted by Nestor, in the middle of offering 81 bulls to Poseidon.

Peisistratos, son of Nestor, then offered some intestines to Telemachos and

Athene as far as sacrificing it in hopes of a safe journey. This was ironic

since in reality, Athene was controlling his journey, and on the other hand,

moments ago, Poseidon, was in fact destroying the journey of his father. Nestor,

once seeing that his guests were finished feasting, asked of their identities.

Once he was recognized, Telemachos asked Nestor about his father. Nestor rambled

on and said nothing of real importance to Telemachos. At this point Telemachos

became pessimistic, and Athene reassured him with an analogy of Agamemnon?s

short journey, and it?s consequences. Still emotionally unstable, Telemachos

used this opportunity to speak of Menaleus, Agamemnon?s brother. Nestor agreed

that Menaleus may be more knowledgeable that he, and kindly provided him with a

chariot, so that he could travel to Sparta to speak with him, accompanied by

Peisistratos. He arrived at Sparta two days later, sleeping in the house of

Diocles the first night, and arriving by nightfall the second day. He reached

the island just in the middle of a double marriage ceremony of Menaleus?s

daughter and son. At this point, Homer cleverly compared Menaleus to Odysseus in

the reader?s mind by suggesting the similarities between the both in

background, and "undoubtedly" survival. He also used this scene to

emphasize Telemachos?s emotional instability as he burst out crying at the

mention of his father?s name. The night ended and Telemachos was finally

noticed to be Odysseus?s son by Helen, Menaleus?s wife. Once this took

place, he conclusively mentioned his purpose in visiting: To find information

about his father. Menaleus answered Telemachos by speaking of his journey from

Troy, and reassuring Telemachos of his father?s wit and cleverness, and almost

certain survival. After the men finished talking, Menaleus showered him with

complements and gifts (one refused, one accepted), and then Telemachos left,

feeling good about himself once again. After this event, the scene changes back

to Ithaca where the suitors were planning their ambush on the young prince.

Telemachos went back home, only to find out that his father had already arrived

before him. This sets Odysseus (disguised as a beggar) and Telemachos up for the

big scene against the suitors, where father and son, side by side, rid Ithaca of

its cancerous cells, and reunite the "royal" family. Odysseus then

appeased and sacrificed to the god Poseidon in the name of his misbehavior. As

Homer makes it apparent, there are other underlying themes embedded in the story

that would just confuse the reader if they were not there. An example of this is

the emotional aspects of both characters. If one does not understand this key

element, their is no way that the sequence of events would cohere. "Why

didn?t Telemachos look for his father earlier? Why did Penelope wait twenty

years to consider remarrying? How did this affect Odysseus in his

journey?". These are questions that would go unanswered unless the reader

reaches within the emotions of the character. In the case of Telemachos, his

emotions shaped his well being. For example, had it not been for Athene giving

him confidence, by no means would he ever have thought of taking such a voyage,

hence, Telemachos would have never participated in his "final test"

against the suitors either. His sorrow and anger from the loss of his father and

his mother constantly being attacked and proposed to by piranha-like suitors

were also driving forces towards his journey. Some of these are brought out in

different situations, both positive and negative, such as Menaleus?s mention

of his father, which caused a sudden out-burst of tears, and the proud and

accomplished feeling he received from leaving Sparta.. Odysseus?s situation

was only slightly different. He, like Telemachos had his worries about

family-life, and his kingdom at stake, but also had concerns about his wife,

possibly triggered by the mention of Agamemnon?s by Proteus, who was killed by

the hands of his own wife. These factors probably had taken their toll on

Odysseus. At the same time he had the wrath of Poseidon to contend with. Another

factor which could have also lead to this distress could have been his visit to

the underworld, and in his entire journey, losing friends and comrades

regularly. The last object of these journeys and possibly the most important to

the reader, is comprehending how these travels actually led to the final test:

The battle against the suitors. This is considered the poem?s mental

perspective. Odysseus had many things to overcome before he would be ready to

take on this responsibility. His journey prepared him for that. For one, if he

had not have perfected his tolerance abroad and finely tuned his hubris problems

there would have been no possible way for him to undertake a role such as the

beggar, where he must be constantly enduring both verbal and physical attacks.

There is also no way that Odysseus could have sacrificed and begged forgiveness

to the sea-god Poseidon if he had not learned his lesson about respect from

Polyphemos and Zeus (eating Helios?s cattle). These factors play an immense

role in the outcome of the poem. If it had not been for these events, the story

could never have taken place. The same circumstances applied for Telemachos as

well. His goal was to reach a level of adulthood and to stand by his father?s

side, to mature into a man, and most importantly to gain respect, and to

withhold and protect family kleos. This happened when at first Athene inspired

him to go in search of his father. At that stage he was an inactive, and boyish

young prince. When the challenges rose, however (assisted by Athene), Telemachos

rose to meet those challenges. His first items of business were to set the

suitors straight at home. Although he was not completely effective, he surprised

them a great deal with his authority, and even his own mother in later books.

That proved that Telemachos was gaining a new awareness, not only about his

father, but about the kingdom, his mother, and the role he needed to partake. By

the end of his long emotional journey, Telemachos realized what it took to be a

man, which could not have been possible without his escapades to Pylos and

Sparta. In The Odyssey, Homer created a parallel for readers, between Odysseus

and Telemachos, father and son. Telemachos was supposedly learning the role of

his father, the king of Ithaca, to follow in the footsteps. The two are compared

in the poem from every aspect. However, in analyzing The Odyssey, one may also

presume that Homer had not intended for the Telemachos to be as great a hero as

his father. This may be due to the fact that, for example, he never had a Trojan

War to fight, his setting is in a time of peace unlike his father?s, and more

notably- although matured, Telemachus never really learned true leadership or

chivalry as did his father. Homer has presented the world with poetry so unique

and classic, so outstanding and awesome, that generations to come will challenge

themselves interpreting them until the end of time.