Good Example Of Considering The Possibilities Of The Odyssey Essay

As it is given in Oxford dictionary epic is “A long poem, typically one derived from ancient oral tradition, narrating the deeds and adventures of heroic or legendary figures or the past history of a nation”. I agree with this meaning but considering the definition we were given in class it is not full. Homeric “Odysseus” is definitely an epic poem. First of all, because of the way it was written in and the fact that it is “a long narrative about a serious subject”. The protagonist travelled back home during 10 years and the poem gives the description of his adventures with the serious analysis of his actions. Judging by the two Homeric poems, Odysseus is a truly epic hero and at the same time what is called a "fully developed personality» : a brave warrior and wise commander, an experienced intelligence officer, the first in a fistfight and running athlete, brave seaman, skillful carpenter, hunter, trader, a prudent owner, storyteller. He is a loving son, husband and father, but he is also a lover cunningly-beautiful nymphs Circe and Calypso. An image of Odyssey is full of contradictions, hyperbole and grotesque. It highlights the forefront variability of human nature, its ability to metamorphosis in the eternal search for all the new aspects of life. Odyssey is protected by wise and warlike Athena; however, he himself resembles sometimes the sea-god Proteus for his ability to easily change in appearance. For ten years while returning home he appeared to be a navigator, a scamp, a shaman, calling the soul of the dead (the scene in Hades), the victim of a shipwreck, the poor old man, and so on.
The reader can also feel that the hero at the same time has a kind of "splits": he sincerely goes through the death of friends, sufferings, eager to return home, but he enjoys the play of life. Odyssey easily and skillfully plays the role offered to him by circumstances (a man named "Nobody" in the cave of Polyphemus , a resident of Crete, the inhabitants of the island Syrah and so on.). Tragic and the comic, high feelings (patriotism, respect for the gods) and everyday prose are inextricably intertwined in his personality and destiny. Moreover, Odysseus behaves sometimes not in the best way: he is greedy, puts aside the best piece of any food at the feast for himself, often waiting for gifts even from Polyphemus, shows cruelty to slaves, lies and twists for the sake of some benefit. Yet the overall balance and sympathy - in favor of Odysseus - the sufferer, a patriot and a tireless traveler, warrior, sage, discoverer of new spaces and new human capabilities.
Homeric epic absorbed and reflected a millennium epic knowledge of the world. In the poem stands an ancient foundation, historical "grain" legend of the Trojan War, which refers to the so-called Mycenaean period of Greek history; everyday realities of the poem relate to the “dark time” that follows the fall of the Mycenaean culture; at the time of the Archaic Ionian (about the time of the social conflicts) everything was presented in terms of epic syncretism, that is holistic, united yet diverse. "Odyssey" captures the epic evolution of consciousness from the original monolithic wholeness to the splitting of the unity of the world, to the layering. The gods play in this poem much smaller role than in the "Iliad"; the relationship between the Olympic team, which in the first poem explains the relationship between the people in the "Odyssey" on the backburner, and at first went conflicts of private and public life.

References:

1. Literary Terms and Definitions Nov. 5, 2014 2. English translation by Samuel Butler (The Internet Classics Archive) 2009