The Odyssey, according to Gilbert Highet "took place in a time of war and violence with pirates, savages and monsters pressing in upon the small world and in heaven, a dynasty of angry, incalculable and violent gods, quarreling with one another and men" (v). Through all of this misery and misfortune lived a hero, and his name was Odysseus. Odysseus was the king of Ithaca, husband of Penelope, and the father of Telemachus. He left his homeland to go fight in the Trojan War and didn't return until twenty years had passed. During this time he was faced with a war that lasted ten years, unforgiving gods that did not want him to return home, monsters that killed his crew and lands that were unknown to him. He was on a journey of self discovery and every obstacle that got in his way helped him become the person and hero that he became.

"Odysseus is one of the first Greek mythic heroes renowned for his brain as well as his muscle" (Internet source). This helped him become the leader and fighter he became in the war. The Trojan war was the first adventure of Odysseus' journey. He spent ten years of his life fighting and suffering through many hardships, which showed heroic qualities suc

h as patience and tough endurance of pain and set backs. "This battle depended a lot on the chiefs. A single hero with extreme dexterity, powerful will and terrifying strength could often turn the whole war around like an ace fighter pilot" (Myers, vii). Odysseus was one of those chiefs who became known as one of the most heroic leaders of all the Greek warriors. This was evident in Book Four when Menelaus realized that Telemachus was Odysseus' son saying, "here is the son of that great hero" (IV, 173), "the son of my dearest friend, that man who performed a hundred feats of arms for me" (IV,186-87). By this time the war had been over for sometime and Odysseus' journey home looked promising until he upset the sea god, Poseidon; which led to the second part of his jouney of self discovery.

"The classical hero was a mythological or legendary person possessing great strength, courage, or sagacity" (Morner, 62 ). Even though the gods were not always on Odysseus side "His courage, wits and endurance enabled him to come through each and every barrier and arrive home safely" (Internet source) Through his heroic journey his character was able to develop. He developed clever thought and patience due to the obstacles that were sent by the gods, which required that he be heroically patient. Nonetheless he was a man of intellect which helped him reach home and be given his hero status once again, saving his wife from the suitors and being the father he once was to Telemachus.

When Odysseus starts his journey home after the war ended he runs into a few obstacles along the way, his first one being the land of the Cyclops. In trying to save his crew from getting eaten by Polyphemos, he gets him drunk with a whole bottle of wine. When Polyphemus falls to the ground vomiting Odysseus gathers the strength to stick a sharpened stake straight into the monster's eye. This allowed himself and the men to sail away safely from the land of the Cyclops, but the anger of Polyphemus' father, the sea god, followed them like a shadow from then on, giving the crew and Odysseus nothing but misfortune. This lead to many unpla

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Approximate Word count = 1431
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)