Describe the theme of perseverance displayed in The Odyssey - Essay Example

The aforementioned book can be relatable to anyone who reads it. As humans, we persevere in everything we do; it’s considerable human nature. It feels good to know that we are not along in having a struggle in our lives in achieving our goals. But what if we try to relate our stories, with that of a hero or even more, a god? Epics are defined as influential long works of poetry from oral tradition which passed on and established a sense of national identity, and reinforced accepted values (“Characteristics”).

Epics feature heroes who display characteristics people look up to and admire. Heroes are often projected as exaggeratedly strong and basically invincible. But, in the projection of heroes in Homer’s the Odyssey, characters displayed vulnerability in lead and supporting humans and even godlike characters. The Odyssey tackles the adventures of the clever Greek Odysseus. He tricked the enemy to bring a colossal wooden horse within the walls of Troy. This happened after the Trojan War. While the Trojans slept, Odysseus and his men came out of the horse’s belly.

They opened the gates and disclosed their fellows. The tale begins as they travel back home and face a lot of predicaments (Skidmore 5). The travels display a constant attribute of perseverance. Major points include being thought "dead" by many including his wife, having to kill the son of Poseidon and facing the water god’s wrath afterwards, telling stories to Phaiakian before being admitted in the island, more losses of men at the hands of Kikones (after trojan War), barely escaping the land of the giant, man-eating Laistrygonians, Kirke tricking his men and turning them into pigs, his men being disobedient in his orders not to touch the oxen which, caused their death by Zeus punishment, a storm.

After all the things he underwent, he finally reached Kalypso's island, where he disguise as beggar, for the quest to win Penelope; his wife back. The last test was the test of being. Penelope, proposed a contest in where whoever wins she will marry. Penelope noticed the resemblance between the beggar and her presumably dead husband. She knew that nobody could ever do the act to string the great bow and shoot an arrow through a dozen axeheads, but her husband. The great Odysseus pulls of and wins, not only the contest, but also his wife back.

Zeus commands peace among kingdoms before a war starts again (Skidmore). Odysseus continued his journey, standing up to whatever blocks his way back home. Only a hero like Odysseus can survive such a fight. He being presumed dead gives a notion of how long he has been away. Time being one of the factors to his struggle; perseverance is definitely an attribute that he possesses with greatness. Another factor that could be considered in measure of perseverance would be physical strength amidst the lack of food and rest.

In an epic like the The Odyssey, though, this factor can be considered less important since heroes are projected and expected to be strong as an invincible god. One good display of perseverance would be when a colossal wave was sent by water god Poseidon to destroy Odysseus. This was done by Poseidon out of his wrath because Odysseus blinded his son, the Cyclops. In the end, Odysseus won out of wit and screamed his name in victory. This act displays the struggle his undergone, the determination