The Archetypal Hero of The Odyssey - Book Report/Review Example

For Odyssey, his journey consists of: love of Calypso and building of a ship to escape; trials with the Cyclops and the Phaeacian princess, love with Circe and journey into Hades, and battle with Scylla. The third stage is "achieving the goal or "boon". It means new world perception and views created during the journey. Odyssey understands that faith is the foundation of morality which cannot be removed by new impressions and temptation. He feels that, as morality is created by God, those who reject faith are in turn rejecting the individualistic way of life.

The fourth stage is "a return to the ordinary world". From the very beginning, Odyssey fails this trial, because nobody recognized him but his old nurse, Eurycleia. Penelope suspects that it could be her husband and organized a competition won by Odyssey. She promises to marry a winner when Odyssey won this contest they reunite. The fifth stage includes "application of the boon". In the end, Odyssey visits his father and stops vendetta. His father kills Antinous's father and peace is maintained.

In sum, The Odyssey displays the many qualities that archetypal heroes had in common. Odyssey's decisions are based on virtues and human values which play the role of a moral guide. 2. The main women characters which have a great impact on story development and conflict resolution are Athena and Calypso. Using her power, Athena helps Odyssey in his journey, guides, and supports him. She is depicted as a great warrior and a very clever woman. With the help of Athena, Homer points out the readers' attention to the virtues of conciseness, understatement, and irony.

Homer depicts that she has firm principles and moral rules as features of divine power. Another woman character is Calypso who lives alone on the island. Odyssey spends several years on the island while Athena asks to release him. Calypso embodies feminity and love typical for every woman. Emotionally is expressed in an extreme assertion of the self and the value of individual experience, together with the sense of the infinite and eternal. Love is seen as the most important tool which rules the world of Calypso.

To some extent, love is everything women have to rule their life and destiny. Calypso exclaims: "You gods ought to be ashamed of yourselves. You are always jealous and hate seeing a goddess take a fancy to a mortal man, and live with him in open matrimony" (Homer). Calypso does not possess many heroic qualities but she is a brave and loving woman who fights for her love. In this case, the role of Athena is very important because she helps Odyssey to 'escape' from the island and return home. Her actions are an indicator of what happens to people's thinking about themselves when they can no longer hold on to the old traditions: in their likeness to each other, in their prescribed place in the order of things and in their ability to use their reason to impose their own order and control.

Wisdom is the main feature of Athena. She is described as a character who takes heart in the hope that it may take much time and effort to help Odyssey and Telemachus. Everything has to conform to the pattern of behavior Odyssey perceives as natural to man and which he, therefore, imposes upon the world. Athena can be described as a guardian-angel who supports and guards Odyssey while the role of Calypso is to test the love of Odyssey towards his family and Penelope.