Odysseus

Odysseus

De Andra Meighan

ENG/155

October 5, 2011

Elizabeth Shin

The word Odyssey in the English language has come to mean a journey of epic proportions. The word comes from Homer’s epic poem “The Odyssey”, written in 850 B.C. The Odyssey is a sequel to Homer’s other poem, “The Iliad”, which describes the last days of the Trojan War. The Odyssey touches on Odysseus’ adventures after the end of the Trojan War. These adventures delayed the return to his beloved homeland, Ithaca by ten years.

According to Homer (850 B.C.), “Odysseus was born and bred near the sea in Ithaca” and is the son of Laertes and Antia. He later became King of Ithaca. He was married to Penelope and they gave birth to a son, Telemachus. Odysseus was often called “Odysseus the Cunning” because of his clever and quick mind. He is also known as Ulysses. Autolycus, his grandfather, was a famous skilled thief in the Peloponnese. Laertes taught Odysseus husbandry and farming. As a little boy he would follow his father around the vineyard while he named the trees to him, taught him about the rows of vines and how they ripen a different times. He also gave Odysseus fruit trees of him own to tend.

All of the previous suitors of Helen, Queen of Sparta, including Odysseus had vowed to defend her honor if someone ever tried to insult her. So when Paris of Troy abducted Helen, her Husband Menelaus called on all of them to fulfill their promise. Odysseus however, tried to escape the promise made to Menelaus by pretending to be insane. He did not want to go as a seer had prophesied a long-delayed return home for him if he did. Agamemnon, brother of Menelaus proved that Odysseus was lying, so he was forced to set out for Troy, along with Agamemnon ‘the lord of men’, Achilles ‘the invincible’ (Achilles, though not one of the previous suitors, was sought after because the seer Calchas had stated that Troy could not be taken unless Achilles fought in the war), Nestor ‘the wise’ and...