Modern Day Relevance of Homer's Odyssey

Modern-Day Relevance of Homer’s Odyssey

The Iliad and the Odyssey are epic poems of adventure that each contains stories of Greek heroes, and gods and goddesses. Though these books contain many of the same heroes and events they remain very different from each other in their overall theme and plot. While the Iliad seems dated in its characters behavior and development, the Odyssey is truly a book that can relate to today’s readers. The Odyssey has a more mature theme and characters that separate it from the more barbaric Iliad. The Odyssey is above all a tale of survival, and desire for one man to return to his family. It contains a very three dimensional hero unlike the champions of the Iliad; Hector and Achilles. Odysseus is truly a character the reader can communicate with since he is a hero, yet displays many faults that are common to all humans. The Odyssey also shows us the god’s and goddesses in a more mature light. The god’s were unfriendly and showed little regard for humans in the Iliad, however in the Odysseys when the god’s decide to get their hands dirty in human affairs, it is done in a more loving way. The Iliad ‘s story, characters and plot elements really relate to and inspire me as an individual.

The odyssey is a tale that contains many of the same themes and characters that are present in today’s action and adventure novels. The story’s themes of love, family, and survival help pull the reader into the epic. Odysseus’ will to survive and return to his family is shown numerous times. In the beginning of the Odyssey Homer writes, “ By now, all the survivors, all who avoided headlong death were safe at home, escaped the wars and waves. But one man alone… his heart set on his wife and his return. Calypso, the bewitching nymph, the lustrous goddess, held him back… craving him for a husband” (206). Odysseus loves his wife so much that he refuses to stay with the beautiful Calypso, who would have treated him like a god for the rest of his days....