Homer’s Odyssey gives readers a heroic narrative about a protagonist on his quest to home from war. The protagonist Odysseus is far from flawless, and the reader explores his personality while he faces various opponents and his stupidity. The epic delves into themes of fate, revenge, humanity, and ferocious powers. The narrative is not given from a specific point of view and is not even recounted in chronological order. Yet, it nevertheless revolves around a single goal line: Odysseus returning to Ithaca, where he must struggle to preserve his home and family from untrustworthy and disrespectful suitors who want his wife’s power (Mares, 2016).
Throughout the epic, Odysseus is motivated by the Ancient Greek virtue of nostos, which means “desire for return,” and is a concept in a heroic culture that encourages bravery in conflict by reminding warriors what they are fighting for (Mares, 2016). Odysseus’ homecoming to Ithaca depicts the transformation of a warrior who spent 20 years fighting and overcoming challenges as a spouse, father, and household leader. Odysseus’ nostos is primarily driven by his desire to reclaim these things.
The Odyssey, similar to Homer’s poem The Iliad, is an epic poem, which means it depicts the lofty account of a warrior-hero’s quest and encounters with the gods in a strict poetic format. Epic poems were written in a variety of ancient societies, including India, Persia, and Sumeria. Therefore, Homer’s work could be compared to the epic of Gilgamesh as both represent a unique type of epic poetry — heroic epic (Gresseth, 1975).
The literary genre of heroic epic originated because of the shift in the perception of what it means to be human. Both works place major importance on the human character, their feelings, and exploration of the idea that the human is a separate entity, neither God nor animal (Gresseth, 1975). However, The Odyssey had the most impact on Western literature, establishing several forms that are reproduced in later Latin and Greek epic poems. As an example, it is possible to consider dactylic hexameter, also known as the heroic meter — a poetry type where two short syllables follow a single long syllable — was popularized to the point of becoming a standard meter for the poetry of epic genre.
Another feature of The Odyssey, which is often repeated in other epics, is the continuous utilization of epithets throughout the poem. For example, the phrase “When young Dawn with her rose-red fingers shone once more…” appears before the description of every new day (Homer, 1997). Most of the major figures in the poem are characterized with epithets, such as “bright-eyed Pallas” for Athena and “the bewitching nymph” for Calypso (Homer, 1997).
Homer often employs epic similes and numerous long types of comparisons named after gomer as Homeric similes. For example, the comparison of Circe’s mountain lions to “hounds that fawn around their master, coming home after a feast, who always brings back scraps to calm them down” could be considered as such (Homer, 1997). After The Iliad and The Odyssey, dactylic hexameter, epithets, and epic similes established epic poetry traditions.
In conclusion, The Odyssey is the primary example of an ancient heroic epic poetry. It introduced key traditions of the genre, such as the repetitive exploitation of epithets through the poem. It explores the adventure of the heroic figure and involves confrontation with gods. The poem is also driven by the transcendental themes of fate, revenge, humanity, and moral virtues such as Greek nostos. Finally, the poem is written in heroic meter — a specific writing style often employed by epic poetry and named after Homer.
References
Gresseth, G. K. (1975). The Gilgamesh Epic and Homer. The Classical Journal, 70(4), 1-18. Web.
Homer. (1997). The Odyssey. Penguin.
Mares, M. (2016). Kleos, Nostos and Ponos in the Homeric Tradition. The Classical Review, 67(2), 64-71. Web.