The Odyssey as a Hero’s Journey (Essay Sample)
Who is your favorite hero? Chances are most likely they went through a Hero’s Journey. A Hero’s Journey is the cycle of events that a hero goes through, usually being how the protagonist learns skills and puts them into the final test. Odysseus is a character from the Odyssey, a story told by the Greek author Homer. He is a great example of a hero because of how well his epic story fits into this format.
“Crossing the first threshold” is the beginning of a Hero’s Journey. It is defined as being when “the hero leaves his ordinary world for the first time and crosses the threshold into adventure”. Odysseus does this when he has fought in the Trojan War and sets sail to return home. This is the point of his story when he leaves what he is used to and is taken off track, leading him to start his quest. The story of the Odyssey easily fits into the “crossing the first threshold” formula, making Odysseus a hero.
The body of the story is the many challenges that a hero faces. Throughout the various obstacles, the hero learns valuable information and learns new skills. This is another element of a Hero’s Journey. A majority of Odysseus’s sail back is spent outsmarting the mythological enemies that he encountered with the help of his crew. An example of this is when they became trapped in the cave of the Cyclops. Odysseus decides to stab it in the eye, so that it will be alive to set them free. Later in the story, he passed the Sirens and he had the idea to protect his crew from hearing their songs by collecting wax to cover their ears, along with tying himself up to avoid being lured in by them. These challenges and victories show that Odysseus faces and conquers things that would qualify him as a hero.
Lastly is the “resurrection” part of the hero story. Odysseus never dies and gets resurrected, alternatively, this part of the story is the final test in which what he had learned is put to the test. In the story of the Odyssey, this is when he returns to his kingdom in Ithaca and has to reclaim his wife and home. His wife sets up challenges that only Odysseus would be able to complete to ensure that he isn’t a suitor in disguise. Using the wit that he had gathered during his journey, he completed them, along with killing all of the other suitors as punishment for trying to take his home.
Heroes are the people who have made great achievements and gone on quests for enlightenment. And as proven, Odysseus is an excellent example of a hero because of his accomplishments. The poems of the Odyssey fit perfectly into the Hero’s Journey Cycle, just like many other folk tales and epic poems do.
