Odyssey: Greek Poem Analysis

The Odyssey is a Greek poem from the 8th century B.C. This peace of literature is about a Greek hero, who is king of Ithaca and his journey home after the fall of Troy. Odysseus took ten years to get back home. When Odysseus went to fight the battle of Troy, the same day was when his son was born. Years go by and his father still is not back and none of his crew. Suitors came in and ruined their home town.

Odysseus was going through many of trials just to get back home. Throughout this story there were so many themes presented in this Greek literature. Some themes were pride, lies and deceit, suffering, loyalty, and family. (Shmoop) There were many more, but these are just to name a few.

When the story first starts off it talks about Odysseus and a little bit of his struggles and then it jumps to Telemachus which is his son. Telemachus went to look for his dad while his dad was trying to work his way back home to Ithaca. During the time Telemachus was looking for his father, Zeus sent Athena to mentor him in his journeys to find his father. (Spark) Athena let him know that Odysseus is still alive and that he’ll return. (Spark) After Athena saw Telemachus , Telemachus had a lot to do so that he could get his land back for his father. He knew that if his father was to come home then he would be disappointed. Telemachus displays loyalty in the first books of the story. He hasn’t seen his father ever but only heard stories about him, but he still tries to make a change for his father. He knows that his father was King of Ithaca and that it should be upheld a certain way. For Ithaca to move forward Telemachus had to hold a meeting that would hopefully put out the suitors who ran over Ithaca now that Odysseus hasn’t returned from war. Unfortunately, that meeting didn’t go as planned. The suitors changed the meeting around by blaming it all on Penelope which is Odysseus’s wife. The suitors were saying that she was seducing them but wouldn’t marry any.

While Telemachus was on his journey to find his father, he met some kings and queens. On his second stop of the trip he ended up in Sparta. In Sparta he met Menelaus and Helen, who were celebrating the marriages of their kids. The king and queen new who Telemachus was because he resembled his father so much. At the dinner that night the king and queen talked about Odysseus’s battles and how sad it was. He was the man of the war because he tricked the troy men and won. They made a horse that would be gifted to Troy, but the men were inside. So once everyone was drunk and enjoyed their time, Odysseus and his men hopped out and took over the city. But the twist of the story is after Odysseus has won the battle. Odysseus began his suffering right after the war ended.

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