More on The Odyssey

This book has been one of the most exciting reads I have had in a long time. It's adventurous, smart, and yet it has that literary feel to it that I could relate to a literary text rather than a popular fiction. Though, maybe in many years from now, some of our popular fiction will become literary texts. However, not many of the popular novels today have the same literary nature that a book like "The Odyssey" has. It's just the nature of the words used, how characters are described and developed, an the overall language used throughout.

A couple posts ago I described how Homer began to develop Odysseus' son Telemachus. Now I wanna go more into Odysseus, the main character of the story. Odysseus is the man who thought the idea of the Trojan Horse. He fought in the war between Greece and Troy. This is where the story really begins and shows a glimpse of Odysseus' character. As everyone knows, the Greeks come out of the large wooden horse and open the gates for their army to come in and wipe out the Trojans during their feasting. Here is where Achilles, the mightiest warrior, dies because of his weak heel.

After the war, as all the Greeks are beginning to sail home, Odysseus proclaims his victory to the gods and how self sufficient he is. He makes a personal remark to Poseidon who takes offense. And thus the real story begins. From then on, Poseidon makes Odysseus wander the seas, never to arrive back at home in Ithaca. Odysseus must overcome extreme odds and gain the help of other gods to make it back to his kingdom. "The Odyssey" is not about strength, though strength is required for Odysseus to take on the obstacles that are placed before him. What sets Odysseus apart from the heroes of Greece like Achilles is his cunning and wits. He is an ordinary man who is just very bright.

An example of this is the cyclops. When Odysseus and his men go into a cave and feast, a cyclops comes in and shuts the opening with a large boulder. Odysseus knows that he cannot move the boulder so he tricks the giant by stabbing out his one eye. The cyclops opens the way out so that Odysseus and his men can escape. Later, to escape the Sirens' song, Odysseus has his men tie him up so that he will not be able to run the ship ashore or jump off the side. The character of Odysseus is brilliant. It takes Greek mythological and fantastic ideas and sticks a man with no more than his wits to overcome the gods.

I highly suggest reading this book or looking into it.