Odysseus
Odysseus was a Greek hero who ruled the island of Ithaca. He was genius tactician during the Trojan War. In fact it was Odysseus who ingeniously created the plans for the Trojan Horse raid in which the Greeks presented a massive wooden horse to the Trojans as a gift of their surrender, in truth the Trojan Horse was filled with Greek soldiers who raided the city and defeated the Trojans . After defeating the Trojans, Odysseus starts off on his return journey to Ithaca. During the Trojan War however Odysseus severely angered the god Poseidon through his outlandish and cunning tactics. Poseidon sends rough seas that send Odysseus and his men on a long and perilous journey in which Odysseus uses his cunning tactics, and leadership skills time and time again to finally return home and reclaim his kingdom.
Themes:
The theme of Odysseus’ life can most easily be summed up as “Brains over Brawn” and sheer determination to a cause. Through every perilous adventure Odysseus is able to rally his men and outsmart his opponents no matter what the odds are against him so that he may finally return home to his loving wife. This is why Athena the goddess of wisdom favors him.
The theme of Odysseus’ life can most easily be summed up as “Brains over Brawn” and sheer determination to a cause. Through every perilous adventure Odysseus is able to rally his men and outsmart his opponents no matter what the odds are against him so that he may finally return home to his loving wife. This is why Athena the goddess of wisdom favors him.
Allusions to Odysseus:
- One allusion to Odysseus is the movie “O’ Brother Where Art Thou” starring George Clooney. In this movie Clooney’s character is leading his pack of boys in search of treasure. Along they way they are met with several challenges such as bandits, beautiful women (actually called sirens like in the Odyssey), and many other obstacles. No matter what the situation Clooney’s character is able to keep his eyes on the prize and outsmart all of his opponents even though he is often outnumbered and outgunned. Just as Odysseus outsmart all his opponents and kept his on the prize of returning to his wife (his treasure)
- Another more modern allusion is the Spongebob Movie. Although it is mostly humor the Spongebob Movie portrays the theme of the Odyssey because Spongebob and Patrick beat all the odds against them because they are determined to “get the crown, save the town and Mr. Krabs.” Although Spongebob is not smart or clever like Odysseus he is determined to complete his quest and although there are powerful forces out to stop him he prevails through every difficult situation just as Odysseus is determined to return home to his wife and kingdom even though he could just give up.
- The story of “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” is an allusion to Odysseus’ cunning in creating the Trojan Horse. The Wicked Witch knows she cannot breach Snow White’s defenses just as Odysseus knows he cannot breach the walls of Troy. So she creates a poison apple and tricks Snow White into eating it, just as Odysseus creates the Trojan Horse to breach Troy’s Walls. This is a clear allusion to how cunning can win over strength.
- Sherlock Holmes is classic allusion to Odysseus. Throughout all of Sherlock’s adventures he finds a way to outsmart the criminals and bring about justice just as Odysseus outsmarts Cirice and the Cyclops on his travels.
- Gandalf from Lord of The Rings is an allusion to Odysseus because he shows great leadership skills in leading the fellowship to Mordor, just as Odysseus leads his men on many impossible tasks.
- There are hundreds of more examples of books and poems written specifically about the bravery, loyalty, cunning, and cleverness of Odysseus.
Works Cited:
"O Brother, Where Art Thou?" IMDb. IMDb.com, n.d. Web. 12 Feb. 2013. <http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0190590/>.
"Odysseus's Journey." Odysseus's Journey. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Feb. 2013. <http://theodysseyinfo.tripod.com/steveisawesome/id1.html>.
"The Odyssey." SparkNotes. SparkNotes, n.d. Web. 12 Feb. 2013. <http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/odyssey/>.
"O Brother, Where Art Thou?" IMDb. IMDb.com, n.d. Web. 12 Feb. 2013. <http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0190590/>.
"Odysseus's Journey." Odysseus's Journey. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Feb. 2013. <http://theodysseyinfo.tripod.com/steveisawesome/id1.html>.
"The Odyssey." SparkNotes. SparkNotes, n.d. Web. 12 Feb. 2013. <http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/odyssey/>.