Odysseus has a reputation as a clever man and orchestrates the Greek's winning pass in The Iliad. However, The Odyssey, which follows Odysseus on his journey home, shows a different side to him.
I'm going to assume we're talking about The Odyssey. It takes ten years for Odysseus to return to Ithaca, and some of it is his fault and some of it isn't. Gods play a huge role in Greek epics, with...
Odysseus has a reputation as a clever man and orchestrates the Greek's winning pass in The Iliad. However, The Odyssey, which follows Odysseus on his journey home, shows a different side to him.
I'm going to assume we're talking about The Odyssey. It takes ten years for Odysseus to return to Ithaca, and some of it is his fault and some of it isn't. Gods play a huge role in Greek epics, with personal initiative only going so far. Odysseus's journey is extended partly by his own hubris, and partly by the wrath of the gods.
Odysseus never wanted to go to war at all. He left when his son Telemachus was an infant, and the Trojan war lasted ten years. It's safe to assume that he wants to get home as quickly as possible. Two things work in his favor towards this goal; he's clever and he has a protector in the goddess Athena. However, his journey takes ten years because of both his choices and the whims of Poseidon.
Odysseus's fatal flaw is hubris or pride. At the beginning of his adventure, although placed nearly a third of the way through the story, Odysseus and his men are captured by the Cyclops Polyphemus. Odysseus and his men blind the monster and escape by clinging to the stomachs of sheep. However, when sailing away, he cannot resist shouting his name to Polyphemus, exclaiming over his victory. Polyphemus, son of Poseidon, prays to his father to destroy the man who blinded him and Poseidon curses Odysseus to wander the waters for ten years.
There are moments, certainly, when Odysseus has choices and when he could have made better ones. For instance, he stays with Circe for a year and only seems inclined to leave when one of his crew points out they've been there for a while. On the other hand, Odysseus makes a difficult choice without help or guidance. Sail by Scylla and lose six men for sure, or sail by Charybdis and potentially lose them all?
Odysseus has the power to control his fate but only during finite moments, such as when he shouts at Polyphemus, or when he leaves Calypso. After that, gods and fate unspool the epic story that is The Odyssey. In the end, the aid of gods and mortals brings Odysseus home, a humbling experience for a man used to surviving on his wit.
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