OdysseusHeroStory

 

In the Iliad and the Odyssey,

THE HERO

is absent from his own people;

has a double destiny: obscurity or glory; mortality emphasized;

causes suffering by his absence;

loses many comrades;

finally returns to his proper place;

climaxes his return with brutal slaughter;

acts by Zeus’ will;

gets help from a goddess, who “dresses” him to prepare for return;

thinks longingly of his father in the last book.