THE ODYSSEY Characters: Main and Minor

One of the most important classics of the history of literature is Homer's Odyssey. It is an epic poem that was published after The Iliad and that narrates the adventures of Odysseus (Ulysses, in the Spanish translation) when he tries to return to Ithaca after the Trojan War. In this lesson from a PROFESSOR we want to discover this literary work in depth and, therefore, we are going to analyze the Odyssey characters both main and minor and that are essential for the development of the plot. Delve into discovering one of the essential classics of world literature.

Before entering fully into the analysis of the characters in The Odyssey, it is important that we stop at your argument. Here we offer you a brief summary of The Odyssey that will allow you to better know what the story that is told here is like and, therefore, previously know the characters that we will mention later.

The first part of The Odyssey is known as the "Telemaquia", The reason is that the first songs are centered on Telemachus, the son of Odysseus (Ulysses) who decides to undertake the journey to find his father since his mother is considering the possibility of accepting the marriage proposal of the suitors waiting in the Castle.

However, Odysseus will have already undertaken the way back to Ithaca although this trip is much more difficult than expected. Odysseus recounts how he was captured by the goddess Caliso and how he was shipwrecked on the ship in which he was traveling, having no companions. To his saviors, Odysseus tells them about the misadventures that he has had to live, such as, for example, that he has had to escape from the spell of the mermaids or that he has had to see how all his companions ended up dying from the shipwrecks of the boats.

Dismayed by the story that Odysseus tells, they will leave him a ship so that he can return to his land. Thanks to this boat, Odysseus may return to Ithaca after 20 years battling in the trojan war. When he arrives at the palace he will meet all the suitors who are waiting for the decision of Penelope, Odysseus he will disguise himself as a beggar to be able to observe the situation well and be able to decide how he will act to remove them from in half.

Telemachus will return to Ithaca upon learning that his father has already returned and together, father and son will take up arms against the suitors to ensure that Odysseus can regain the throne and be again the king of Ithaca.

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If we talk about the characters in The Odyssey we have to make special mention of the protagonist of the play: Odysseus. We already knew this hero through his participation in The Iliad, Homer's story where everything that happened in the Trojan War is told. Thanks to this poem we know that Odysseus was one of the most important Greek heroes of the aforementioned war and that, once the war was over, he wanted to return to Ithaca, the place where he reigned.

The character of Odysseus is presented as a brave, impulsive and strong hero that he is married to Penelope and whose son in common is Telemachus. He is a very famous warrior for his cunning and intelligence and, therefore, he is the favorite of the goddess Athena, the goddess of war who sends him help so that he can emerge victorious from the battle. However, Odysseus is hated by Poseidon and, therefore, the return to his kingdom is so complicated: the god of the sea will be in charge of making the ship of the protagonist is shipwrecked on different occasions and encounters obstacles as difficult to avoid as the song of the sirens.

The reason for the wrath of Poseidon the thing is Odysseus blinded Polyphemus, the cyclops who is the son of the god of the sea. For this reason, with the impulse of revenge, Poseidon will try to avoid at all costs that the king can return to Ithaca. But, as we have already said, he is a tenacious, strong and intelligent character who will succeed in defeating the divine will.

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Besides Odysseus, the most important Odyssey characters they are others that make the plot have intensity and that it can develop continuously and without losing rhythm or emotion at any time. Here we leave you a list with the most prominent names that are part of this classic of literature:

• Telemachus: He is the son of Odysseus and his leading role is very important in the work. On the one hand, The Odyssey begins by telling his story since, in this way, we are allowed to know everything that had happened in Ithaca while Odysseus was fighting in the war. In addition, thanks to the collaboration of Telemachus, Odysseus can defeat Penelope's suitors and be crowned again as the king of Ithaca. He is a character with a good heart but who still lacks the courage and courage to fight alone against the suitors of his mother. Thanks to his trip, Telemachus manages to mature and return to the kingdom with enough courage to fight alongside his father.
• Penelopeher: she is another of the most prominent characters in The Odyssey since she is the wife of Odysseus and, therefore, the queen of Ithaca. She is the one who motivates Telémaco to go on a trip to look for his father and for all the suitors to queue up to wait for his approval as husband. Homer describes this character as a faithful, intelligent and a bit cold woman; she never loses faith in her husband's return from war. However, as the years progress, she begins to consider the possibility of marrying someone else. and for that reason, she creates a shooting contest knowing that the only one who could overcome it would be Odysseus, her husband.

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We must not forget that The Odyssey is a epic poem very extensive and that has multiple adventures and many characters that are part of them. However, here we have made a summary of the secondary characters in The Odyssey that also have some importance in the plot and that are worth knowing.

• The sirens: in the work we meet two mermaids in particular whose names are Scylla and Caribis. They are responsible for the crew of Odysseus' ship going crazy due to the voice of the sirens that is capable of bewitching anyone. Although they manage to escape the sirens, the truth is that the men were crazy by their voices; all except Odysseus, who covered his ears with wax and tied himself to a pole to physically avoid coming to his call.
• Greek gods: the presence of the gods is a classic in Greek literature and, therefore, in this poem they are not lacking either. The gods that appear the most in the play are Zeus, the king of the gods, who is the one who lends some help to the hero as well as allows Athena to help him as well. Athena also appears, the goddess who protects Odysseus and who is the goddess of war, arts and wisdom; in the play, she will help the hero at different times so that he can return home. And finally, another of the gods that appear is Poseidon, the one in charge of torpedoing Odysseus's journey.
• Circe: We mention this Greek goddess separately because she has a very prominent incidence in The Odyssey. She is the one in charge of transforming the entire crew of Odysseus into pigs; Furthermore, the hero becomes her lover and will live with her luxuriously for a whole year.
• King Menelaus: he is one of the most prominent characters in The Iliad and he also has a certain role here. In this work, she appears as the informant of Telémaco since she indicates that his father is alive and that he is imprisoned on the island of Calypso. Thanks to this information, the son of Odysseus will set out on his journey to rescue his father.
• The lotus eaters: they are one of the idyllic towns that Odysseus meets throughout his adventure. It is a town whose inhabitants only eat lotus, and because it is an almost magical place, Odysseus forgets even his beloved Ithaca and, for a moment, wishes to stay and live there forever.
• Penelope's suitors: They are the men who wait for the Queen of Ithaca to decide to marry another husband. They all believe that Ulysses is dead and, therefore, that the kingdom needs a new governor. They settle in the royal palace waiting for the queen to make her decision.
• Calypso: she is the nymph who took care of Odysseus after his ship was wrecked by the intervention of Jupiter. It is on the island of Calypso that Odysseus remains for some time until Hermes intervenes and asks the nymph to free the hero and provide him with material to create a new ship.
• Tiresias: another of the characters in The Odyssey that has some relevance to the course of the play is Tiresias, a ghost from whom the hero asks for advice in order to overcome the tests that await him during trip. In order to meet him, Ulysses must travel to Hades.

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