Odyssey Odysseus the Family Man

Odyssey

Odysseus the Family Man

Although most of Homer's epic poem the Odyssey centers on Odysseus' position as a warrior and a hero, an exploration of his family's description of his devotion in addition to his reactions to Calypso's seductions, one can determine that Odysseus is not simply a hero, but is also a family man.

The Odyssey opens in the first book not with a description of Odysseus' heroic acts during the Trojan War, which were covered in the Iliad, nor his adventures while attempting to return home, but with his family, at home mourning over his loss. This emphasis on Odysseus' family is the first of a series of literary techniques used to establish Odysseus as a family man. By introducing the story with Odysseus' family, Homer immediately draws the reader to the Trojan War hero's domestic life, establishing this as the central characteristic for his tale. Minerva allows the reader a short glimpse into the life of the hero when she dresses as Mentor in order to speak with Telemachus undercover. Minerva concludes that Telemachus does "indeed want Ulysses home again" (Book I). Telemachus also tells Minerva that he is frustrated about not knowing the fate of his father, in addition to the suitors that have plagued his household. That Telemachus is eager to have his father's fate determined and is tired of the suitors can be seen as his desire to take over as head of the family, but the fact that Minerva determines that he wants his father back suggests that he, indeed, holds his father in high regard, even though he was just a child when Odysseus left. Furthermore, Penelope's reaction to Odysseus's absence suggests his popularity among his family members. In fact, the first book also opens with Penelope expressing sorrow over her husband's absence, sorrow brought on by one of her suitor's songs. In fact, the fact that both Penelope and Telemachus reject the suitors suggest that both mother and son have a deep affinity for Odysseus. Thus, both Odysseus' family members and Homer emphasize Odysseus as a family man at the beginning of the epic.

Even though Odysseus's family holds high opinions of his character as a family man, his actions with Calypso are the true measures of his character. In book five of the epic poem, Minerva, who goes to rescue Calypso, finds the father and husband "sitting upon the beach with his eyes ever filled with tears of sheer home sickness" (Book V). The poem goes on to explain that while Odysseus is forced to sleep in Calypso's cave each night, he does not do this of his own volition, and would much rather be home. Thus, while Calypso, a goddess, attempts to seduce Odysseus, he does not betray his home and his family, but rather remains homesick for them, while being tired of the goddess. Though Calypso is a goddess of extreme beauty, Odysseus is more enticed with his own wife and son. In fact, Odysseus loves his family enough to cry over their separation and undertake a perilous journey to be reunited with them. Thus, Odysseus's responses to Calypso suggest that he is a family man, not one to be swayed by empty beauty.