The Odyssey by Homer comprises many different epic themes like courage and honor, the nature of good and evil, and the importance of family and home. Why are themes in that story that important? Because the themes are directly connected with the protagonist and the Hero's journey. Through them, we, the readers, are revealing the characters and the struggles Odysseus met during all the dangerous adventures to his way home.
One important theme is courage and honor. As an Epic hero, Odysseus demonstrates extraordinary courage and bravery from the very beginning of the story to the end of it. First, he defeated the Cyclops Polyphemus in his sleep by pushing a sharp and heated stick in his single eye. According to the author, "Now, by the gods, I drove my big hand spike deep in the embers, charring it again, and cheered my men along with battle talk to keep their courage up: no quitting now." The quotation defines the great cleverness that helped him to fight against the Cyclops and his heroism that made him not quit the battle. Another example of strength and courage is when Odysseus defeats Charybdis and Scylla, the sea monsters. The author points out, "At this time, Charybdis sucked down the sea's salt water, but I reached high in the air above me, to where the tall fig tree grew, and caught hold of it and clung like a bat; there was no place where I could firmly brace my feet, or climb up it, for the roots of it were far from me, and the branches hung out far, big and long branches that overshadowed Charybdis." As mentioned before, this evidence proves that Odysseus was very brave because of all his actions against the evil side, and he faced multiple times all the creatures, like the sea monsters. Also, he never gave up and accepted all the challenges, even if they were dangerous, and he could die.
One more theme of The Odyssey is the nature of good and evil. Odysseus met good Gods who helped him to get home and evil Gods that impeded the protagonist on his Journey home. The good and evil created a contrast and made Odysseus' Journey more interesting. The nature of evil is presented by Poseidon, Calypso, Helios, Charybdis, Scylla, the Sirens, etc. At the beginning of...
