The Odyssey

The Odyssey is a journey and epic that Odysseus embarks upon after his service in the Trojan War. He is in search of his home in Ithaca to be reunited with his wife, Penelope, and son, Telemachus. The story is mainly focusing

on his journey that includes many difficult tests of knowledge and strength. Athena, the child of Zeus, is always paying close attention to Odysseus's actions and making sure he is safe, which no other character receives to the extent Odysseus does. Furthermore, Odysseus is the most important and recognized person in Ithaca because of his heroics. Thus, for the following reasons, Odysseus is really the central character of The Odyssey.

The Odyssey focuses mainly on Odysseus's journey back to Ithaca and the tests he prevails over along the way. Odysseus is always in the heat of the action in the story. He is always the one taking initiative and coming up with plans when needed. Although there are many other characters in the story, Odysseus is the one profound character that stands out and will always take action when needed. Essentially, he is the one introducing new characters because he meets them during his journey, so without Odysseus, there would be less characters. Odysseus's initiative to make plans and take action also makes him a central character. His plan that defeated Polyphemus and avoided being lured to the Sirens is what makes him such a cunning and important character. Without him this would have turned out for the worst and the story would have no excitement because it would be missing its central character.

Secondly, Athena is repeatedly looking out for Odysseus's safety which no other character receives to his extent. Athena is the daughter of Zeus and she is able to use her powers to help Odysseus. Fundamentally, she is just a god looking out for her favourite mortal, but in essence she is the only god in the story that has such compassion for a mortal. She is always looking out for him, for example, when Poseidon built up a storm that rips apart his ship, Athena protects Odysseus by surrounding him with a mist to carry him safely to shore.

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