The Odyssey was first created sometime between 800 and 600 B.C. as an epic poem that was sung by trained bards in a style called dactylic hexameter, which gave the poem a rhythmic feel. Like most epic poems, the Odyssey begins in the middle of the story’s action, with the events that happened before told in flashbacks. The precise date of when the Odyssey was first written down is unknown, but it is believed that and illiterate person who knew the poem dictated the story to a literate person, who wrote it down. The result was twenty-four ‘books’ (or chapters) that tell the tale of Odysseus.
However, the book’s magic does not lie in its extensive history; it lies in it’s outstanding story which has withheld the test of time, and the specific morals that still hold true today, ranging from showing respect towards the gods to something as simple as those that are good and true always win in the end.
The roots of the Odyssey obviously lie in Greek mythology; the gods and their interaction with humans and the strange and fantastic creatures that populate the uncharted regions of the word all sprouted from there. However, scholars have pointed out parallels in storyline between the Odyssey and the Babylonian ‘Epic of Gilgamesh’. They are similar in the way that their stories both involve a king traveling around the world and encountering fantastic adventures. Also, the part of the story where Gilgamesh journeys to the Netherworld for advice is strikingly similar to the scene where Odysseus journeys to the Underworld to talk to the seer.
Although the famous Greek poet Homer is credited for the creation of the Odyssey, scholars speculate as to whether he created the poem single-handedly or not. Some even doubt that there ever was a Homer. They argue that the plot of the Odyssey is too varied to have been created by one person. Others argue that the epic is written in the same writing style, and say that the brilliance of the plot could not have been created by more than one person. However, most agree that the Odyssey went through a state of refinement in the eighth century B.C.
Today, the Odyssey has become the base for several movies and plays, mostly in the science-fiction genre. Very recently, a fiction book called ‘The Penelopiad’ was published, telling the story from Penelopia’s point of view. Other, not-so-recent stories have also taken part of the Odyssey to use in their own tales; one of the stories of Sinbad the Sailor from One Thousand and One Nights (Arabian Nights) was taken from the Odyssey. Also, because of its connection to fascinating tales, the word ‘odyssey’ means an epic quest of discovery or adventure.
After reading this book, I can see why it has been called “the world’s first novel” and “the greatest story of all time”. This book set the foundation of fictional literature for thousands of years to come. It tells us a story at its most basic element—a seemingly invincible hero fighting his way home—and yet, it is still storytelling at its greatest. Every author after this book has had to live up to what this story has created; a representation of a culture and its cumulative imagination, and the ability to tell a story that all cultures, all races, genders, and ages can enjoy no matter how many years go by.
Yes, it is a very short essay... But it only had to be two pages long and that's what I stopped at. 8-[
