The Relevance of the Odyssey Today Homer's epic poem, The Odyssey, was written after his Iliad which recounted the Stories of the Trojan War. This Odyssey recounts the wanderings of a prominent warrior and ruler, Odysseus. Odysseus fought in the Trojan War and, after the Greeks claimed victory at Troy, began his long journey home. During his journey, Odysseus was faced with many obstacles that he had to overcome. During his wanderings, Ulysses had to prove his worth, his intelligence and his determination. The Odyssey incorporates many current characteristics of man, including a constant dependence on others, the presence of a greater vision, or lack thereof, and the essence of a sensitive side behind courage and pride. At times throughout the Odyssey, Odysseus did not think about the consequences of his actions and relied on the guidance of the gods to help point him in the right direction. Odysseus was quick to act and sometimes made bad decisions that could only harm him. Odysseus was eager to fight, even though he had little chance of surviving. His impulsiveness pushed Athena to come down from Mount Olympus to warn him, saying: “Reckless man! Always determined to war and struggle! Will you not even give in to the immortal gods? It is not a mortal being, but an immortal misfortune, terrible, harsh, and fierce, and which must not be fought. Courage is nothing; escape is the best thing” (116). Odysseus didn't know when to run and leave a situation or when to face it and fight. He believed that his courage would allow him to achieve victory, even against a goddess. Without the wisdom of Athena, Odysseus was sure to meet his doom because he had no way of defeating the goddess Charybdis. Odysseus not only depended on the immortals to get him out of trouble, but he also relied on them to boost his confidence when he struggled to overcome doubt. When Odysseus feared failure and began to doubt himself, the gods came to his aid and encouraged him. Athena reassured Odysseus throughout the epic poem, telling him, “I am a god and I will protect you to the end, through all your efforts” (196). Odysseus became dependent on Athena's encouragement and lacked autonomy. He thought it was okay to doubt himself, because he knew Athena would always be there to dispel the doubt and encourage him on his journey home. Odysseus depended on mortals and immortals to bolster his confidence and he sought their help, knowing that both would come to his aid because they pitied him. Odysseus's journey home was to prove that he could do something on his own, but the pity of mortals and immortals constantly aided him throughout his journey. Odysseus was aware that men and gods would help him and he said: "Oh, listen to me now, although before you had not heard me, when I was shipwrecked, at what time the great shaker destroyed. Grant me to come among the Phaecians. they were welcomed and taken into pity” (61) and Ulysses thus foreshadowed what was going to happen. He knew that when he arrived in the land of the Phaecians, they would take pity on him and try to help him. He became so dependent on the help of others that he forgot his own intellect and determination, and he ended up not making the journey alone. Even though Odysseus depended on others far more than on his own intellect, courage, and determination, he maintained a bigger vision and did not let spontaneous desire distract him from his destiny. While Odysseus was in the underworld, he met Tiresias who told him not to kill the beasts of the Sun because it would harm him.woe to him and his crew. Odysseus followed this advice and did not kill the cow. Unfortunately, his crew killed the cows, costing them their lives. After his crew killed the kine, Odysseus remembers: “My comrades fell from the ship and then, like seabirds, they were carried alongside the black ship along the waves; God kept them from coming home” (121). Odysseus' crew was killed because they neglected the larger vision of returning home. They gave in to their hunger and, in doing so, brought death upon themselves. Odysseus did not give in to the envy of the cows, and it was this self-discipline that helped him survive. Odysseus did not let small desires keep him from the bigger vision, and he pursued the bigger vision even though it would have been easy for him to ignore it and take another path. Odysseus was tested throughout his journey home, even though he was a man of rank. The epithet "...long-tested royal Odysseus..." (62) proved that Odysseus had faced many difficult times and had been tested. Many obstacles arose throughout Odysseus' journey and it would have been easy for him to become discouraged and lose hope, but Odysseus pursued the greater vision. He continued to face obstacles one by one, and his determination and desire to return home to prove that he could do it finally helped him come back after twenty years of war and struggle. Odysseus could easily have given up hope on his long journey home, but the greater vision of seeing his wife Penelope and son Telemachus again gave him a reason to continue. Odysseus remembered, through all his struggles, that he had a family at home waiting for him to return, and this is what sustained him through all his trials. Odysseus showed his love for Penelope when he said to the goddess Calypso: “I know very well that prudent Penelope, compared to you, is poor to look at in height and beauty; for she is human, but you are an immortal, forever young. Yet, despite this, I wish – yes, every day I long – to return home and see my coming day” (49). For a weak man, it would have been easy to abandon the faith, but Odysseus, being the strong man that he was, continued to return home despite the many obstacles. The incessant desire to see his family again and his perpetual determination were what gave Odysseus the strength to return home. Odysseus pursued a bigger vision, and even as a man who loved war, he had a sensitive side behind his courage and pride. The sensitive side that Odysseus possessed was only visible to the people he loved dearly, and it was only to these people that he showed his true feelings of love and despair. After twenty years of absence from his family, Ulysses saw his son again and he “kissed him and let flow down his cheeks to the ground a tear that until then he had always severely repressed” (167). Odysseus missed his family throughout his absence, but he did not show his feelings of love and sadness during his journey. When he finally returned home and received the unforgettable love of his son, Odysseus felt that he could finally show the love he had in return for Telemachus. Odysseus showed his sensitivity towards the people he loved and major life events rather than his sorrow over minor misfortunes. Inevitable changes occurred during the twenty years that Odysseus was away and it was these changes, along with the missed time with his family, that led him to cry. Odysseus missed the years when his dog was young, and when he returned he saw that "Here lay the dog, this Argos, full of fleas. Yet even now, seeing Odysseus near, he wagged his tail and dropped both ears , but towards him.