Do You Know Who Joseph Campbell Is?

Joseph Campbell believed “that if you knew only knew enough, then you could make sense of all the data”. (national review 21) He Eventually grew up into a into a scholar and in 1949 published his book “the hero with a thousand faces.” Campbell made relations to myth which seemed to true to all myths. In the Odyssey, Odysseus and his son Telemakhos are the heroes in the story. Athena finds herself to be the omniscient goddess and the supernatural aid which protect the heroes through there journey.

Telemakhos and Odysseus both play the role as hero although in the bigger perspective Odysseus plays he father. Telemakhos is our first hero as he is introduced with the call to adventure by Athena disguised as mentor. Athena told Telemakhos “You’ll never be… a fool… if you have your fathers spirit… I’ll find a ship for you and help you sail her” (Homer 27) According to Joseph Campbell “The Blunders are the foreshadows of an adventure for the hero.”(Campbell 51) In the case with Telemakhos The blunder are the suitors. This foreshadows Telemakhos’ adventure to destroy them. Athena not only encourages Telemakhos to go out and kill the suitors but she, all knowing, tells him to try to find his father. This is what makes Telemakhos realize his challenge and the adventure begins to overcome or conquer it.

The next step of the hero is his refusal to call which is where Telemakhos tells Athena “Mentor, how can I do it, how approach him? I have no practice in elaborate speeches, and for a young man to interrogate and old man seems disrespectful” (Homer 36) Joseph Campbell labels the refusal as “To Give up what one takes to be one’s own interest” (Campbell 60) Telemakhos’ interest in the Odyssey is to find his father and kill the suitors which is the call to his adventure. Telemakhos Later overcomes the challenge with help of Athena. Odysseus starts at a different perspective.

This reason is due to the fact that his actual story starts at the lliad and ends on this book. finds his stage in the hero cycle a little bit later as the telling of his story begins in the island of the archetype “woman as temptress”(Campbell 120) Where there is a woman who sways the hero of course from his purpose. In this Case with Odysseus in book 12 He is in the island of Kirke. Kirke Distracts Odysseus from his main goal returning home and eventually his destruction to the suitors. The atonement with father is the heroes way of meeting his father after many test. The father seems to give him an extra power. (Campbell 133-135) In the case with Telemakhos he passed all sorts of challenges sailing to island after island. Finally he found his father gaining a certain invisible power linked to his father. Since Odysseus was reared as a strong warrior this power seems to be a power of strength but more so this invisible power seems to lean more onto the side of Odysseus’ Cunningness.

A perfect example of this is when Telemakhos works with the bow. “Telemakhos who said the Brilliantly: “… has Zeus made me half-wit? …step up, my lords, contend now for your prize… no more delay in getting the bow bent… I myself would like to try that bow… if I who stay can do my fathers feat.”” (Homer 394). This Cunning move by Telemakhos makes him seem and feel inferior to the suitors which is the trick set by Telemakhos. Odysseus, as explained early, starts his story in medias reis, which means in the cycle he is ahead of Telemakhos. Odysseus has a good example of rescue from without. When he is rescued by the Phaecians and taken to his island. He is awoken at a sandy beach by Athena who calls him a “great booby” for being upset (Homer 237). “The world may have to come and get him” (Campbell 207). The example of the Phaecians rescuing Odysseus proves that Odysseus basically couldn’t get himself home and it took help from the Phaecians to take him home, very classic example of rescue from without.

The ultimate boon is for both father and son in which the hero is found to be superior to man (Campbell 173). In the ultimate boon Odysseus and his son kill the suitors and take back the kingdom to its rightful place. The Destruction of the suitors by Odysseus and his son simply implies the fact the Odysseus and Telemakhos are in fact superior to be able to take down a horde of suitors. The Magic Flight If the hero with his triumph wins the blessing of the goddess or gods and is then explicitly commissioned to return to the world (Campbell 196). The magic flight for Odysseus and his son is when all the slaying is over and the maids are told to clean the blood. Odysseus returns to the world and to the blessing of Athena time slows down for Odysseus and Penelope. Supernatural aid is written all over in the Odyssey. In book I the gods of Olympia are having a counsel on what to do with Odysseus. They finally after Athena talks about how great Odysseus is bless the heroes and this begins subconsciously begins the adventure for Telemakhos. When Athena comes down as mentor is another sign of supernatural aid. “ the first encounter of the hero-journey is a protective figure (often an old crone or old man)” (Campbell 69). Mentor in the Odyssey is an old man which makes it perfectly fit in with what Campbell has said. Mentor was a Mentor a protective figure over the hero, Telemakhos, Athena would help Telemakhos Throughout his journey. At the same time Athena was helping Odysseus by speaking for him in the counsel, helping him find his way home, and the slaying of the suitors. A book by Lee Hall explains Athena and it shows that Athena does care for Odysseus. “Athena argued, Odysseus is worthy of the gods’ protection.” (Hall 172).

The world Redeemer, the point after the ultimate boon and the rescue this is the part of the story where the hero is most wise. “the son returns … with the knowledge That “I and the Father are one”” (Campbell 349). This last stage fits perfectly into the Odyssey as one can imagine two roads, one named Odysseus and the other Telemakhos, as they converge together to make one highway. This makes two heroes one, and a perfect resolution ending for the Odyssey.

The story “the Odyssey” was a story told centuries ago in ancient Greece. The amazing thing it that the myths from centuries ago still follows Joseph Campbell’s hero cycle . The ancient hero follows each step as would a dancer and end up with the final that Odysseus and Telemakhos both follow all of the stage for the hero cycle and end up to be, in literary terms, one in the same.