The cultural factor is of great importance here as to guess the hero of the myths is rather difficult if no any reminders of the heroes in the society takes place. This could have been supported by the cultural perception of the mythical heroes: they were familiar, discussed and popular. First of all the reader is excited, as no main character is introduces, at the same time the reader surmises him, but still waits for the author to name him. Such method, the guessing of the main character, could have been used to enhance the perception of the poem. This may be one of the reasons why the author of the poem did not use the name of the main character in the first lines, and just gave the reader the opportunity to guess. The association is direct, so no other variants immerge in mind. Reading the lines, it seems that there is no need to name the main character, as all is understood: there is no any other person, except Odyssey, who had to travel by so many ways and so much time. Being concerned about Odysseys’ 10 years journeys, when could not return home because of the Gods anger and had to float in the ocean. Who is the person “of many ways” (Homer, The Odyssey 27)? Who “was driven far journeys” and “sacked Troy’s sacred citadel” (Homer, The Odyssey 27)? Considering the ancient Greece mythology, there were not so many people, who could fit the mentioned description. These are the first lines of The Odyssey, which do not mention the main character, but anyway, he may be guessed. Tell me, Muse, of the man of many ways, who was drivenįar journeys, after he had sacked Troy’s sacred citadel… (Homer, The Odyssey 27). To be more specific, the exact examples should be discussed, in particular the first lines where the acquaintance with the main heroes takes place. The stories about magnificent people with huge power were familiar for all and there are some distinctive features, which made them different. The difference of the characters introduction may be the reason, which is coming out of some mythological understanding of these characters. The heroes were the main characters and the idols, as their power was so huge and immense, that they are introduced in many stories of that time. The myths are the main resources of information, and this information should not be trusted as the magnificent power and incredible creations are the main characters of the ancient Greek myths. The existence of lots of myths and description of the society in ancient Greece and the very development of literature, music and theater may be the main points of reviewing the life of ancient Greeks.įirst of all, ancient Greece is characterized by the constant battles for the territory, love and with the aim of revenge. Nevertheless, the picture of the cultural life of people of that time may be reconstructed. Different versions are analyzed, but the evidences of the concrete supportive facts give us just the information that The Iliad and The Odyssey are one of the most ancient pieces of literature of ancient Greece. To consider the exact time of the poems creation with the aim to research the political and social environmental and to add to the supportive facts is impossible, as there is no exact information about Homer and the dates of his birth and death. Such distinctive beginnings suggest about the difference in perception of respective protagonists, and explain in terms of larger cultural and narrative themes in both epics.Ĭonsidering the cultural and time environment, the poems were written in ancient Greece by Homer, who is considered to be, according to the accepted information, a legendary epic poet. Nevertheless, Odysseus is established as the subject of the poem in the very first line when he is described as the man of many ways. Unlike Achilles, Odysseus’ name does not occur in The Odyssey until line twenty-one. In The Iliad, the poet begins with a description of Achilles’ “anger” (mēnis). Such mix of the techniques and characters introduction is provided by Homer in two of his works, The Iliad and The Odyssey, which are going to be analyzed from the point of view of the characters insertion in the description. There are occasionally situations, when one author uses different techniques within different works. Authors usually use various methodologies in their work, as they want to be unique and different from other authors by the special text organization or the characters introduction. There is a great deal of different methods and techniques to introduce the main characters of the story, to organize the text and to make the reader interested in the book from the very beginning.
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