hero's journey
Meeting with the Mentor: The hero meets a mentor to gain advise or training for the adventure.
Athena, the Goddess of Wisdom, is the main mentor of Odysseus. She give him intelligence in tricking the Cyclops, reunites him with his son, disguises him from Penelope, assures him the suitors will die, and guards Odysseus as he kills the suitors.
Reward: The hero has survived death, overcome his fear and now earns the reward.
He has won his own wife back--he has "rescued" Penelope from the grasp of the suitors.
Call to Adventure: The hero is presented with a problem, challenge, or adventure.
King Menelaus of Sparta calls upon the kings and soldiers of Greece to help get Helen back (including Odysseus).
Refusal to Call: The hero refuses the challenge, or journey, usually because he's scared.
Odysseus didn't want to leave his family ("for the sake of some faithless woman" (Hamilton)), so he pretends to be mad. Sowing field with salt instead of seed Messenger placed infant son in way of the plow→ diverted the plow, and reluctantly joined the army
Ordeal: The biggest life or death crisis.
Odysseus infiltrates his palace in disguise and passes his wife's test--he strings his own bow and shoots the arrow through 12 axe handles.
Ordinary World: The hero's normal world before the story begins.
Odysseus is king of Ithaca and had a wife, Penelope, and an infant son.
The Road Back: The hero must return to the Ordinary World. Fighting from THE ORDEAL is not finished.
Odysseus reveals himself as the returned king of Ithaca.
Crossing the First Threshold: The hero leaves the ordinary world and goes into the special world. The threshold is the jumping off point--the gateway to the unknown.
Odysseus travels to the Land of the Dead, where he summons spirits of the dead through sacrifice. Teiresias tells him of the journey he must take back to Ithaca, and how he will die.
Return with Elixir: The hero returns from the journey with the "elixir" (his new power/skill), and uses it to help everyone in the Ordinary World.
Odysseus, after reuniting with Penelope, has restored order to Ithaca and continues life in his rightful place as king.
Allies (part of test, allies and enemies)
The Phaecians (King Alcinous) Telemachus Eumaeus & Philoteus
Approach: The hero has hit setbacks during tests and may need to try a new idea.
The suitors are swarming Odysseus' palace. Athena disguises Odysseus as a beggar to help him avoid detection.
Tests, Allies, and Enemies: The hero faces tests, meets allies, confronts enemies and learns the rules of this new world.
Trojan War Battle with Cicones (72) The Lotus Eaters (0) Polyphemus'(the Cyclops) (6) Aeolus' bag of winds (0) Laestrygonians (cannibals) ALL but 45 men Defeating Circe (1) Resisting the Sirens (0) Passing Scylla and Charybdis (6) Killing Helios' Cattle (38) Escaping Calypso
Resurrection of the hero: Another test where the hero faces death--he has to sue everything he's learned.
With help from his son, the two herdsmen, and Athena, Odysseus kills all of the suitors.
Enemies (part of test, allies, and enemies)
suitors
