What part did Hercules play in the Voyage of Odysseus?

Answer 1

NOT A SINGLE BIT...

Odysseus, Literary Hero

Born: ?
Birthplace: Ancient Greece
Best Known As: Hero of The Odyssey

Latin name: Ulysses

Odysseus is the hero of The Odyssey, the classic tale by the ancient bard Homer. The Odyssey tells of Odysseus's 10-year struggle to return from the Trojan War to his home in Ithaca. A manly warrior at Troy (he was among those who hid in the famous Trojan Horse), Odysseus is cunning and resourceful, but also loaded with his share of pride and human failings. On his travels he survives encounters with many of ancient literature's most famous characters, from the monstrous one-eyed Cyclops to the tempting (and deadly) Sirens. He is by turns aided and thwarted by the whimsies of Zeus, Poseidon and other Greek gods. After 20 years away (10 for the war and 10 for the trip back) he returns to his long-waiting wife, Penelope, and slays the greedy suitors who have besieged her. Odysseus's mighty deeds and all-too-human weaknesses have made him a favorite with scholars and storytellers down through the years. Alfred, Lord Tennyson's Ulysses was one of the best-known poems of the 1800s, and James Joyce's groundbreaking novel Ulysses used Homer's adventures as the inspiration for a modern-day tale set in Dublin.


His name is pronounced o-DISS-ee-oos... The New York city of Ithaca, home of Cornell University, took its name from the isle of Ithaca, birthplace of Odysseus in The Odyssey... Yes, Odysseus and Ulysses are the same guy: Odysseus is his name in the original Greek, Ulysses the rendering in Latin and English... His father is Laertes, king of Ithaca, and his son (who was a mere infant when Odysseus left for Troy) is named Telemachus... Did Odysseus exist in real life? No evidence exists to prove that he did (or did not) exist, but most of the tales told by Homer are clearly fiction... Before marrying Penelope, Odysseus had unsuccessfully wooed Helen of Troy... Some ancient stories say that Odysseus not only hid in the Trojan Horse, but thought up the whole idea himself... Homer's The Iliad and The Odyssey are often mentioned in the same breath; The Iliad tells the tale of Achilles and the Trojan War, The Odyssey of Odysseus's return.

FOUR GOOD LINKS

Encyclopedia Mythica
Good introduction to Odysseus and other characters
Odysseus Unbound
Bringing the story into a search for Homer's Ithaca
MythWeb
For students (and slackers), a fun cartoon-style primer on The Odyssey
Odysseus
Britannica's concise version

Answer 2

Hercules had nothing to do with Troy or Odysseus, I believe. Hercules is a Roman figure and Troy and Odysseus are from Greek mythology. I believe the Greek figure based on Hercules was Heracles and I don't think he appeared in any of those myths either. As far as his role in the lives of mortals, he did a lot of good stuff because he slaughtered his entire family and then he felt badly about it...

Answer 3

Hercules was dead long before the Odyssey took place. But Odysseus does see the soul (but not the Reason/Mind) of Hercules when he summons the dead to learn why Poseidon was mad at him.

Answer 4

Hercules went to the Underworld to steal Cerberus and to rescue Alcestis; Orpheus went below to try to win back his beloved Eurydice; Theseus went to try to abduct Persephone; but Odysseus went for information. Odyssey book XI.

Answer 5

He didn't to the best of my knowledge. I've read the Odyssey several times but it clearly about the Trojan War which in no way involves Hercules.

Answer 6

The "Pillars of Hercules" are part of the Odyssey, but not Hercules himself.

Answer 7

None. Hercules did not appear in the Odyssey.

Answer 8

He was a crewmember on the Argus. He left a little bit into the voyage. I can't remember what exactly happened to him, but I think he got caught up in a girl and stayed behind on one of the islands.

Answer 9

he wasn't a part of the Odyssey, he was at Troy fighting and he was a part of Jason's Argonauts