Odyssey it is a 9th century epic poem b. Ç., described by Greek poet Homer, what narrates the adventures of the hero Ulysses, on his return trip to “Ithaca” after the Trojan War.
The name "Odyssey" comes from "Odysseus", Greek hero, king of Ithaca, whom the Latins called Ulixes (Ulysses).
The poem “Odisseia” is made up of 24 songs or rhapsodies, which recount the adventures of Ulysses, in a natural division into three parts, although there is no explicit separation.
The first part da Odyssey is called “Telemachy”, because it deals with Telemachus, son of Ulysses and Penelope. It covers corners I to IX, in which Ulysses does not appear, he only exists through allusions to his absence, as he had left Ithaca, on his way to Troy, for the war.
in the second part, which comprises songs V to XIII, it tells the adventures that Ulysses lived during the trip, with the assistance of Athena, goddess of wisdom, reason and war.
the third part da Odyssey has as its theme the revenge of Ulysses. Back in Ithaca, after twenty years, he disguises himself as a beggar and mixes with the people. Gradually becomes aware of the betrayals committed in his absence. Little by little, he identifies himself and, together with his son, fights the usurpers, winning and exterminating them all, reassumes his throne.
In the figurative sense, Odisseia is a journey full of extraordinary adventures, it is a narration full of adventures or singular, varied and unexpected occurrences. Today, when we want to refer to great deeds, we speak of Homeric feats and by odysseys We understand superhuman endeavors.
Origin of the Odyssey
The theory about the origin of the Odyssey maintains that the poem was maintained and transmitted orally, for centuries, by the "rhapsodes" – a superb accountant of ancient Greek epics, since Homer never wrote the poem, for at the time of its likely existence, writing had not reached Greece.
According to tradition, the Athenian statesman Pisistratus (605-527 a. C.) was the one who had all the poems collected for the first time “Homerics”.
