—Ana Bushi
I had an idea that I would be reading a Homeric work as soon as I knew that I was going to enroll for an English course on “great works of literature”, so The Odyssey did not come as a surprise to me. I believe that it is fair to consider this literary giant as “great”, and that more people should read it at least once in their life, for two reasons. One, because in one way or another The Odyssey is a well-established part of world culture, be it in art, cinematography, metaphors, and even famous tropes in other literary works. Knowingly or not we have heard of it before knowing what it was. Two, because upon reflection one must understand what an impressive feat writing such a work must have been in ancient Greece, after a lifetime of peoples singing their stories through generations instead of writing them down. At the same time, I also want to admit that I never really enjoyed the major characters’ flaws, each time when I read it. From Odysseus’ deep-rooted complexes with being the center of attention and the hero, to the gods’ arrogant and meddling natures, and many more, there are numerous scenes where I had to stop reading because the poem became just too much. Then again, all these awkward flaws and moments need to be put in perspective. After all they were written in a time completely different from ours. As modern readers I think we are quite able to notice this difference. It is intriguing to find out that humans were imperfect even such a long time ago, especially comparing their imperfections to those transpiring to our day. If not for the intensity, The Odyssey cannot be less than great with its ability to intertwine a major part of the Greek mythology into a detailed world of humans. It reads like a grand fan fiction piece. Personally, I always enjoyed the descriptions about those (thankfully) lost sacrifice rituals, the mystic gods, the mortal places and lives. Sometimes it almost seems like everything written in the lines has actually happened. This work that has survived since the ancient Greek civilization was thriving makes me feel immersed while reading it in this day and age still, hence a couple of short paragraphs of responding to it. For me, this is enough reason to consider The Odyssey “great”.
