The Hero’s Journey (Monomyth) in The Odyssey
Directions: As we read portions of The Odyssey you will need to fill-in evidence of the hero’s journey from the text. You
need to keep up with this chart and use it as a study aid for the test over the story.
Stage
Ordinary World
Call to Adventure
Refusal of the Call
Acceptance of the
Call
Entering the
Unknown
Meeting the Mentor
(Supernatural Aid)
Crossing the
Threshold
Tests/Allies/Enemies
Supreme Ordeal
Reward
Road Back
Return with the
Elixir
Summary
Ithaca King Odysseus’ home with his wife Penelope and newborn son Telemachus.
Odysseus is asked to fight with Menelaus and Agamemnon in Troy.
He does not want to leave his family and sail to Troy; he knows it will be a long trip and he’s
fatherly instincts do not want to leave his son.
Odysseus realizes he must go and fight with Menelaus and Agamemnon because of a pact they
have previously made to help one another whenever necessary.
Odysseus and his men are on the ship heading to Troy to join the Trojan War.
Athena: The goddess of wisdom, crafts, and war. She is Odysseus guide and wants to help
Odysseus although she has been instructed not to; she takes pity on him while other gods
forsake him. She constantly saves Odysseus from death, and gives him guidance in the form of
information.
After the war, the gods became angry with the Greeks for their prideful ways; a great storm
emerges and throws them off course.
Odysseus is thwarted with many tests as he travels back to Ithaca, because the epic begins in
media res (in the middle) he tells the King of Phaeacia, Alcinous, what has happened thus far
through flashbacks. Now that all of Odysseus’s men (allies) have died the Phaeacians and King
Alcinous become his helpers (allies) and give him passage back home to Ithaca. Below are the
tests/enemies Odysseus had to overcome in order to finally make it home:
 Poseidon
 Polyphemus
 Circones
 Lotus eaters
 Circe
 Underworld (land of the dead)
 Lastrygonians
 Sirens
 Scylla & Charybdis
 Cattle of the Sun God
 Calypso
Once Odysseus finally returns home he finds out that his house has been overrun with suitors
trying to steal his wife and palace. Instead of rushing in and killing the suitors Odysseus is
patient and wishes to learn if his wife has been faithful. Therefore with the help of his son and
a faithful swine herder he devises a plan. Athena disguises him as an old beggar so that he may
enter his house undetected. Telemachus steals all the suitors’ weapons, and a final test is given.
Penelope will marry the man who strings Odysseus bow and shoot an arrow through 12 axe
handles. Odysseus is the only one able to complete the task. He is then transformed back to his
normal appearance and he and Telemachus work together to defeat all of the suitors.
Odysseus is reunited with Penelope after he passes her final test about their bed.
Odysseus goes to see his father, Laertes, to let him know he has returned. Meanwhile the
families of the suitors are angry and seek revenge.
Athena steps in and brings peace to all of Ithaca. Therefore, all is returned to normal.
The Hero’s Journey (Monomyth) in The Odyssey
Directions: As we read portions of The Odyssey you will need to fill-in evidence of the hero’s journey from the text. You
need to keep up with this chart and use it as a study aid for the test over the story.
Stage
Ordinary World
Summary
Ithaca King Odysseus’ home with his wife Penelope and newborn son Telemachus.
Call to Adventure
Refusal of the Call
Acceptance of the
Call
Entering the
Unknown
Odysseus and his men are on the ship heading to Troy to join the Trojan War.
Meeting the Mentor
(Supernatural Aid)
Crossing the
Threshold
Tests/Allies/Enemies
Odysseus is thwarted with many tests as he travels back to Ithaca, because the epic begins in
media res (in the middle) he tells the King of Phaeacia, Alcinous, what has happened thus far
through flashbacks. Now that all of Odysseus’s men (allies) have died the Phaeacians and King
Alcinous become his helpers (allies) and give him passage back home to Ithaca. Below are the
tests/enemies Odysseus had to overcome in order to finally make it home:
 Poseidon
 Polyphemus
 Circones
 Lotus eaters
 Circe
 Underworld (land of the dead)
 Lastrygonians
 Sirens
 Scylla & Charybdis
 Cattle of the Sun God
 Calypso
Supreme Ordeal
Reward
Road Back
Return with the
Elixir
Athena steps in and brings peace to all of Ithaca. Therefore, all is returned to normal.
The Hero’s Journey (Monomyth) in The Odyssey
Directions: As we read portions of The Odyssey you will need to fill-in evidence of the hero’s journey from the text. You
need to keep up with this chart and use it as a study aid for the test over the story.
Stage
Ordinary World
Call to Adventure
Summary
Ithaca King Odysseus’ home with his wife Penelope and newborn son Telemachus.
Odysseus is asked to fight with Menelaus and Agamemnon in Troy.
Refusal of the Call
Acceptance of the
Call
Entering the
Unknown
Odysseus and his men are on the ship heading to Troy to join the Trojan War.
Meeting the Mentor
(Supernatural Aid)
Crossing the
Threshold
Tests/Allies/Enemies
Odysseus is thwarted with many tests as he travels back to Ithaca, because the epic begins in
media res (in the middle) he tells the King of Phaeacia, Alcinous, what has happened thus far
through flashbacks. Now that all of Odysseus’s men (allies) have died the Phaeacians and King
Alcinous become his helpers (allies) and give him passage back home to Ithaca. Below are the
tests/enemies Odysseus had to overcome in order to finally make it home:
 Poseidon
 Polyphemus
 Circones
 Lotus eaters







Supreme Ordeal
Reward
Road Back
Return with the
Elixir
Athena steps in and brings peace to all of Ithaca. Therefore, all is returned to normal.
The Hero’s Journey (Monomyth) in The Odyssey
Directions: As we read portions of The Odyssey you will need to fill-in evidence of the hero’s journey from the text. You
need to keep up with this chart and use it as a study aid for the test over the story.
Stage
Ordinary World
Summary
Ithaca King Odysseus’ home with his wife Penelope and newborn son Telemachus.
Call to Adventure
Refusal of the Call
Acceptance of the
Call
Entering the
Unknown
Odysseus and his men are on the ship heading to Troy to join the Trojan War.
Meeting the Mentor
(Supernatural Aid)
Crossing the
Threshold
Odysseus is thwarted with many tests as he travels back to Ithaca, because the epic begins in
media res (in the middle) he tells the King of Phaeacia, Alcinous, what has happened thus far
through flashbacks. Now that all of Odysseus’s men (allies) have died the Phaeacians and King
Alcinous become his helpers (allies) and give him passage back home to Ithaca. Below are the
tests/enemies Odysseus had to overcome in order to finally make it home:
Tests/Allies/Enemies
Supreme Ordeal
Reward
Road Back
Return with the
Elixir
Athena steps in and brings peace to all of Ithaca. Therefore, all is returned to normal.