Concealment and disguises in Homer's OdysseyDid you know that although caves and disguises play a small, literal role in The Odyssey, they are major symbols, and sometimes even considered as archetypes? Sometimes when reading a book quickly, one does not grasp the symbolic interpretation of many of the images created throughout the book. A man named Homer wrote The Odyssey around 800 BC. The story was a Greek epic poem, depicting the struggle of Odyssey, the hero, to return home. He had gone to war in Troy, leaving his family behind. Upon his return, his hubris angered the gods of Olympus, who delayed his return journey for 10 years. Throughout the story, Athena, the goddess of wisdom, helps Odysseus. She intercedes for him at Olympus and helps him in his physical efforts during his journey. While Odysseus was away, his wife began to be courted by the landowners and nobles of the area. These suitors plundered Odysseus' house and angered his son, Telemachus, who then left to seek news of his father. In the end, Odysseus returns to his wife Penelope with the help of Athena and her son Telemachus. Whenever Athena physically appears on earth to help Odysseus or Telemachus, she usually appears disguised as someone else. Throughout Odysseus' journey, he also encounters several caves, which not only have literal but also symbolic meaning in each episode. The mysticism of the caves and the repetition of episodes with veils, concealments or disguises have a minor literal role in the book, but are of immense symbolic importance. The symbolic value of the cave in Western literature finds its origin in The Odyssey (Seigneuret 223). ). There are some symbols...... middle of paper ......rk: Routledge Publishing Company, 1997.David, Adams Leening., ed. The world of myths: an anthology. New York: Oxford UP, 1990. Heubeck, Alfred, Stephanie West, and J.B. Hainsworth. A commentary on Homer's Odyssey. New York: Oxford UP, 1988. Jones, P. V. Homer's Odyssey: A Companion to the Richard Lattimore Translation. Bedminster: Bristol Classic Press, 1988. O'Flaherty, Wendy Doniger. Myths of others: the cave of echoes. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company, 1988. Pietro, Pucci. Ulysses Polutropos. London: Cornell UP, 1987. Powell, B. Barry. Classic myth. Saddle River: Prentice Hall, 2001. Schein, Seth L. Reading The Odyssey. New Jersey: Princeton UP, 1996. Seigneuret, Jean-Charles, ed. Dictionary of literary themes and motifs. Westport: Greenwood Press, 1988. Vivante, Paolo. Homer. New York: Yale UP, 1985.