A Hero's First Death, an essay on Homer's The Odyssey

 A Hero's First Death David Blumenthal <Tab/>In two of the founding stories of our culture, there seems to be a requirement that people who have experienced something horrible cannot establish a proper home. In the Bible, the Israelites wandered through the desert for 40 years to ensure that an entire generation passed and none of the people who were slaves in Egypt saw their homeland. The same is true in …

…story, there is a definite point when Odysseus dies. Then, Athena bears him, she gives him rebirth. In the same way Moses does not die until he is ready, Odysseus does not die until he is ready. When he dies, he is waiting for it. Because Odysseus is not resurrected (instead, he is reborn as a different person) this story also demonstrates the rule that people who have seen something terrible cannot just go home.