In a second instance, Odysseus shows great intelligence. Upon returning home he keeps a constant beggar's disguise, so his wife's suitors won't catch word that he's back. If they did, they would seek him out and kill him before he had a chance to return home to his faithful wife. One of the greatest examples of Odysseus" intelligence isn't even found in the Odyssey. In its prequel, the Iliad, Odysseus and the Greek soldiers performed the infamous Trojan Horse trick. The Greek army is unable to penetrate the walls of Troy and enter their city. A brief summary of this event states,.
Odysseus" plan was to build an enormous wooden horse and hide a few.
Greek soldiers inside its hollow belly. After the horse was built, the Greeks.
pushed it up to the gates of Troy the Trojans brought the horse into the.
city (883).
The Greeks concealed within this horse leap out, open the gates, and let in the rest of the army. The Greek Army wins this battle, which decides the outcome of the Trojan War. If it had not been for this idea, the Greeks may have lost the war. Odysseus is definitely intelligent, and proved so extensively in the Odyssey.
Even though Odysseus accomplishes many extraordinary things in both epics, he had no possession of supernatural powers. While at the cave of the Cyclops, Odysseus receives the help of Athena, goddess of wisdom, with conjuring up the blinding idea. The summary before the Cyclops section affirms his lack of supernatural powers: "Odysseus is the cleverest of the Ancient Greek heroes because his divine guardian is the goddess of wisdom, Athena" (898). This states that Athena helps Odysseus out on several occasions, because he isn't capable of doing much of it on his own. On his way home to Ithaca, Athena advises Odysseus not to draw much attention to himself, and dress as a beggar. Again, this is summarized, and it is as follows: "In Ithaca, Athena appears to the hero. Because his home is full of enemies, she advises him to proceed disguised as a beggar" (928).