The Consolation of Philosophy

by

Boethius

Odysseus Character Analysis

The protagonist of Ancient Greek poet Homer’s legendary Odyssey, the second-oldest surviving work of European literature (after Homer’s Iliad). The Odyssey recounts Odysseus’s circuitous, 10-year journey home to the city of Ithaca after the Trojan War. Boethius cites legendary stories about Odysseus and his crew to illustrate Lady Philosophy’s arguments about the nature of virtue and evil.
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Odysseus Character Timeline in The Consolation of Philosophy

The timeline below shows where the character Odysseus appears in The Consolation of Philosophy. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Book IV, Part III
Classical Philosophy and Medieval Christianity Theme Icon
Wisdom, Fortune, and Happiness Theme Icon
The Problem of Evil Theme Icon
Human Free Will and God’s Foreknowledge Theme Icon
Philosophy sings about Odysseus getting lost on the island of the goddess Circe, who begins turning his crew into... (full context)
Book IV, Part VII
Classical Philosophy and Medieval Christianity Theme Icon
Wisdom, Fortune, and Happiness Theme Icon
The Problem of Evil Theme Icon
...daughter to the gods so that he could go to Troy. Then she sings of Odysseus defeating the cyclops Polyphemus, and of the great labors of Hercules, which won him “a... (full context)