User:TiffaniHunter/Nostos

*goes under "Nostos in The Odyssey" section*

In the Odyssey, Homer has nostos being the "return home from Troy by sea." Nostos can be told by those who experienced it themselves, or there are simply instances in which it's present. Those who told their adventures on the sea on their journey back home from Troy were Menelaus, Nestor, and Odysseus. Those three recount their adventures to others in the epic. With Menelaus, in Book Four, he tells of his time in Egypt and other irregular stops. He did not stop at just his nostos but he told of Agamemnon's fatal nostos in great detail as well as a small section of Odysseus' journey. Nestor gives more on Menelaus' nostos and his journey home with Odysseus and Menelaus. In Book Three Nestor made it evident to the audience that his and Diomedes' journey home was a perfect nostos, they had no issues, which was quite different than Agamemnon's. This great difference shows how different each hero's journey home could be. In these instances where nostos is simply present and not told by the individual in The Odyssey, there is an intention to reach a specific destination and some other force blowing the characters off course and arrive in unexpected places on their journey to their home.

Not all heroes experience nostos, Achilles' nostos is unique in The Iliad, this is because he knows himself that he will not have a nostos and this creates a greater difference in him and the other heroes, such as Odysseus. Achilles knows that he has two options when it comes to the Trojan War, he can either die in the battle with glory and have a short life or not participate and live a long insignificant life. In book nine has says "My nostos has perished, but my kleos will be unwilting," in this instance he has chose the glory and says how he will not return home because its destined he will die in battle.