The Trials of UlyssesMuch of modern literature and beliefs can be found in The Odyssey. The epic forms the basis of the adventure genre. Heroes, mystery, action and bloodshed all come together in Homer's timeless classic. However, The Odyssey also contains a major concept that is a part of everyone's life. Everyone must, at one point or another, prove themselves. And this is the basis of the story of Odysseus. He, a warrior destined to die on the battlefield of Troy, survived and was able to return home to Ithaca. For this, the gods asked him to prove himself. Throughout The Odyssey, it is constantly demonstrated that to earn one's right to life, one must first prove oneself in the battle of life where one's only weapons are one's intellect, one's sense of confidence and strength of pure determination. The Odyssey, Odysseus is often forced to rely on his intellect rather than his warrior instincts in order to pass another divine test. At one point in The Odyssey, Odysseus and his comrades are taken prisoner in the titanic cave of Polyphemus the Cyclops. A colossal rock prevents Odysseus and his men from escaping. Rather than killing the formidable adversary, Ulysses develops a plan that is more erudite than fierce warrior. This becomes known when Odysseus tells his story to the Phaecians, telling them that: "'I [Ulysses] formed the plan in my bold heart to approach him [Polyphemus the Cyclops], to draw my sharp sword from my thigh and stab him. “…Yet doubts held me back…because we could never have, with our hands, pushed the enormous stone he had placed there from the high door”” (85). Odysseus' strong intelligence surpasses that of his fellow warriors, who would have been quick to kill the giant. If Odysseus had sent the Cyclops to Hades, he and his men would surely have followed them. However, this was not to be the case, as Odysseus does not let the warrior in him direct his actions as a leader. Throughout his adventures, Odysseus must also rely on his intellect to get rid of those who prevent him from reaching Ithaca. On the island of Ogygia, Odysseus is reluctantly held in the halls of the nymph goddess Calypso. Odysseus, who sees that he cannot escape the fight, turns to flattery..