Odysseus: The First Hippie

“Make love not war,” flower power, bra burning, drugs, sex, and rock and roll. Your parents remember them, the 1960’s. They were a landmark in American history, a revolution. It was a time when the country was over run with a bunch of crazy hippies trying to defeat the “conformos.” The hippie revolution of the 1960’s parallel’s the life and views of Odysseus and his men in Homer’s, The Odyssey. This is seen through the drugs, the anti-war views of Odysseus, and the “free love” between Odysseus and Calypso and Odysseus and Circe.
Some of the most memorable comedy characters in history have been centered around the sixties. For example; Cheech and Chong. They were two middle-aged men who smoked far too much marijuana. They were hippies who believed in mind expansion by getting high. Odysseus and his men follow these same rules but to a smaller degree because of the lack of availability of drugs they only use wine to “expand their minds.” Through th...