Joemaricel Dayrit, 301232932, HUM102W, Section D900, Tutorial D901, Antone Minard, October 8, 2014
The myths of David and Goliath and Odysseus and Polyphemos from the Hebrew bible and the Odyssey, respectively, are examples of the classic little hero versus large enemy story. From both the Hebrews and the Greeks we receive iterations of the same myth of how the gigantic antagonist belittles the seemingly frail young man simply because of his short stature compared to that of the antagonist’s, but in the end he is subdued by the young man with an uncommon method. Warrior Odysseus and shepherd boy David both encounter their own menacing giant, a Cyclops and the champion of Gath, who they bravely defeat which results in the increase of morale
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Like David who is favoured by God, Odysseus is favoured by some of the gods and goddesses who reside on Mount Olympos. Zeus, the king, however, feels neutral and will help according to what he sees fit. When Odysseus and his crew realizes they are trapped and are bound to be eaten by the Cyclops, the son of Laertes has the idea of having the big brute drink wine till he is passes out and then drive a burning stake into his eye, blinding him. Of course it would’ve been easier to just kill Polyphemos, but then no one would be able to move the hefty boulder blocking the entrance. So afterwards, all the men clung onto the sheep and rams, hanging from their underbelly, and waited until they would be released into the pasture. With four men eaten, but everyone else free including Odysseus, he hollers from his boat, “‘Zeus and the other gods have paid you back!’” (Odyssey. l. 536) and starts this shouting contest between them. From this, Odysseus tells him his real name. Polyphemos is rather shocked by this knowledge because a prophecy had warned him about this blinding event, expecting someone who was a good-looking giant, and continues to call Odysseus a tiny coward for tricking instead of fighting him. What’s different between Polyphemos and Goliath, other than the fact that one is a mythical being and the other just abnormally enormous in height, is that a god favoured the former of the two. Ever since the Trojan War, some of the other Olympians, especially Poseidon, have been making Odysseus’ journey home a devastating hardship. Polyphemos, as son of the earthquake god, prays to Poseidon that Odysseus return home with a broken spirit after several
“O muse! Sing in me, and through me tell the story...Of that man skilled in all the ways of contending...A wanderer, harried for years on end…” (Homer). These are the opening words of The Odyssey. This is also in the opening scene of O Brother Where Art Thou?. O Brother is a reception of the revered story of Odysseus’ journey with a bit of a twist. The works have similarities that only a person well informed of the Odyssey could see. The Odyssey and O Brother highlight the trials of the main character’s journeys. While the Odyssey was written in the eighth century, O Brother is set during the 1930s in the deep south. Each of the trials that the characters face is supposed to make them quit their journey, but they proceed with greater determination.
What are the key points you will want to emphasize in your online profile for Character 1 (3-4 sentences)?
This shows that Odysseus’ self-serving nature extends beyond material greed into the equally sinful realm of pride. In a classic display of hubris, Odysseus taunts the Cyclopes fulfilling the sole purpose of stroking Odysseus’s ego. At first it appears that our hero is lacking foresight, but Odysseus tells Polyphemus his name in hopes that tales of his cunning will spread throughout Greece: a very selfish goal, directly resulting in the endangerment of the lives of both him and his men throughout the remainder of their travels.
In Odyssey, Homer creates a parallel between Odysseus and Telemachos, father and son. The two are compared in the poem from every aspect. One parallel was the quest of Telemachos, in correlation with the journey of his father. In this, Odysseus is developed from a childish, passive, and untested boy, to a young man preparing to stand by his father's side. This is directly connected to the voyage of Odysseus, in that they both lead to the same finale, and are both stepping-stones towards wisdom, manhood, and scholarship.
Once he and he men are sailing away from the Cyclops, Odysseus cries back to the Cyclops “if anyone ever asks you how you came by your blindness, tell them your eye was put out by Odysseus, sacker of cities, son of Laertes, who lives in Ithaca.” Odysseus has regretted his earlier decision for Polyphemus to not know his true name, because it means that anyone hearing the tale of a man defeating a Cyclops will not know that it was Odysseus who did it. The arrogant Odysseus does not like this, because he wants all tales of his prowess to be known for his. As he cannot let the chance of more fame escape him, he reveals to Polyphemus his true identity. This sentence, with which he risks the Cyclops throwing a boulder onto their ship, show the readers just how arrogant Odysseus is. It helps the readers understand quite how willing Odysseus is to risk anything if it will add to his
Odysseus and some of his men went to investigate to see what these Cyclops were like. Unfortunately, they stumbled upon a Cyclops that had no intention of being nice. His name was Polyphemus who was the son of Poseidon. He took Odysseus’s men and ate them every night and would keep Odysseus and his men hostage. Odysseus made a clever escape and blinded the Cyclops. When Odysseus finally made it back on the ship with the remaining men that went along with him, Odysseus got a little too angry and shouted from the ship to Polyphemus and insulted him. Polyphemus prayed to the god, Poseidon and cursed Odysseus. This was on page 77, lines 526-533, book
(Homer, Bk. 1, 74-79). The god of the sea Poseidon wants to seek revenge for blinding his cyclops son Polyphemus. Poseidon could very easily just kill Odysseus but is asked not to by Athena. Athena has pity for Odysseus. I feel that even though Odysseus' life is spared he is still punished in a worse way. Odysseus has been set back for ten years in his voyage home. Athena assures Poseidon that Odysseus will struggle and he should be...
To begin with, Odysseus is an intelligent and clever man. He is a hero because he has the capacity to understand the situations and think through the struggles they are going to face. Odysseus is put against all the odds possible, and at times it seems like the gods are against him. Odysseus tricks the Cyclops, Polyphemus, in a very strategic way and handled the situation effectively. “My name is Nohbdy: mother, father, and friends, / everyone calls me Nohbdy (Homer 498). Odysseus’ cleverness is brought out because he conceived an idea that would be adequate enough to trick a Cyclops. Later when Polyphemus is stabbed, he screams, “Nohbdy, Nohbdy’s tricked
Odysseus displays his desire for glory through his careless actions during his encounter with the Cyclops Polyphemus. The desire for glory Odysseus displays is shown through the words he speaks to Polyphemus. He is a clever character but makes rash decisions that affect the outcome of his original goals and intentions. While Odysseus is trapped inside of the cave of the Cyclops, he begins to taunt Polyphemus. “I called back to the Cyclops, stinging taunts: So, Cyclops, no weak coward it was whose crew you bent to devour three in your vaulted cave—with your brute voice! Filthy crimes came down on your own head, you shameless cannibal” (Fagles, 226). Odysseus was insulting the Cyclops, and those insults caused the rage of the monster to boil over. The Cyclops was already angry with Odysseus blinding him, and was even more demoralized and angry when Odysseus began to taunt him. As Odysseus goes on with his insults and as his anger rises, he says, “Cyclops—if any man on the face of the earth should ask you who blinded you, shamed—say Odysseus, raider of cities, he gouged out your eye, La...
To start, within the course of The Odyssey, Odysseus displays hubris through many of his actions. The most prominent instance in which Odysseus shows hubris is while he and his men are trying to escape from the Cyclops Polyphemus. They drug the monster until it passes out, and then stab him with a timber in his single eye. Polyphemus, now blinded, removes the gigantic boulder blocking Odysseus’ escape, and waits for the men to move, so he can kill them. The men escape from the cave to their boat by tying themselves under flocks of rams, so they can easily slip by. Odysseus, now proud after beating the giant, starts to yell at Polyphemus, instead of making a silent escape. Odysseus’ men ask him to stop before Polyphemus would “get the range and lob a boulder” (436). But Odysseus shows hubris by saying that if they were to meet again, Odysseus would “take your life” and “hurl you down to hell!” (462; 463). Polyphemus, now extremely angry with Odysseus, prays to his father, Poseidon, to make Odysseus “never see his home” again, and after which, throws a mountain towards the sound of Odysseus’ voice. (470). Because of Odysseus’ hubris after blinding Polyphemus, Poseidon grants the prayer, and it takes Odysseus 20 years to return home, at the cost of the lives of all his men.
In Homer’s Odyssey Book 9, Odysseus and his men unknowingly landed on the island of the Cyclopes and begin exploring. They first encounter Polyphemus when they are exploring his cave full of luscious lambs, milk, and cheese. Polyphemus was not bothered by these strangers in his cave at first but this changed very fast when he made supper of two of Odysseus’s men. Odysseus knew he had to take some action in order to get out of this cave alive, so he puts his plan into motion by getting the Cyclops Polyphemus to drink three bowls of very potent wine to get him drunk. After the Cyclops Polyphemus was very drunk, Odysseus told him that his name was Noman, which will help him later on with his plan. Once the Cyclops Polyphemus was sleeping, Odysseus and a select few of his men drove a heated up olive-wood stake into his one large eye, and when other Cyclopes arrived at the commotion Cyclops Polyphemus told them that Noman was killing him. Odysseus then tied his men to the bottom of sheep to allow them to escape the cave. Upon sailing off, Odysseus shouted insults at the Cyclops Polyphemus causing him to hurl large boulders at Odysseus's ship, but he missed. He then prayed to his father, Poseidon, to never allow Odysseus to reach his home on Ithaca or if he is fated to return to have him come late, without his companions, in another’s ship, and to find trouble at
When his men were trapped in Polyphemus’s cave, Odysseus, with his cunning plan and execution, tells the Cyclops that his name is ‘Nobody.’ The men give the cyclops wine to get him drunk, stab him in the eye to blind him, and escape from the cave. Polyphemus cries for help, just for the other cyclops’ to let him be and ignore him, thinking he is perfectly fine because he yelled out that ‘Nobody’ hurt him. He was very clever to tell the monster that his name is “Nobody” so his true identity would not be revealed. Consequently, he was showing that he is a very good leader according to the text: Society in the Early Dark Age: The Basileus, where it stated that a good leader must be intelligent. Ergo, Odysseus demonstrates what it means to be a great
He was a creature of Poseidon’s niece, Athena. Odysseus wasn’t a child of Athena, but he was heroic, and was an iconic figure that ended the Greek War against the Trojans. Athena was horrified at the Greeks behavior and delayed their homecoming by tossing the ships with the stormy winds. After a while, Odysseus’ ships saw a wooded island, with smoke from fires, breaking out to the horizon. The weary Odysseus and his men walked onto the shores, and came upon a large cave with sheep pens in front of it. The men of Odysseus wanted to grab things from the cave and run out to the sea for their getaway, but Odysseus wanted to see what the host would offer him. Little did Odysseus know that the owner of the cave was Poseidon’s son, Polyphemus. Polyphemus tended his flock of sheep in the island, where the Cyclopes lived. Unknowing that men were in his cave, Polyphemus rolled a boulder over the entrance of the cave. The men were trapped, and told Polyphemus that their ship got blown off course. Odysseus additionally lied that Poseidon shattered their vessel, to protect the men still in the ship. Unfortunately, being Poseidon’s son, Polyphemus had no fear of Gods. He ate 2 men in the morning and at
To begin, one feature that makes Odysseus and epic hero is his intelligence. In order for him to have survived through his journey, he has to have a massive amount of intellect. To have survived a Cyclops is an accomplishment of its own. His ability to think on his feet and to plan situations and ability to make a right decision in horrid environments has helped him survive throughout his disastrous journey. When he is trapped by the Cyclops, Polyphemus, he has to carve, smooth, and sharpen a gigantic spear-shaped-pole out of a large tree that he and his strongest men would then use it on the Cyclops to blind it. In order to follow through with his plan, Odysseus has to sedate him. He gives Polyphemus an extremely strong wine, in which Polyphemus asks him his name. Odysseus replies: “My name is Nohbdy; mother, father, friends, everyone call me Nohbdy”(9.274-9.275) When the Cyclops passes out, Odysseus and four of his strongest men stab Polyphemus in his eye with the sharpened pole that he and his men ...
middle of paper ... ... In Homer’s Odyssey, both Odysseus and his son Telemachus embark on long, difficult journeys; Odysseus trying to return from Troy to his home in Ithaca, escaping Calypso and the island of Ogygia, and Telemachus from Ithaca to Pylos and Sparta in search of his lost father. While The Odyssey tells of the courage both men demonstrate during their respective travels, their quests are the results of the intentions and desires of gods. Odysseus is trapped in exile on Ogygia by the will of Poseidon, whose anger Odysseus attracts when he blinds the Cyclops Polyphemus, son of Poseidon, and by the love of Calypso, who wishes to make Odysseus her husband.