One character that really interested me in book 12 is Scylla. Scylla is a sea serpent who lived on one side of the water channel. On the other of the channel is her sister Charybdis. In The Odyssey, written by Homer, Scylla is described as, “she has twelve legs, all writhing, dangling down and six long swaying necks, a hideous head on each, each head barbed with a triple row of fangs, thickset, packed tight — armed to the hilt with black death”(Homer 27). According to this imagery, Scylla is shown as a hideous monster who has 12 legs, almost like an octopus. The research I collected from Theoi has the same idea, Scylla is a sea monster is who located between a narrow strait, opposite from the whirlpool of Charybdis. Ships that sailed too close to her would lose an exact number of six men to her hungry heads. …show more content…
One tradition states that Sylla was once a beautiful maiden, who hung out with the nymphs of the sea. She was loved by a marine-god called Glaucus. He asked for help from Circe, the sea witch, to get Scylla to like her back. However, Circe has fallen in love with Glaucus and was really jealous of Scylla.So being the sea-witch, she mixed magic herbs into Scylla bathing water. The magic herbs played huge effects on the body, the upper body was fine, but the lower part was transformed into a serpent-like tail with dogs surrounding it (Theoi). The book doesn’t go into depth about this, but it can be inferred that Scylla got all this rage in her because of this incident. But by knowing what happened Scylla, we can infer that Scylla is a nice and a caring person on the inside, but after Circe turned her into a monster, the deception of her is shown a
The Odyssey has some dark themes and plots, from Odysseus stabbing the Cyclops in the eye to Scylla devouring six of the crew members. Therefore, it is crucial that the author
Did you know, that although caves, and disguises play a small literal role in The Odyssey, are major symbols, and sometimes even considered archetypes? Sometimes when quickly reading through a book, one does not pick up on the symbolic interpretation of many images created throughout the book. A man named Homer wrote The Odyssey around 800 B.C. The story was a Greek epic poem, illustrating the struggle of Odysseys, the hero, to return home. He had gone to a war in Troy, leaving his family behind. Upon his return, his hubris angered the gods of Olympus, and they delayed his journey home 10 years. Throughout the story Athena, the goddess of wisdom, aids Odysseus. She intercedes for him on his behalf at Olympus, and helps him in his physical toils during his journey. While Odysseus was away, his wife began to be courted by the landholders and nobles of the area. These suitors plundered the house of Odysseus and angered his son, Telemachos, who then left to go looking for news of his father. In the end, Odysseus makes it home to his wife Penelope with the help of Athena, and his son Telemachos. Whenever Athena physically appears on earth to help either Odysseus or Telemachos, she usually appears in disguise as someone else. Throughout Odysseus' journey he also encounters several caves, which have not only a literal but also a symbolic meaning in each episode. The mysticism of caves, and the repetition of episodes with veils, concealment, or disguises, have a minor literal role in the book, but are of tremendous symbolic importance.
One of the most difficult tasks as a parent is to teach your child lifes lessons. Many have tried, and many have failed. But over the ages most successful ideas have come in a form of story or tale. Aesops Fables, nursery rhymes, and other tales of caution are used even today to teach this common knowledge one must have. In the Greek civilization, thousands of years ago, many children were taught through these fun and interesting stories. The Odyssey is one of these tales. Through the many episodes telling the adventures of one man, Odysseus, numerous life lessons and morals were taught to the reader. One valuable episode in The Odyssey is Scylla and Charybdis. Not only does it provide excitement and interest for the reader, but it is an effective part of The Odyssey because of its superb insight to Odysseus character, and the clear life lesson that is taught. Especially in todays' world, one key to making a story interesting or exciting is to include action. For example many recent blockbuster hits are action packed.
In The Odyssey, the main character Odysseus is the main focus of the epic. The story is based upon his adventures over ten years after the fall of Troy, and his struggle to return home. His wife, Penelope waits in loyalty ten years for him to return, but Odysseus is held captive by a beautiful nymph named Calypso. Calypso fell in love with Odysseus as soon as he landed on her home island of Ogygia. Calypso, ridiculed by the gods for having a mortal man as her lover, lets Odysseus free but not after 7 years of captivity. This is a significant focus of...
...s, a prophet, and Circe, a Nymph, that he would be the only one to survive the voyage home. First, Scylla takes and eats six of Odysseus’ men and after they stop on Helios’ Island, the men eat Helios’ cattle. He tries in every way he knows to keep his men alive, but they did not abstain themselves from eating the cattle, so they perish.
(12.196) Without Circe’s warning, he would have been drawn into the song and perished. The food of the Lotus-eaters, like the song of the Sirens, causes those who eat it to forget everything they know. Those who ate the fruit had to be bound to the ship, like Odysseus must be tied to the mast in order to bypass the Sirens .... ... middle of paper ...
The suitors were also considered villains. The monster or villain is a crucial archetype- without it, there would be no one to stand against. The suitors are bullies. In line 1228, a suitor hits Odysseus, disguised as a beggar, with a stool. They even insult his family by taking advantage of his wife and planning to murder his son. The suitors would be the kind of men society would similarly hate now. The cyclops are classic monsters. The article, Monster archetypes in the Odyssey, says, “This is a monster who would function in the same horrifying capacity in a modern horror film. Meaning, the same terrors of the ancient Greeks are just as scream-worthy today. For example, in entertainment the idea of a villain with facial disfigurement and homicidal tendencies is common. Scylla and Charybdis are two other common monster depictions. In line 821 of the Odyssey, “She(Scylla) ate them as they shrieked there, in her den…” The crewmembers were not instantly killed as Scylla ate. The Odyssey compares Scylla’s feast to a man surfcasting, making the deaths sad and bloody. The placement of Scylla and Charybdis creates a different archetype as well: a
Homer’s The Odyssey chronicles Odysseus’s return home from the Trojan War to reunite with his wife, kingdom, and son. However, Odysseus has been encountering serious difficulties that have prevented him from reaching home for nearly twenty years. These difficulties include various different types of monsters, each of which seems to embody undesirable traits such as laziness or savagery. The Greeks portray creatures with these traits as monsters as an example of the Greeks’ “better” traits and subsequent superiority. Each species of monster within The Odyssey represents one or more qualities that the Greeks have demonized in comparison to themselves.
These women are describe as monsters because they serve the purpose to tempt men off their journey and settle instead of returning back home. “No crew can boast that they ever sailed their ship past Scylla unscathed, for from every blue-prowed vessel she snatches and carries off a man with each of her heads” (Odyssey 159). Syclla is describe as a female because she serves as a metaphor to travelers. Although she may not be a six headed monster that eats her victims, she does snatch, though, snatch men off their ship. She represent women on the islands that snatch men off their ship tempting them to stay on the island to live with them. Another monster that represent women role in tempting men to settle on the islands are the sirens. “Hears the Sirens ' voices; no welcome from his wife, no little children brightening at their father 's return” (Odyssey 158). The Sirens represent women that seduced men into staying on the islands with them. Once these men fell in love with these women, they soon forgot about their families at home and prefer to settle in the new island. Another huge temptation to the men on the voyage home was Circe. She was describe as a “formidable goddess with the beautiful hair and a woman 's voice” (Odyssey 160). Thus, revealing Ulysses attachment to the witch that tried to kill him and his men. Since Ulysses and his men stayed years in
She is always spoken of respectfully and is remembered for her heroic deeds. She is not degraded like many of the other women Odysseus sees in the underworld. Everyone worships her and speaks about her achievements with great admiration; she is truly admired, but because she is a goddess. Athena has control over men that most women in The Odyssey do not. Women 's lives depend on what men think of them, on the other hand, men 's lives depend on Athena 's opinion of them. Athena is "Zeus ' virgin daughter" and no one has used her in that way. She is too important to be used as being an enjoyment for men; they depend on her for their own welfare. Another woman that plays a big role in this epic is Calypso. Calypso a nymph, a child of Zeus, and lives on an island in the middle of the ocean. One day Odysseus is sent to her by the god of the sea, Poseidon, because Poseidon was mad at Odysseus for blinding his son, the Cyclops. It is on this island that another woman is used as a sexual toy and is not thought of for her own achievements, but rather for her beauty, and the fact that she is the daughter of Zeus. Men in The Odyssey only value women who they can use for physical needs and wealth, such as the women in the underworld that Odysseus encounters, and Penelope. Homer shows us how men in The Odyssey consider women less important than men. The readers rarely hear of women throughout the book. When they do, they are shown
In the era of Homer, women played a very specific role in society, and even in literature. Women of this time were basically put in a box, and expected to never step out of line. If they did go against the arbitration of men, then they were faced with serious consequences. However, female characters play a huge role in both aiding, and delaying Odysseus’s journey home. I will proceed to analyze, and interpret the actions and intentions of every major female character in The Odyssey.
The image of seductresses is a recurring motif in The Odyssey. These women are a temptation to Odysseus. They attempt to keep Odysseus from accomplishing his goal: his homecoming. Circe is a bewitching goddess. She entices Odysseus’ crew into her palace with her enchanting voice. However, after she feeds them, she promptly turns them into pigs. Circe also succeeds in enticing Odysseus; he stays with her one year as her lover. It is so long that his crew declares that it is “madness” (326). They say that it is “high time” that Odysseus thinks of his homeland (326). Later on, Odysseus and his crew encounter the sirens. Knowing the danger they pose, Odysseus has all his men’s ears stopped up with wax. However, Odysseus wishes to hear their song; so he asks his crew to tie him to the mast. The song of the sirens is so sweet and enticing. Their “ravishing voices” almost make Odysseus forget his desire to return home (349). His heart “throbbed” to listen longer; he signals for his men to let him go free. The grea...
Circe and Calypso have very little in common except that they both were waiting for and loved Odysseus. Both did trap Odysseus on their island however they did this by two drastically different methods. Calypso saved Odysseus from drowning after his shipwrecked and then forced him to stay on the island which is in strong contrast to Circe who stuck a deal with Odysseus in order to keep him on the island with her for a little longer. Another comparison that can be made is how Odysseus felt during his time with both women. With Circe, Odysseus had to be told by his men that many years had passed because he had almost forgotten what why he wanted to leave so fast. This experience stands in drastic contrast with his experience with Calypso. This
Upon the isle of Circe, the crew had been tasked under Eurylochos to discover the circumstances of the witch at the center of the island. But only Eurylochos returned to tell the tale of their capture, how Circe, “asked them to come in; they all followed her, in their innocence … but she put deadly drugs in the mess, to make them wholly forget their native land” (117). The rest of the crew gave into the temptation of the beautiful Circe, drawn into her house despite warned caution in their scouting. It also stands as a bit of irony that the man who would lead the crew into their eventual demise was the only one to stand strong and suspect that not everything was as they appeared with Circe. Among the lotus eaters, the crew was tasked with learning more about the island’s native people. But upon finding them the men, “tasted that honey-sweet fruit, they thought no more of coming back to us with news, but chose rather to stay … and chew their lotus, and [say] good-bye to home” (102). The lack of caution among Odysseus’s sailors leads to their loss of individualism as they attain a death of a sorts, unable to live as men and incapable of attaining kleos. These reckless and unwise actions taken by each of the sailors was done in their greed for an immortality through remembrance but ultimately provided nothing but their