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Virtues of Greek society in the Odyssey
The odyssey morals essay
Virtues of Greek society in the Odyssey
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These monsters and men that Heracles killed didn’t really deserve to die. In a way they did deserve it, but honestly since they didn't do anything to Heracles he shouldn’t have killed them. I know to get his labors done he had to kill these monsters and men, but he shouldn’t have. He also shouldn’t have “killed his own wife and children”, but he did that anyways. Once he killed his wife and kids I think he should’ve just been put in jail or something. I don’t like the death penalty really and I think him getting killed himself would’ve been better than him going out and killing all of those other monsters and men. Heracles didn’t kill or even hurt Cerberus, but still managed to bring him back to Eurystheus and finish the labor he was assigned
While sailing away from Cyclops' island, Odysseus calls out, "'Kyklops, if ever mortal man inquire how you were put to shame and blinded, tell him Odysseus, raider of cities, took your eye: Laërtes' son, whose home's on Ithaka" (IX, 548-552). Cyclops calls on his father, Zeus, to wreak havoc upon the sea after receiving multiple insults from Odysseus. As a result, Odysseus and his shipmates are not able to return home as quickly as planned. Later in their journey, the sailors encounter the sun god, Helios', cows: "they have killed your kine.' And the Lord Helios burst into angry speech among the immortals: 'O Father Zeus and gods in bliss forever, punish Odysseus' men! So overweening, now they have killed my peaceful kine...Restitution or penalty they shall pay-- and pay in full'" (XII, 481-490). Circe warns them to refrain from eating Helios' cows, however, Odysseus' men eat them anyway. They are punished by death, and Odysseus is the only one allowed to live. This disregard for a Greek value results in a fate similar to that of other characters in the
The Odyssey is an epic home it was written by homer in the classical Greek. The story is about the main character Odysseus a Trojan war hero and his journey to return home to Ithaca conflict and obstacles are throughout the story and affect different characters many of the characters experience some form of reciprocity by the end of the epic and get what they
“What goes around comes around”,this great saying means that kindness is key. In the Odyssey by Homer, one important theme states how hospitality and kindness are always the best policy. Temptations and Obstacles represents a glimpse of allegory in life. Friendship is also a great thing in life because it's about support through tough and good times. Always feel generous with your kindness and support like Odysseus did on his journey.
Throughout The Odyssey, written by Homer and translated by Robert Fagles, the reader is shown many examples of ancient Greek values. As Odysseus travels home from Troy, he is faced with many challenges. Some test his physical and mental strength, while others test his moral values and how he holds up against more psychological adversaries. The Ancient Greeks have very entrenched beliefs and their actions show it. Some of the most important Greek values include Hospitality, Loyalty, and intelligence.
The sum of all human traits is defined as human nature, meaning the excuse for our vices, and the flaws of mortal life. In Homer's The Odyssey, the main character Odysseus demonstrates these flaws throughout his journey, constantly struggling through the eternal fight for realization of life and death, and is weighed down by the never ending power struggle of nature versus mankind.
Undoubtedly there has been a tremendous amount of speculation and dissection of this play by countless people throughout the ages. I can only draw my own conclusions as to what Sophocles intended the meaning of his play to be. The drama included a number of horrific and unthinkable moral and ethical dilemas, but I believe that was what made the play so interesting and that is exactly the way Sophocles intended it to be. The play was obviously meant to entertain and portray the author’s own insight. The underlying theme to the play is that no man should know his own destiny, it will become his undoing. This knowledge of things to come was presented to both Laius and Oedipus in the form of prophecies well in advance of it coming to be. The prophecies told of things that were so morally disturbing that they both aggressively did everything in their power to try and stop them from coming true. The story begins with Oedipus at the height of power as King of Thebes. His kingdom has encountered rough times and he has sent his nobleman Creon to seek help from the god Apollo to restore his land. Creon tells Oedipus that he must find the murderer of the previous King Laius and by finding this man and banishing him, his land will be restored. The murder occurred some time ago and King Oedipus sends for the seer Theiresias with his powers of prophecy to aid in the search for the murderer. Sophocles cleverly projects his feelings on wisdom and knowledge through Teirsias when he says “Alas, how terrible is wisdom when it brings no profit to the man that’s wise!”(23) Teirsias knows that this terrible prophecy has already been set into motion and the damage has already been done. There is really no point in telling it to Oedipus because it will only cause more harm than good. Oedipus provokes Teirsias into telling him the prophecy, “ Í tell you, king, this man, this murderer-he is here. In name he is a stranger among citizens but soon he will be shown to be a citizen true native Theban, and he’ll have no joy of the discovery: blindness for sight and beggary for riches his exchange, he shall go journeying to a foreign country tapping his way befor him with a stick.
in 82 BC, he issued a list of enemies to be executed. Caesar was not harmed but
Sometimes we can not always give what they deserve but, giving them less than what they deserve is unfair. The bible believes in an eye for an eye. Meaning you can kill someone who has killed. I believe in punishing murders and they should get nothing less than what they deserve, but an eye for an eye, to me, is not always the correct punishment. I am in favor of proportional retributivism because it allows flexibility within a range of murder cases. It would allow a more heinous murderer to receive the death penalty and a less severe murder criminal to receive life in prison without violating
Through recent human history, there have been many plays in different aspects of literature. In Greek Mythology, the myth of Heracles can be inspected as to whether he is a hero or a murderer. One Greek writer, Euripides, writes about the tragic story of Heracles. It is a story about tragedy, madness, humanization of a hero and psychological natures. The story explores the interplay between if Heracles is sane or insane, and how he falls from all his glory and emerges from the dark, ember ashes as a changed, humble man through the phenomenon of friendship. In my opinion, Heracles is an innocent being and his body is used by an external spirit to deliver an evil onto himself.
The gods would also punish men for something another man did. Semele was punished by Hera because Zeus had fallen in love with her. Hera had Semele ask Zeus for something that would kill her and Zeus had to give it to here because he had sworn it on the river Styx. This again shows that gods are very
When Oedipus was running away from Corinth to end the prophecy he killed four men. Killing is something not condone in the Greek society, especially not killing a king. “[H]earing you just now…makes my thoughts race back and forth….. I think I’ve just called down a dreadful curse upon myself – I simply didn’t know” (pg.1150- 1151). Oedip...
Odysseus should not be condemned for his actions. There are many justifiable reasons for the method in which he punished those who were disloyal and uncivil. One should take into consideration his trials, and put themselves in Odysseus’s place. If you came home after twenty years, and found men about your wife, (or women about your husband) would you consider morality first? In Odysseus’s case anyway, his all powerful heart and emotion filled his brain with rage. And any human being today would submit their mind to their feelings if their souls had been tossed about on the sea by Poseidon.
In The Odyssey, book nine and ten written by Homer, Odysseus constantly embodies the principal characteristics of a hero which are : cleverness, leadership, and selflessness. Thus, this character is regarded as an idol among the other characters and greatly captures the reader’s sympathy for his choices and the fruit to his actions in life. First, Odysseus displays cleverness in Book Nine when he tricks the Cyclops Poluphemus that his name is “nobody” in order to escape the horrors of the cyclop’s cave. He states: “Nobody--so my mother and father call me, all my friends” (Homer, 18). Second, Odysseus is a brave leader of his army especially in book ten when he displays leadership by motivating his comrades in keep trying to sail despite the
Within the Penelopiad, Atwood’s responds to the cultural values of Homer’s Odyssey through the characterisation of Penelope. Penelope’s narrative perspective exposes aspects of gender and class relationships that the Homeric original ignores. Atwood couples this with multiple genres and an emphasis on the process of myth formation. This serves to challenge the construction of the Odyssey as a tool to encode social norms. However, this focus on subjectivity also emphasises the unreliable female narration of the Penelopiad. Conflict between these female characters reinforces values imposed within the Odyssey. Penelope’s interaction with other women demonstrates her compliance with Homeric ideas about class and gender. To a major extent, the
book takes place in, is called to action and set in motion on his Hero