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The Odyssey : the story of a tragic hero
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The Odyssey : the story of a tragic hero
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Dear my beloved, mystical, beautiful wife Penelope, I write this last letter to you, my love, sharing my deepest and darkest secrets and my adventures. First I started my journey fighting the battle in Troy against the Trojan. Then I my journey to get back home to you and Telemachus. We traveled past Ismarus and the Lotus eaters, finally reaching our real challenge, meeting the cyclopes Polyphemus. We ventured into his cave and found ourselves eating cheese. However, the monster soon returned to his lair, trapping us within it. He grew angry, devouring two of our men. We intoxicated him, then punctured his single eye. We found a way out in an intellectual way by hiding under the sheeps and going out in the morning. Unfortunately, I became a
little cocky and taunted the cyclops, shouting my name back at the island. However, we did not know Poseidon was his father and the god of the sea destroyed many of our ships, with only mine escaping. After the occurrence with the cyclopes we headed to many other islands where we found very quaint and friendly people. On the island of Aeaea, the sympathetic king gifted us a bag of winds to send us back to my loved Ithaca. My dearest wife, we were so close to you and my dearest son but, my men opened the bag of wind, thinking there was gold and silver within it and sent us back to where we started. Later, we ventured to Circe's Island where we faced the nymph who first turned my men into pigs with her magical potions and magical ways. However, I found help by Hermes with a potion that would make circe's magic useless. I fought her and gained my men's freedom and they were restored to their human state. The story becomes very interesting when I travel to the underworld. I saw my mother down there and that was very painful for me. However, I heard news of you and that made me happy. But, my love, I want you to know to never let those suitors take advantage of you. In the next couple of weeks, we encountered Scylla, the six headed dragon and charybdis, the colossal whirlpool, at the same time. This experience was very hazardous because these two large beasts were the worst of the worst. I chose to take on Scylla and he took six of my men. After that devastating encounter, we landed on Helios’s island and were happy, at first. However, the food soon ran low and my men became ravenous. My backstabbing shipmate, Eurylochus, turned the men against me and made a stupendous decision to eat the sun cows that Circe told us not to eat. Now, they have eaten the cows and I fear that the gods will take it out on me and my men. My love you are the favorite being in the world and being away from you and Telemachus has pained my heart very much. I will regret this for this rest of life but I must admit this to you. Previously on Circe’s island, I chose to make love with her. I had no other choice due to her persuading ways. However, I still love you more than anything in the world and would risk everything for you. Please remember when I am gone. I love you and Telemachus with the dearest of my heart and hope all is well. I say my final goodbyes to you now and hope to meet you in the next life. Sincerely, Odysseus.
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 the Odyssey, written by, Homer Penelope seems, at first, to be portrayed as someone constantly weeping for her husband, while being oblivious to the struggles of her kingdom. However, the story actually portrays her as someone who is in control of her surroundings. Penelope is torn at the thought of not seeing her husband again. Back when Penelope was alive it was not proper for a lady to be with more than one man and Penelope knew this. She did not wish to be with more than one man, so she used her weeping to distract her suitors so she would not be looked at with disgrace in her century. After twenty years Penelope is given strength, while pretending to be oblivious, in a categorical way Penelope demonstrates her
The Odyssey - Scylla and Charybdis & nbsp; One of the most difficult tasks as a parent is to teach your child life lessons. Many have tried, and many have failed. But over the ages, the most successful ideas have come in the form of a 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.
Like Jacob, Odysseus connived, manipulated, and deceived. On his journey home from the Trojan War, Odysseus uses his trickster ways to get himself out of trouble. One famous tail was his encounter with the one-eyed Cyclopes Polyphemous. Odysseus and his crew landed on the land of they Cyclopes. They made themselves at home, eating the cheese and goats of the Cyclopes, fully expecting him to be hospitable. Instead, Cyclops began eating then men as though they were animals themselves. Odysseus and his men were trapped in the cave and Polyphemous rolled a stone over the entrance so no one could exit. Odysseus connived a plan and gave the Cyclopes some wine. When he got drunk and passed out, Odysseus poked out the eye of Polyphemous and completely blinds him. Odysseus and his men escape the cave by clinging to the bellies of sheep (Odyssey, Ch. 9). He also disguised himself as a veteran of a Trojan war to Eumaios, a loyal servant, and as a beggar to his wife and son.
There was kind of ambiguity when the Odyssey and Penelope started to talk to each other’s after the maid had wash his feet. When Penelope described her dream as she said about the eagle who came and killed all the suiters whom she would not like to marry with and talked to her with a human voice, telling her that he is her husband. I also found Odysseus responds tricky a little bit, because sometimes he is about to say that he is Odysseus and sometimes his responds are just like a new story to Penelope. The poor Penelope did not recognize her beloved husband Odysseus, because she is certain that he died many years ago. However, she held her hope like a woman holding a candle in the middle of the dark. She could not forget her husband and it
“I was obliged to memorize the wanderings of a hero named Aeneas, while in the meantime I failed to remember my own erratic ways. I learned to lament the death of Dido, who killed herself for love, while all the time, in the midst of these things, I was dying, separated from you, my God and my Life.
Of all the heroic traits such as honor and glory, given to the reader through Homer’s epic poems loyalty seems to be the strongest, as with Patroclus in the Iliad, so it is with Penelope, Telemachus, and Eumaeus in the Odyssey. Through the use of these characters loyalty is demonstrated to Odysseus, the hero if the poem. Their undying loyalty and devotion to the warring hero gives perfect examples of how humans should act to those they claim to be faithful too.
Penelope serves as his motivation and aids in his characterization as a loving husband as well as a vicious, ruthless warrior. Back in Ogygia, he explicitly states in his farewell to Calypso that he longs for his wife: “ ‘My lady goddess, there is no cause for anger. My quiet Penelope-how well I know-would seem a shade before your majesty, death and old age being unknown to you, while she must die. Yes it is true, each day I long for home, long for the sight of home’ ”(V. 224-229). He refers to Penelope as “my quiet Penelope,” meaning she is most beholden to him and is his. Though he degrades Penelope by saying she is less beautiful than Calypso, he has a great love for Penelope, that brings out Odysseus’s true feelings. Even though
In the ending chapters of The Odyssey Homer bring about many interesting points in which would bring us to believe that in fact Penelope had helped to slay the suitors. Penelope did not physically help to slay the suitors when Odysseus had been in the room killing them. It was Penelope’s actions leading up to this scene that may have helped Odysseus in his successful killing spree of the suitors. For the case of the argument we will discuss points in which it is believed that she had recognized him disguised as the old man, which gave her the ability to help Odysseus. On the other hand, the argument that she may have not recognized Odysseus would contribute us into believing that she did not help Odysseus to slay the suitors but that things
The Ancient Greeks sought to define how humans should view their lives and how to create an existence dedicated to the basis of the “ideal” nature. This existence would be lived so as to create an “honorable” death upon their life’s end. Within their plays, both dramas and comedies, they sought to show the most extreme characteristics of human nature, those of the wise and worthy of Greek kleos along with the weak and greedy of mind, and how they were each entitled to a death but of varying significance. The Odyssey, their greatest surviving drama, stands as the epitome of defining both the flawed and ideal human and how each individual should approach death and its rewards and cautions through their journeys. Death is shown to be the consequence
The Theme of Women in The Odyssey by Homer In the Homer's epic poem the Odyssey, there are many themes that serve to make a comment about the meanings of the story. The theme of women in the poem serves to make these comments but also establishes a point of view on women in the reader. From this point of view, a perspective is developed into the "best" and "worst" in women. Achievement of this is through the characterization of many women with single notable evil qualities.
There are many essential emotions that form the building blocks of our lives. These emotions help to shape the people that we are. These feelings are emotional necessities to ultimately keep us happy. No piece of literature these feelings more evident than the Odyssey by Homer. Throughout the course of this book there is one major emotional theme: love.
In book eight of Homer’s The Odyssey, Odysseus is on the island of the Phaeacians and is waiting to return home to Ithaca. Meanwhile, Alcinous, the Phaeacian king, has arranged for a feast and celebration of games in honor of Odysseus, who has not yet revealed his true identity. During the feast, a blind bard named Demodocus sings about the quarrel between Odysseus and Achilles at Troy. The song causes Odysseus to start weeping, so Alcinous ends the feast and orders the games to begin. During dinner after the games, Odysseus asks Demodocus to sing about the Trojan horse and the sack of Troy. This song too causes Odysseus to break down and cry. Homer uses a dramatic simile to describe the pain and sorrow that Odysseus feels as he recalls the story of Troy.
The Odyssey was written by Homer and is a Greek Epic Poem. It tells the story of how Odysseus returned from Troy after the Trojan War and his adventures and experiences of the journey. In the book, Odysseus is portrayed as a hero by his actions and how he copes with the challenging situations of his trip. Throughout the nearly 10 years traveling, Odysseus showed responsibility, justice, and wisdom in each one of his trials.
In Greece, on the island of Ithaka, the queen awaits the homecoming of her husband from the Trojan War. However, Odysseus does not return from the war unlike his fellow shield brothers, leaving his wife alone in Ithaka with their son. Penelope is left in a very vulnerable situation because suitors are now coming into her home looking to marry her, as whoever she chooses to marry would become the king of Ithaka. Penelope is forced to adjust to life without her husband, and in a way, fend for herself completely. This is not a problem for Queen Penelope, however. Penelope is not only the most loyal wife, but also exudes a self-confidence and intelligence befitting of the Queen of Ithaka.