The epic poem, The Odyssey, by Homer, is about the events that happen after The Iliad. It tells the story of Odysseus and his journey home from the Trojan War. Odysseus, the King of Ithaca, encounters forces that are external and internal. These forces prevent him from returning to his homeland and achieving nostos. Although many different forces impact Odysseus’ journey home, internal forces such as recklessness and temptations hinder Odysseus and his crew from their homecoming far more greatly than external forces. The recklessness of Odysseus and his crew places them in completely avoidable predicaments that not only lengthens the journey but also results in casualties. At the start of their journey home, they sack a stronghold of the Cicones. …show more content…
After the encounter with Polyphemus, the squadron end up in the realm of Aeolus, the master of winds. Aeolus warmly welcomes Odysseus and his crew and showers them with gifts, among these gifts there is a sack containing the winds from each direction. Odysseus then frees the West Wind to speed them home. Nearing the coast of Ithaca, the crew became curious of the what the sack contained so “they loosed the sack and all the winds burst out” and sent the ship back towards Aeolus’ island(10.52). Odysseus’ crew succumbs to temptation and opens the sack unleashing the other winds. They are then blown away from Ithaca and back to Aeolus. Now instead of the journey ending, they need to find some other way home because Aeolus believes the gods cursed the crew and would not offer any more aid. The crew then rows to Circe’s island where “she enticed” them to stay “and there [they] sat at ease, / day in, day out, till a year had run its course” (10.515-16). The crew do not resist the temptation and put off their journey home. They end up spending a whole year at Circe’s island making no progress on their journey. Once they finally left Circe’s island they sailed towards Ithaca but encountered fierce winds that forced Odysseus and his crew to make landfall on Thrinacia. Here the cattle and sheep of the Sungod Helios resided. Odysseus then warns his crew to not harm the cattle and sheep, but the crew, running out of provisions, “drove off the Sun God’s finest cattle” and slaughtered them (12.380). Even though Odysseus warns the crew to not harm the cattle, the crew fails to resist the temptation and slaughtered the cattle nonetheless. Helios, enraged that his cattle were killed, prompts Zeus to punish the crew. Zeus agrees, destroys Odysseus’ ship, and kills the crew. Odysseus is spared by Zeus because he did not harm the cattle. This leaves Odysseus
Odysseus had many horrible experiences throughout his trip but one of the worst is the encounter with the Land of the Lotus Eaters. After him and his men ate the lotus flowers they forgot their mission to get home which made their trip even longer and he lost some of his men. After the Lotus Eaters they encountered the island of the Cyclopes and he lost even more men there fighting off the horrible creature. Once they started sailing the seas for longer periods of time things became worse for Odysseus and his men. He had to fight the urge to eat Helios’s cattle even though all he had was bread and rice. He had to be tied to the post on the boat to fight the urge to fall into Sirens trap, but not all his men were as strong as he was. He had
Odysseus was within arms reach of home but because of how naive he was he was forced to keep going on his journey. After all of Aeolus’ hospitality and such a powerful gift Odysseus is still mindless at what this meant and because of him not being cautious, he could not complete his adventure. It’s surprising knowing that after being on a powerful god’s bad side and being forced back to sea, that Odysseus can be even more of a fool.
“There is no safety in unlimited hubris” (McGeorge Bundy). The dictionary defines hubris as overbearing pride or presumption; arrogance. In The Odyssey, Homer embodies hubris into the characters Odysseus, the Suitors, and the Cyclopes. Odysseus shows hubris when he is battling the Cyclopes, the Cyclopes show hubris when dealing with Odysseus, and the Suitors show it when Odysseus confronts them at his home.
In there travels, Odysseus and his men land on the island of Aeolia. Here Odysseus is given a gift from the wind god Aeolus. Aeolus gathers all the stormy and evil winds and places them into a bag for Odysseus voyage. Odysseus heads back to the boat and gives specific instructions to his men not to open the bag, but he doesn't tell them what is in it. His men are curious go against their kings order. "But during the voyage, the suspicious and curious sailor's open the bag, thinking it contains treasure, and the evil winds roar up into hurricanes that threaten the luckless Odysseus again."(Page 911). If his men used self discipline they would not have been delayed even more and arrive at Ithaca earlier.
The ancient Greeks have brought upon numerous ideas, inventions, and stories to the world. Greek mythology influences modern day literature and life. The Odyssey is an epic poem written by Homer, which tells the story of Odysseus's journey home after the Trojan War. Odysseus does not achieve his goal of reaching home so easily; monsters and gods come in his way and hinder him. The Odyssey expresses Greek values of hospitality from the customs of Ithaca, humility from Odysseus’s reform, and loyalty from Odysseus’s family.
His crew makes many mistakes as they traverse across the sea in their return to Ithaca. As they lay stranded and trapped upon the island of Helios, Eurylochos said. “All deaths are hateful to miserable mortals, but the most pitiable death of all is to starve” (144). Despite the warning from Odysseus that they will all be doomed should they kill any of the sacred cows upon the island, they fear the death without remembrance and honor much more so then they fear the potential wrath of the gods that Odysseus has spoken of. This recklessness stands as their final temptation the crew faced as it resulted in each of its members’ death but it was far from their only opportunity in which they
...ily given up. Odysseus and Inman decided all their pain and suffering would be worth it if they could return home to see the faces of the ones they love.
"Odyssey" is an epic story that has been a significant piece of literature since it was first composed and will remain so for ages to come. One of the reasons it has been so is because of the hero, Odysseus.
The Odyssey is a tale that has changed literature and storytelling. In this tale Odysseus is a Soldier from the battle of Troy trying to get home to his island of Ithaca, where he is king. His wife and son must wait ten years while he is trying to make his way home. In Odysseus’s absence wooer’s, or better known as suitors, learn of his absence and travel to Ithaca to win his wife’s hand in marriage. These men come every day feasting on Odysseus’s food and wine, and give his servant’s orders. His son Telemachus, does his best to keep the suitors from ruining his fathers house but he is only a boy, and doesn’t receive the respect of an adult. Telemachus then has a visit from the god Athena, whom Odysseus is friends with, who advises him to travel to find out about his father. In his travels he hears that Odysseus may still be alive. Meanwhile Odysseus goes through a series of adventures and hardships that prove his wisdom. It is interesting in contrast of the Iliad, even though Achilles was much stronger and a better warrior, Odysseus was portrayed as a greater hero due to his wisdom. He uses this wisdom to escape from the Cyclops.
The epic poem The Odyssey, written by Homer, centers around the main protagonist Odysseus and his long journey back home. Odysseus, the king of Ithaca, returns home after defeating the Trojans in a ten year war. On his way back, he angers Poseidon, god of the sea, by blinding his son, Polyphemus the Cyclops. Due to Odysseus’ actions, Poseidon refuses to let Odysseus reach home, and Odysseus and his crew are forced to go through a series of obstacles throughout the epic. Through this adversity, Odysseus must show his heroic attributions in order to survive. Homer portrays Odysseus as a hero by giving him characteristics such as: craftiness, loyalty, and bravery.
Author Ursula K. LeGuin once said, “It is good to have an end to journey toward, but it is the journey that matters in the end.” The Odyssey is an epic poem told by Homer that is about a hero named Odysseus who faces many challenges on his journey home from the Trojan War. Even though Odysseus is a smart and strategic man, he still has many lessons to learn on his journey.
The sole survivor, Eurylochos, ran back to Odysseus and urged that they set sail immediately. He told the story of the evil goddess and how they would all be turned into swine if they dared to stay on that dangerous island (his warnings unfortunately took on the aire of cowardice... Odysseus almost killed him for it). Odysseus was not afraid. He would not leave his men as swine and he would not risk any of the other men in a fight with Circe. Odysseus went to Circe’s palace alone.
The epic poem called The Odyssey, which was written by the poet Homer, is one of the many classical stories from Ancient Greek culture. It tells the story of Odysseus, King of Ithaca, and his journey back home from the war with Troy, which had occurred in Homer’s other epic Greek poem, The Illiad. Odysseus faces many trials and quests in his journey home and to take back his kingdom from the suitors, such as meeting the witch Circe, blinding a Cyclops named Polyphemus, dealing with Poseidon, and staying with the goddess Calypso. The poem has many themes that are relevant to it. One such theme is the factor of redemption. Redemption is usually a typical subject in any kind of religion, like the Greek religion and Christian religion. The story of Odysseus has an underlying message of him receiving redemption from the Greek gods. The Odyssey is a tale of redemption because it deals with Odysseus being forgiven by the gods after having to go through many trials and wrongs to rightfully claim back his wife and the throne of Ithaca.
Odysseus was an epic hero depicted in the Homer's The Odyssey. He responded to the call to travel to Troy to help Agamemnon get Helen. He encountered great confrontation along the way. He fought the Cicones, the Lotus Eaters, the Cyclops, Polyphemus, the Laestrygonians, the witch goddess Circe, the lonely Sirens, Scylla, Charybdis, the Sun, and Calypso. He and his men traveled great distances under severe circumstances. Odysseus answers a second call to return home to his family. He returns a more mature warrior and a wiser man. Because of this he is able to conquer the suitors and reclaim his palace and his family. As in all Greek literature, the epic hero Odysseus answers a call to action, suffers through great confrontation, and returns with a better understanding of life.
“The Odyssey” is an epic poem that tells the story of Odysseus and the story of his many travels and adventures. The Odyssey tells the main character’s tale of his journey home to the island of Ithaca after spending ten years fighting in the Trojan War, and his adventures when he returns home and he is reunited with his family and close friends. This literary analysis will examine the story and its characters, relationships, major events, symbols and motifs, and literary devices.