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Characteristics of odysseus in the epic
Characteristics of odysseus in the epic
Physical traits of Odysseus in the Odyssey
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Is it possible that Odysseus from The Odyssey, written by Homer, could have made it back sooner than the 20 years he was gone? Did his crew have some part of why he didn't get back on time? He was with Calypso for 7 years, and Circe another 1. Then he was wasting time by Aeolus for an entire month. That took minimum another couple of days to a week. The main Odyssey theme is loyalty, because some have lots and others have none. Odysseus’ crew has none for him, because they opened the bag of winds that Odysseus told them not to open, they killed the cattle of the sun god and they underestimate and talk down to Odysseus.
The first reason as to why Odysseus’ crew was disloyal, was when they opened the bag of winds from Aeolus to let them sail
In the story The Odyssey, Odysseus showed many traits. I believe the most important trait he showed was loyalty. He showed it in multiple situations. Odysseus showed loyalty when dealing with the sirens, the louts eaters, and the cyclops.
Once Odysseus has served enough time in a place against his will, he would be determined to leave that place. Odysseus’ journey towards home was now going to be able to be finished. For seven years Calypso held him prisoner on the island of Ogygia and he was determined to leave and see to the rest of his journey. Calypso agrees to let him go and she gives Odysseus some advice and guidance saying, "Only I will not aid [you] on [your] way, for I have no ships fitted with oars, nor crews to bear [you] over the broad oceanridges; but I will freely give [you] counsel and not hide how [you] may come unharmed to [your] own native land"(47). Calypso recognizes Odysseus’ greatness. Calypso says she will give some advice, but Odysseus will have to prove his greatness by making his own ship and understand how he will make it home.
Although some could possibly call Odysseus, the protagonist of Homer’s The Odyssey, a great leader, the fact that he fails to earn his men’s respect, endangers his men’s lives repeatedly and allows them to die due to his own selfishness states otherwise.
In The Odyssey, Homer conveys a mixed message about Odysseus’s crew. At times, they seem loyal, whereas other scenes reveal them as disloyal. Homer does this to help center the attention on how Odysseus can fall victim to temptation and stand up to take control of his crew. The critical moments where Odysseus and his crew are in disagreement are significant because they demonstrate how Odysseus is epic, yet still human and flawed.
I disagree with Anthony. While the captain can not always control his men, there are things that he did to create the distrust. Man, from a religious view, is a fallen species, thus sin, like greed, taunts him. Because Odysseus holds back knowledge from his men, specifically when he gives the wine of Maron to Polyphemus, he creates the distrust which cause them to open the bag of winds. Continuing from that, Odysseus does not inform his men of the sacrifice that must be made in the pass between Charybdis and Skylla; therefore, when Skylla engulfs 6 men, the trust is destroyed. Odysseus causes his own suffering because he dismantles the unity that is necessary when on a journey.
Odysseus is faced with many obstacles in which he must make smart decisions. Throughout The Odyssey, Odysseus is frequently faced with hard decisions that he must make to benefit himself and his crew. One of the most difficult decisions that Odysseus is forced to make is the choice between crossing the path of Skylla or Kharybdis. On one hand, if they go to the side of Skylla, then six of Odysseus’s men are bound to be captured and eaten by the monster. On the other hand, if they go to the side of Kharybdis, than it is a lottery between losing all the crew members to a deathly whirlpool, or everyone making it out alive. In this case scenario, Odysseus chooses to cross the path of Skylla because it would be a better decision for the crew to sacrifice only six members than to threaten the lives of all the crew members. As guaranteed, six crew members were captured and eaten by the creatures...
In the Odyssey by Homer, Odysseus must face many obstacles on his journey. He is only able to conquer them because of his wonderful qualities. He meets, a Cyclopes, Sirens, a six-headed monster, a regurgitating whirlpool, and a group of greedy, lovesick men. Some Odysseus's more important qualities are, determination, cunning, and protecting.
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.
A very obvious example of loyalty is, Penelope. She is faithful to Odysseus for over 20 years and does not give up for long time. Even when the suitors came to her house and ate her food and overstayed their welcome she did not budge and still stayed faithful to Odysseus for the whole time he was gone. She told the suitors that when she finished her tapestry she would choose who she wants to marry, but every night she would undo a piece of the tapestry just so it would take longer and it would give Odysseus more time to come back just so she would not have to choose one of the suitors.
In Homer 's The Odyssey, Odysseus is known as “the great tactician” (7.256). With the help of the goddess Athena, Odysseus must endure a challenging journey home after winning the Trojan War. Throughout Odysseus ' journey, he has to encounter and defeat many obstacles which prohibit his desired, speedy return home. During this journey, Odysseus learns that once he gets home, he will have to conquer the suitors who have invaded his home. These suitors have attempted to court his wife, raided his food supplies, and completely disrespected Odysseus and his household. Odysseus must return to his home land, Ithaka, and become king of his home again in order to make his homecoming complete. Odysseus ' master as tactician makes his homecoming
As a result of Odysseus’ dishonesty, Odysseus is able to save many of his fellow crewmates’ lives throughout Homer’s
Through some other clever thinking, he eventually got the rest of his men to the ships and they safely got underway. And it is at this particular point that Odysseus displays some conspicuously poor leadership. Instead of cutting his losses and and sailing away after losing just six men, he
Loyalty, as defined in the Odyssey seems to be the constant devotion to someone, the hopefully longing of their return and victory. Homer seems to value loyalty over many of the other human traits, as Eumaeus gets not only Homer’s famous “you” but his own book as well. The swineherd is not the only character that Homer uses to show loyalty, Penelope and Telemachus show unyielding faithfulness to Odysseus throughout the epic poem; as do many other characters even gods. Homer demonstrates the value he places on loyalty through the use of these characters with their devotion to Odysseus. Through the use of these characters Homer shows the value of loyalty by their loyalty to Odysseus.
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.
Intro: There are a wide variety of themes present throughout the Odyssey, written by Homer. Be it hospitality, perseverance, vengeance or power of the Gods, loyalty is truly the theme that brings the whole book together. Being 10 years after the Trojan War, many have forgotten about Odysseus and his men as they constantly brave what the gods throw their way. This essay will be talking about Odysseus and Penelope’s mutual loyalty to one another, the loyal relationships between Gods and men and finally, the loyalty Odysseus’ men show for him until death. This essay with prove to us that without loyalty, Odysseus’ legendary journey would have been put to an end near where they started. The general theme of loyalty is what kept Odysseus motivated and determined.