Most are familiar with the great and perilous journey the clever Odysseus undertook after conquering the Trojans in the Trojan War. Although his legacy was passed down orally by many generations, the Greek poet Homer eventually gathered all the stories and compiled them into a single epic poem of Odysseus' adventures; this poem is known today as The Odyssey. The story begins after the Greeks ingeniously fool the Trojans into taking them into their city and as a result, emerge victorious from the prolonged war. Odysseus begins the road back to his family and home in Ithaca, expecting it to only take a few years. However, he comes across various obstacles such as monsters and temptations that hinder and extend his absence from Ithaca to two …show more content…
While trapped in Polyphemus the Cyclops' cave with the monster mercilessly devouring his men, Odysseus develops a plan involving a "chopped out... six foot section of this pole / ...hewed again / to make a stake with pointed end," (Homer 271-275); Odysseus and his men were to "thrust / and grind that spike in Cyclop's eye, when [in] mild sleep..." (Homer 280-282). Despite accidentally coming across the inhospitable and murderous monster, Odysseus manages to remain calm and confident, devising a risky yet clever plan to escape the cave. However, his scheme involves an extremely challenging feat – skewering the eye of Polyphemus; managing to trick the monster by drifting it off to sleep, stabbing its eye, then avoiding its terrible reactions requires an enormous amount of bravery and courageousness to complete. Similar to Odysseus, the heroic Katniss Everdeen faces her own horrific obstacle – mutts with disturbing human-like abilities that resemble large wolves – but manages to "shoot my arrow down the throat of the first mutt that places its paws on the metal" (Collins 332) and drive Cato, her enemy, into the herd of creatures to be torn apart (Collins 336). At the Cornucopia, Katniss is confronted with horrifying, Gamemaker-made mutations, yet she is still able to cope with her fear and remain brave for both her and her lover, Peeta. With some quick and clever thinking, Katniss then shoots Cato, tumbling him over the top of the cornucopia to distract the mutts waiting at the bottom while at the same time entertaining the sadistic audience. Despite being faced with terrible obstacles, both Odysseus and Katniss Everdeen maintain their cool and develop quick-witted solutions to withstand their
What would you do for entertainment in a time before television? The Ancient Greeks solved this dilemma with Bards. Humans have always enjoyed great stories and storytellers; the ancient Greeks were no different. However, oral tradition can encompass and convey much more than stories. It can reveal an identity, motivation or persuade an audience. For the Ancient Greeks, stories take on the additional role as the sharing and spreading of information. So, while it is enjoyable to hear tales of adventure, oral tradition has practical uses too.
“O muse! Sing in me, and through me tell the story...Of that man skilled in all the ways of contending...A wanderer, harried for years on end…” (Homer). These are the opening words of The Odyssey. This is also in the opening scene of O Brother Where Art Thou?. O Brother is a reception of the revered story of Odysseus’ journey with a bit of a twist. The works have similarities that only a person well informed of the Odyssey could see. The Odyssey and O Brother highlight the trials of the main character’s journeys. While the Odyssey was written in the eighth century, O Brother is set during the 1930s in the deep south. Each of the trials that the characters face is supposed to make them quit their journey, but they proceed with greater determination.
I compared the Robert Fitzgerald translation with the Stanley Lombardo translation of the invocation of the muse from Homer's Odyssey. Fitzgerald describes Odysseus by saying “he saw townlands and learned the minds of many distant men”. Lombardo's also describes Odysseus saying “of the cities he saw the minds the grasped”. They both explicitly say that someone is visiting many cities and learned minds of different men. The word learned implies that it took time to understand the minds, but the word grasp means that the understanding of the minds was taken quickly. The Fitzgerald text makes Odysseus seem like a patient person willing to take time and learn his surroundings. The Lombardo text makes Odysseus seem like a strong-willed person who does not give much thought into his
“Cyclops, if ever mortal man inquire how you were put to shame and blinded, tell him Odysseus, raider of cities, took your eye, Laertes’ son, whose home’s on Ithaca!” There are two important leaders on is Odysseus from Homer’s The Odyssey and Luke Skywalker from Star Wars IV. Odysseus and Luke are both wise, but Odysseus is more arrogant. He being arrogant makes him less of a better leader, more of a stubborn person, and more narcissistic.
In Odyssey, Homer creates a parallel between Odysseus and Telemachos, father and son. The two are compared in the poem from every aspect. One parallel was the quest of Telemachos, in correlation with the journey of his father. In this, Odysseus is developed from a childish, passive, and untested boy, to a young man preparing to stand by his father's side. This is directly connected to the voyage of Odysseus, in that they both lead to the same finale, and are both stepping-stones towards wisdom, manhood, and scholarship.
The myths of David and Goliath and Odysseus and Polyphemos from the Hebrew bible and the Odyssey, respectively, are examples of the classic little hero versus large enemy story. From both the Hebrews and the Greeks we receive iterations of the same myth of how the gigantic antagonist belittles the seemingly frail young man simply because of his short stature compared to that of the antagonist’s, but in the end he is subdued by the young man with an uncommon method. Warrior Odysseus and shepherd boy David both encounter their own menacing giant, a Cyclops and the champion of Gath, who they bravely defeat which results in the increase of morale
The Hero’s Journey is never an easy one. This particular journey, as detailed in Homer’s The Odyssey, is one of struggle, loss, heartache, pain, growth and triumph. It is comprised of many steps that Odysseus has to overcome and battle through in order to achieve his final goal of reaching his home and his loved ones. From the Call to Adventure to the Freedom or Gift of living, Odysseus conquered them all. The story begins in the middle of the story, as many of the oral Greek traditions did, with the Journey of Telemachus to find his father. Although Telemachus has not yet met his father, it is almost as if they are journeying together, where the end of both of their journeys results in being reunited. Telemachus journeys from being a boy to becoming a man, while out in the sea Odysseus is battling Poseidon to return to the home that wife that he loves and the home he has left behind.
There are numerous heroes throughout “The Odyssey,” but none of them are as significant as Odysseus. “The Odyssey” is a narrative poem written by Homer (around 800 and 600 BCE) to show the numerous adventures and experiences Odysseus goes through. Throughout the Odyssey, Odysseus a prominent Greek epic hero is on a quest to return back to his home in Ithaca; to his wife Penelope, and his son Telemachus. Just like real life, not all heroes are picture-perfect; they all have imperfections. In this case, Odysseus is sometimes insolent, and discourteous; but he is still considered an epic hero because of the many heroic qualities he endures. Odysseus proves himself to be an outstanding hero in various ways such as showing loyalty, intelligence, bravery, strength, and courage which are all some of the most momentous qualities found in a hero. If a true hero can prove they are a true hero, makes them a true hero.
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 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.
“O Brother, Where Art Thou?” includes a young, not Gary Busey, George Clooney at his finest playing, Ulysses Everett McGill. Ulysses is a fun character with a conman personality leading his crew to the treasure of a life time. The story takes place during the time of the great depression and Ulysses and his two fellow convicts escape from prison at the start of their journey. Throughout the movie, the three main characters go on an adventure to “secure the treasure”, with Ulysses depicted as their leader. He makes the men believe that fortune is in their future when, in reality, they are helping Ulysses get back to his wife before she remarries. The clock is ticking for our adventurers, as they do everything possible to make it on time. The
Homer’s epic Greek poem, The Odyssey, in which Odysseus and his men must fight their way home to Ithaca after battling in the ten-year Trojan War, can easily be compared to a journey of life. Odysseus and his men begin their journey with their departure from Troy, aiming for Ithaca to be their final destination. Along the way, the men are forced to overcome unsurmountable obstacles, are faced with grueling decisions and are postponed by many strenuous stops throughout their voyage. Homer’s epic poem, The Odyssey, is like a journey of life because in it Odysseus must undertake an exciting, perilous journey over a long period of time to reach his goal of getting home and is also faced with many stops, obstacles, and decision along the way.
Homer’s literature served as a moral messenger to the people of ancient Greece. The Odyssey by Homer demonstrates the character development of Odysseus, the epic hero, and his journey of self-discovery. Odysseus was a great, wise, noble, and well respected war hero to his people. Odysseus had one tragic flaw that was demonstrated by his actions throughout the book. The author Homer continued to strip Odysseus of his arrogance throughout the story, by throwing challenges his way, making him pay for his mistakes, and allowing him to continue to overcome obstacles. The main purpose of Odysseus journey also to reach his home a more humble man. Reading Odysseus’ journey also served as a way to look at morals. The
Can two things ever truly be exactly the same? When it comes to epic heroes, I’m not sure. In both the Iliad and the Odyssey, written by Homer and translated by Robert Fagles, the journey of two epic heroes are depicted for us. Achilles, hero of the book The Iliad, is fighting in the Trojan War. Odysseus, hero of the book The Odyssey, is simply fighting to get home. Although both the epic heroes are put through some of the same very tough and difficult situations, it doesn’t mean they are quite the same person. An analysis of The Iliad and The Odyssey will show three similarities and three differences between Achilles and Odysseus.
To begin, in the epic poem called The Odyssey by Homer performed during the 5th century, the protagonist Odysseus is forced into this traverse because to fully support Menelaus who began the Trojan War in order to retrieve Helen. However, when this war is over, Odysseus was shipwrecked in the island of . Odysseus commits his biggest mistake when Polyphemus in the island of the Cyclops captures him. While in captivity in Polyphemus’ cave, Odysseus comes up with a plan that will set him and his crew free and allow them to escape. Odysseus hits Polyphemus in the eye and blinds him. This upsets Poseidon considering Polyphemus was Poseidon’s son. As a result, Poseidon curses Odysseus never to return home.