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The Adventures of Odysseus
Ithaca is not that big. It is a small island off Greece in the Ionian Sea. It does not produce much, just about enough to keep its families fed. However, it is the home of the great Odysseus. The gods have been watching it to see when he will return and what will happen when he gets there.
The party linens are spread on the lawn of Olympus, and even Zeus is rumored to be attending. Twenty years, though a short time for a god is a significant period of a man’s life. Odysseus sleeps on the beach where the Phaiakian sailors left him along with the gifts from King Alkinoos had given him spread on the beach like so much detritus. Athene sits beside him waiting for him to awaken. If you look closely, you can see the
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Now Odysseus is finally returning to his home. What will he find there? Only Poseidon, the god of the sea who has been the master of this game. Rumor has it that not even Zeus has been advised of what Odysseus will find in Ithaca. We wonder what Odysseus must be dreaming. Is it the great storm that blew him off course when he tried to return with all his plunder taken from the sack of Troy? Is it the arms of sweet Penelope? Of maybe, just maybe he is dreaming about that first island he and his crew visited after Troy where he blinded poor Polyphemus the Cyclops. What a villain this man is. He took the sight of one who only had one eye. Oh, he is waking.
These humans, how they stretch and yawn and make such a fuss after they wake. We gods, of course, have no idea why they sleep, but it is fun to let them dream of us. They make up such tales. Oh, Athene is speaking to him.
Oh, I see. She is letting him know the setup. Shh, shh. Okay. So he is returning to his son and wife after twenty years. Telemachus is trying to hold off the advances of some major suitors for the hand of Penelope and mastery of Ithaca. Athene passes her hand over Odysseus and disguises him so that he will not be recognized. Oh, look at the change. No longer the noble Odysseus, he is a bent gnarled old man who can barely stand straight. Hah, too many years as a gardener, I see. Hey, a good disguise for one who is remembered as tall and strong. Remember him with Circe? Oh, such a trollop she is, keeping him on her island like
“The Odyssey” is an epic written by Homer between 750 and 650 B.C. It is the tale of the main hero’s, Odysseus’s, journey home to Ithaca from Troy. It takes place after the Trojan War and is the sequel to “The Iliad.” Odysseus and his men set sail from Troy and come across the lair of the lotus eaters. After escaping, they run into the cyclops,
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.
Odysseus departure from Troy is the beginning of his long heroic adventure. "What of those years of rough adventure, weathered under Zeus?"(895) This quote depicts the rough times Odysseus will have on his journey, but also reveals that Zeus will watch over him. "The call to Adventure signifies that destiny has summoned the hero and transferred his spiritual center of gravity from within the pale of his society to a zone unknown∦"(58) Odysseus will cross the threshold and go places no one has returned from before. On the island of the Cyclops Odysseus exhibits his abilities, as he developed a plan to escape the Cyclops' cave. "∦I deemed it would be the best plan to do as follows. The Cyclops had a great club which was lying near one of the sheep pens;∦ I went up to this club and cut off about six feet of it;∦ lastly I brought it to a point myself, charring the end in the fire to make it harder. When I had done this I hid it under dung, which was lying about all over the cave∦"(book IX) Odysseus has this plan and utilizes it. He and most of his men escape the cave unharmed. This symbolized the escape from the "belly of the whale".
“Our life’s journey of self-discovery is not a straight-line rise from one level of consciousness to another. Instead, it is a series of steep climbs, and flat plateaus, then further climbs. Even though we all approach the journey from different directions, certain of the journey’s characteristics are common for all of us.” Author Stuart Wilde’s impression of journeys and their shared commonalities supports the claim that all journeys have a motive and an outcome. In the epic poem, The Odyssey by Homer, Odysseus sets off to defeat Troy, leaving his wife and child behind. After accomplishing his goal, Odysseus faces many problems while trying to return him and his crew back home to Ithaca. Similar to Odysseus’s physical journey, the goal in
Nausicaa is described as a goddess, and this island is very close to the Gods’. This is important, because Phaeacia does not ever involve themselves in wars or conflict with any other communities or islands, and the people were very close to the Gods’ which is in contrast to Odysseus. For instance Odysseus is far from feeling close to the God’s, but as we learn, Athene is constantly helping him so he is involved with the God’s, and Poseidon made him go off course so he is very much involved with the Gods, just as Phaeacia is. On the other hand, we know that Odysseus is considered a “war hero” and spent ten years in conflict at Troy, before trying to return home, which is completely the opposite to the Phaeacian people. This book seems to be important also, because it contains one of the vital motifs in this story, of marriage.
Throughout the tale, Telemachus continually grows into the role of a confident, clever and wise young man, striving to live up to his reputation as Odysseus’ son and Prince of Ithaca. His mother, and Odysseus’ wife, Penelope, is a symbol of marital fidelity, having waited for her husband’s return for twenty long years and refusing to succumb to the Suitors demands that she marry one of them, and instead employing trickery and subterfuge to evade their pressing stipulations. In stark contrast, the Suitors are very static characters, neither growing nor changing in character development throughout the tale. Both Telemachus and Penelope are dynamic characters because their characters grow, develop and change. Through the reading of this epic poem of Odysseus’ ten-year journey, we also gain a keen insight into ancient Greek society, and the social expectations one might encounter. The Greeks were very hospitable and very welcoming, even to foreign outsiders. There is also a great presence of both aristocracy and patriarchy in action appearing in this tale, both key aspects of ancient Greek
Odysseus must journey from Troy to his homeland of Ithaca. Throughout this journey Odysseus experiences a lot of inconsistent emotions. A lot of this is attributed to the physical and mental hell he goes through on this remarkable journey. With the help of the Gods he finally does return to Ithaca.
"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 majority of the Odyssey is an account of Odysseus’ adventures trying to reach his homeland of Ithaka. Several of these adventures are false homecomings, the most prominent of which is his imprisonment on Kalypso’s island. This false homecoming is strikingly different from what one would expect of Odysseus’ real homecoming, but similar enough for parallels to be drawn between the two. Homer uses this false homecoming to foreshadow Odysseus’ true homecoming.
His son, Telemakhos, was greatly impacted by Odysseus’s absence as he had no father figure, and grew up in the shadows of all the palace-dwellers. During the novel, Telemakhos finally realizes that Ithaca needs a strong leader, and tries to fill the position. Meanwhile, Penelope, Odysseus’ wife, is also greatly affected by her husbands leave; many greedy suitors disrespect her and move into their home to try and win her hand in marriage. Their greed and desire for Penelope’s hand in marriage necessitated Odysseus’s return to Ithaca.
One important characteristic that Penelope and Odysseus share is their loyalty to each other. Odysseus failed to return home seven years after the Trojan war. Because he is assumed dead, 108 wealthy noblemen and princes invade his palace and refuse to leave until Penelope has married one of them. By marrying her, the suitors hope to gain control over Odysseus’s wealth and power. However, Penelope remains faithful to Odysseus. But, as a woman, she is powerless to remove the suitors from the palace. And without a man in the household, she is subject to her father’s decisions. However, despite his wish for her to remarry, Penelope clings to the hope of Odysseus’s return and remains faithful to him. She waits and gathers information by asking strangers who arrive in Ithaca about Odysseus. She goes through the stories of their encounter point by point, and asks about every detail while tears stream down her eyes. Although the suitors promise her a secure future, Penelope continues to wait for Odysseus. Without Odysseus, she does not believe that she will ever be happy again.
If you saw someone 20 years ago, how good would you remember them? what they were wearing? how good they looked? Probably not so well. If someone actually manages to do so, that can raise some eyebrows. No one man gives that much attention to what another man was wearing to remember detail for detail after 20 years. During the conversation between Odysseus and Penelope, Penelope tests him by asking about what Odysseus wore. Then the beggar Odysseus replies with exactly what Odysseus wore. “he was wearing a heavy woolen cape, sea-purple, in double folds, with a golden brooch to clasp it, twin sheaths for the pins, on the face a work of art: a hound clenching a dappled fawn in its front paws, slashing it as it writhed. All marveled to see it, solid gold as it was, the hound slashing, throttling the fawn in its death-throes, hoofs flailing to break free.” (19.260-265). Odysseus is trying to send a message to Penelope, trying to tell her that its Odysseus. He does this by giving too much detail about what Odysseus wore trying to make penelope suspicious, trying to make her realize that no one but Odysseus himself would reme...
middle of paper ... ... In Homer’s Odyssey, both Odysseus and his son Telemachus embark on long, difficult journeys; Odysseus trying to return from Troy to his home in Ithaca, escaping Calypso and the island of Ogygia, and Telemachus from Ithaca to Pylos and Sparta in search of his lost father. While The Odyssey tells of the courage both men demonstrate during their respective travels, their quests are the results of the intentions and desires of gods. Odysseus is trapped in exile on Ogygia by the will of Poseidon, whose anger Odysseus attracts when he blinds the Cyclops Polyphemus, son of Poseidon, and by the love of Calypso, who wishes to make Odysseus her husband.
In Homer's epic The Odyssey, the hero Odysseus attempts to complete his journey home from Troy. On his way home, however, he angers the sea god, Posiedon, who curses him to travel for ten years on the sea, to loose all his men, and to return on a stranger's ship. During the ten years, Odysseus overcomes many hardships, and visits unique destinations in the world along the way. Each place has several symbolic meanings and themes that are found even in today's society. During his journey, Odysseus will attempt to find his place in the world and make a name for himself, make difficult leadership decisions pertaining to his men, and tries to overcome the natural curiosity and greed that is in man's mental makeup.
Athena had advised Odysseus that the best way to become reintroduced into his home, would be to first see what had changed. However the only way for him to do this would be to do it as a beggar. When Odysseus finally returned to Ithaca, Athena had him disguise himself at first to see what has changed in the 20 years he had been gone. He spoke with the shepherd Eumaeus about all the