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Comparison of the illiad and odyssey
Comparison of the illiad and odyssey
Comparison of the illiad and odyssey
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“O Father Zeus, let all this be fulfilled as spoken...Return me to my homeland.” Odysseus spends 20 years away from home, fighting at Troy, then fighting temptations and fighting the seas in order to complete his journey home. This journey home is described in The Odyssey. Home should be a location where one feels safe and respected. This story culminates at the end when Athena forges a truce and peace is created between Odysseus and the families of the suitors, demonstrating this respect and safety. Odysseus finally fully arrives home when he kills the final suitor, makes peace with their families, and reclaims his kingship of Ithaka. The Odyssey is a story of Odysseus and his journey home, his homecoming. Therefore, it must end when he has arrived home. Home is a location where one is recognized, accepted, and feels …show more content…
In order for Odysseus to return home fully, he must reclaim his kingship over the people, and thus return to his former status among the citizens of Ithaka. It is when Odysseus is recognized as a leader once again, that he has fully returned home. Odysseus did not leave Ithaka as a king, to return from war no longer the ruler of his people. Without this recognition, the return of Odysseus is much less significant. Odysseus, returning, as king of these people is a great event. However, instead of returning to rule and be justly glorified for his heroism in war by his people of Ithaka, he returns to only his family and the most devoted of the slaves. Initially, Odysseus does not have the respect of the people and because of this, his arrival is looked upon as a curse upon the people rather than a blessing. Athena intervenes to provide the mediation required to reinstate peace between Odysseus and the suitors. She forms the peace that leads to the people recognizing once again Odysseus as their
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.
The Odyssey tells the story of Odysseus and his both literal and figurative journey home to Ithaka. When the great king, Odysseus travels to Troy on the account of war, many obstructions hinder him from returning home. During his absence, his deprivation of being a father to his son, Telemachus, causes great disappointment. Without a father, his son strives to grow and mature yet he has not the slightest idea of where to. However, as Telemachus struggles to reach manhood and his father struggles to return to Ithaka, their seemingly separate journeys are connected. They both learn values that turn a boy into a man and a great man even greater. In the epic poem the Odyssey, Homer uses parallel rites of passage with Odysseus and Telemachus to develop the importance of the father son-bond.
“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
Odysseus’ character is challenged in many ways throughout books 5 through 12. In some instances he holds strong, and in others he fails. His sense of adventure sometimes overwhelms him. The length of time Odysseus spends away from Ithaka also dilutes his desire to return, and possibly dilutes his desire to live. Under certain circumstances, any man can succumb to the evils to which he despises. A perfect example is Akhilleus in the Iliad. He started out an honorable man. With the death of his friend, he turns into a maniac who wants nothing but death for the enemy. Odysseus starts out wanting nothing but to return to his family and his homeland. Over the course of the many years away, this feeling dwindles and he is left with nothing but adventure to prolong his reason for living.
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.
The Character Odysseus in Odyssey "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. Odysseus was one of the first Greek mythic heroes renowned for his brain as well as his muscles. Indeed he is a man with an inquiring mind, and he is also a man with outstanding prowess and bravery" (123helpme.com/assets/3603.html). "We also must not forget that he is a top-notch athlete which only adds more to this seemingly insuperable character.
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.
In the intricate and complex epic poem, “The Odyssey”, Odysseus’s main goal was to reach his home, Ithaca. Even though all of his thoughts were turned towards his family and home, he learns many lessons along the way. Odysseus's greatest learning experiences were in his journey, not his destination. The quote “the experiences of the voyage itself were more meaningful for Odysseus than his arrival home,” truly depicts that Odysseus’s experiences and confrontations with others throughout the journey contributes to his moral values and life lessons.
While home is usually represented by a physical shelter such as a house, Homer and Euripides in their respective novels The Odyssey and Medea show that home has much more significance as a state where one can comfortably express the values and beliefs that define one’s identity. Both authors use protagonists who are far away from home. These characters often associate with and depend upon other characters they meet. Since they live under the influence of others, it is not surprising then to find that the two protagonists lose their individual identities. Moreover, both protagonists will also purposefully develop a second identity that is designed to conform to the society in which they inhabit. Since both protagonists are away from home for the majority of both works, it would be appropriate to examine, through specific instances, how both authors connect a lack of home with an absence of individual identity.
The beginning of this tale displays the warrior who left Troy. He and his crew immediately go to battle and take control of the city. Although afterwards Odysseus recalls telling his men to stop and return to the ship, he never actually forcibly tried to make his men return, because at the time it was more about the victory of a battle then the message or values that were being fought fo...
What do gods, soldiers, and a one-eyed man all have in common? They are all in the Odyssey by Homer. In the Odyssey, Homer uses Odysseus’s journey to show how one’s journey can define them as a person. This essay will show, whomever may read this, how Odysseus is loyal, witty, and violent.
Homer’s epic poem, The Odyssey, tells the story of Odysseus’ journey to his home in Ithaca, ten years after the Trojan War. Throughout Odysseus’ journey to reach home, he proves that he is an epic hero by overcoming many extraordinary circumstances that test his loyalty, ability to resist temptation, and the power of his cunning over his strength.
Throughout his wanderings for home, Odysseus becomes a humbler and more respectful man. The once boastful man learns that his bragging can bring people against him, and is quieter than before he left for Troy. He also learns that the immortal gods of Olympus can be merciful and bring great prosperity, but they also punish those that disobey their wishes. Every time Odysseus has not been respectful he has been severely punished and his trip home delayed. Out of this great tragedy he has become a greater man to regain his kingdom and live a long life.
Socrates, a Greek philosopher stated, "Look death in the face with joyful hope, and consider this a lasting truth: the righteous man has nothing to fear, neither in life, nor in death, and the Gods will not forsake him” (Socrates). This explains the basis for Greek beliefs that can be carried over to values and qualities of them. As in this, Homer, the author of The Odyssey, portrays many Greek values that make up a righteous man or as, Homer’s character Odysseus, an epic hero. The Odyssey is the story of King Odysseus' return from the Trojan War to his kingdom of Ithaca. Stories, like The Odyssey, are told with the intent of delivering a message that was important to their culture. Through characters and situations, The Odyssey promotes and emphasizes many important ancient Greek values such as hospitality, pride, and fate.
Throughout the book every time and after he conquers the new challenges Odysseus answers the question, which is repeated throughout, with a different answer. Each time he conquers a challenge on his journey home he learns a new lesson towards humility and answers with a new perspective. “‘I am no god,’ said the patient, good Odysseus. ‘Why do you take me for an immortal? But I am your father, on whose account you have endured so much sorrow and trouble and suffered persecution at men’s hand.’”(P 214 L 186-189) Although he is viewed by many people as very god-like Odysseus realizes that he is an ordinary man and is not a god. Odysseus’ desire to return home is another example that makes him an everyman. In this epic tale the word home had a double meaning for the hero. Home was where his family was and where he wanted to be. The physical element of being home and with his family was a huge deal for him. The other meaning of home was being safe and secure. His aspiration to return home and to return to his safety in sometimes shows that he is also a rather weak man. It is a human instinct to want to go home and stay safe instead of always being brave and