Book 11.5: Odysseus’s Encounter With Hades
After I finished talking to Agamemnon about my apparent unfaithful wife I went back to talk to my mother. My mother told me that I better leave the underworld before Hades found out my men and I were there. Only 45 of my men were remaining and I didn’t want to lose anymore so we decided to head out. Out of the blue, a godlike man whose face was covered by an evil mask came out of nowhere. Fire was spewing around him as he stood on top of a pile of skulls. The spirits of the underworld shrieked with pure terror. “I am Hades, brother of Zeus and Poseidon.” “I Odysseus know who you are, so if you wouldn’t mind moving out of the way so my men and I could leave your ugly looking place!” “How
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We decided to march through where Hades was standing when something burning crept into our noses. “Ouch, ow.” Weeped my men I looked down and saw a fire burning the men's feet, however, my feet and body were completely fine. “What do you want.” I cried. “I want you and your men to fear me, ruler of the underworld!” Hades shouted. “Fine, I am very frightened, so let my men be free of your fire.” “I know you don’t mean that therefore you will stay under here and be tortured by me for all eternity!” Screamed Hades at the top of his lungs. That night Hades allowed us to sleep on burning hot coals, hot enough to just barely keep us alive. I knew I could think of a way to out smart Hades I just needed some time. So I laid awake all night thinking of ways to defeat Hades or out smart him. I had finally thought of a brilliant idea but it would take way too …show more content…
We all ran as fast as we could away from this dog but I knew there was no way of outrunning it. I thought of an idea that I assumed would never work but we had hope anyway. I had all 45 of my men run under and around the dog. The heads chomped down but because it was so big it could not easily reach us. The dogs heads twisted and tangled until all three necks were wrapped together. The dog wept in pain as it fell to the ground becoming temporarily paralyzed. The dog’s weeps were so loud we heard Hades coming so my men and I ran and hid behind an enormous boulder that was sticking out of the wall. Hades went up to Cerberus and helped him untangle
A hero is someone who would sacrifice himself for others, someone who is selfless and caring. Odysseus from Homer’s, “The Odyssey” does not have these traits. Throughout the book, Odysseus displays many negative character traits that show he is not someone to be admired or treated like a hero. He is too proud, he does not listen, and he constantly puts his needs before that of his men.
The purpose of this essay is to tell the story of Minos and give a brief depiction of his duties from Dante’s Inferno. Being one of three main judges in Hades, Minos stood before the second circle blocking the way until he judged all that went through. “There Minos sits, grinning, grotesque, and hale. He examines each lost soul as it arrives and delivers his verdict with his coiling tail” (Ciardi 35). Upon entering the circle each sinner was to confess their sin to Minos and he would then give their assignment. Minos’s tail being wrapped around the sinners was equal to the number of the circle that they were assigned to.
For twenty years Odysseus was away from his home of Ithaca, and in this time he faced several events that would change the way he would see the world. Witnessing such events as the breaking open of six of his innocent soldiers' skulls by a Cyclops (Homer 132) and the feeding of another six of his men to a six-headed beast (Homer 186) played a large part of the changed man that returned. Though a changed Odysseus awoke on the beach of Ithaca, he would have to force all the lessons of two decades out of his personality and into the efforts to regain his life; he would need to use the strength he gained from his experiences to conceal his identity behind a mask of weakness.
Odysseus approaches his homeland differently; thus coming to a different fate. When Odysseus lands on Ithaca, he is aware of the possibility of danger, which makes him skeptical and cautious. His attitude is a result of the things he had encountered on his journey, like monsters and Agamemnon’s ghost. The monsters, such as Polyphemus and the Laestrygonians, surprise Odysseus when they eat his men instead of being good hosts. Agamemnon’s ghost influences Odysseus’s mindset by informing him of his own unfortunate end....
Odysseus and some of his men went to investigate to see what these Cyclops were like. Unfortunately, they stumbled upon a Cyclops that had no intention of being nice. His name was Polyphemus who was the son of Poseidon. He took Odysseus’s men and ate them every night and would keep Odysseus and his men hostage. Odysseus made a clever escape and blinded the Cyclops. When Odysseus finally made it back on the ship with the remaining men that went along with him, Odysseus got a little too angry and shouted from the ship to Polyphemus and insulted him. Polyphemus prayed to the god, Poseidon and cursed Odysseus. This was on page 77, lines 526-533, book
Odysseus finds himself in many strange and difficult situations. One of the strange and difficult situations Odysseus finds himself at is the land of the Cyclops. Odysseus had taken twelve of his men to explore the island. They found a cave and decide to stay there until the Cyclops who lived there returned. The Cyclops returned and "Picked up a huge great stone and placed it in the doorway," so the men couldn?t escape (104). "The cruel monster? reached out toward my men, grabbed two like a pair of puppies and dashed them on the ground?. Then h...
To start, within the course of The Odyssey, Odysseus displays hubris through many of his actions. The most prominent instance in which Odysseus shows hubris is while he and his men are trying to escape from the Cyclops Polyphemus. They drug the monster until it passes out, and then stab him with a timber in his single eye. Polyphemus, now blinded, removes the gigantic boulder blocking Odysseus’ escape, and waits for the men to move, so he can kill them. The men escape from the cave to their boat by tying themselves under flocks of rams, so they can easily slip by. Odysseus, now proud after beating the giant, starts to yell at Polyphemus, instead of making a silent escape. Odysseus’ men ask him to stop before Polyphemus would “get the range and lob a boulder” (436). But Odysseus shows hubris by saying that if they were to meet again, Odysseus would “take your life” and “hurl you down to hell!” (462; 463). Polyphemus, now extremely angry with Odysseus, prays to his father, Poseidon, to make Odysseus “never see his home” again, and after which, throws a mountain towards the sound of Odysseus’ voice. (470). Because of Odysseus’ hubris after blinding Polyphemus, Poseidon grants the prayer, and it takes Odysseus 20 years to return home, at the cost of the lives of all his men.
There has long been a fashion among critics and historians, including Sir James Frazier and Graham Hancock, to insist upon taking the account of Odysseus' voyage to Hades in Book XI of the Odyssey at near face-value as a description of people and places familiar to a Greek audience of Homer's day. Both linguistics and comparative history have been employed to discover exactly how accurately this originally oral epic conveys this gritty realism. Something, however, is not right with this purely empiric approach. What is missing is an examination through the lens of ancient religious practices. Surely a literary work so teeming with deities-wise Athena, spiteful Poseidon, impish Hermes, omnipotent Zeus-deserves such study.
Odysseus is a hero because he acts courageously while facing the many challenges he encounters. Odysseus’s shows great bravery when he engages in physical challenges. Odysseus daringly fights against the suitors, while significantly outnumbered: “For I must tell you this is no affair / of ten or even twice ten men, but scores, throngs of them” (XVI, 291 – 293). Even though Odysseus is facing hundreds of men, his bravery keeps him confident that he can win the battle. Odysseus must use his physical strength when Poseidon punishes him with turbulent waves: “Odysseus’s knees grew slack, his heart / sickened, and he said within himself / Rag of man that I am, is this the end of me?” (V, 307 – 309). Odysseus is exhausted from the torrential sea, yet refuses to give up because of enormous courage and his unwillingness to surrender. Odysseus must also cope with emotional challenges throughout his journey. His emotions are tested when he ventures to the underworld, Hades, and must confront his greatest fear, death: “From every side they came and sought the pit / with rustling cries; and I grew sick with fear. / But presently I gave command to my officers” (XI, 45 -47). Although Odysseus is deeply fearful when he comes face to face with the dead, his mental f...
As I sit here on this hillside, I watch the sun start to set and think about everything that has happened in the last few days. I can’t believe that it is mostly all over. I have finally returned home to Ithaca after 20 years. The battle with the suitors is now over, and I have won. Telemachus and my father are heading back to the palace now, where Penelope awaits for us. When I was originally reunited with Penelope, it wasn’t as good as I thought it would be. Penelope has changed over the past 20 years and I don’t really know how I feel about her.
The vision of the underworld portrayed in Dante’s Inferno and The Odyssey share many similarities. Both Dante and Odysseus confidently travel to the underworld because a woman, with whom they have had an intimate instructs them to. In The Odyssey, Circe instructs Odysseus to “make [his] own wa...
The primary ruling god of the underworld is Hades, whose brother is Zeus, king of the gods, and whose parents are Cronus and Rhea. Hades is a greedy god with his greatest concern being to increase the number of his subjects. He is very stubborn about letting people out of the underworld. Hades himself, rarely leaves the underworld. In one myth, however, we know of a time when he did leave his soulful domain.
Odysseus says, “ she disguises him as an old man, so that he can surprise the suitors , and then urges him to visit his faithful swineherd, Eumanvs. (401). odysseus wonted to show he’s not
“Men hold me / formidable for guile in peace and war (Homer 488).” The quote in the beginning of Book 9 perfectly sums up Odysseus because he does indeed fulfill what he states. Odysseus is a hero that would be known for his effectiveness in war and, generally, his great ability to overcome other troubles. He cleverly maneuvers his crew eventually back to their homeland surmounting many perils that any other person could not. He never loses hope and he never lets it get in his way. In the epic poem The Odyssey by Homer, Odysseus is a hero because Odysseus is loyal to his crew, he is a clever and intelligent man, and he is a courageous soldier and leader on the voyage back to Ithaca.
From Tiresias, Oedipus learns his fate, how he will make his journey home, and what he must do to get back his lands. By impressing the Phaiakians with such a “wonderful story”, they are convinced to “not hurry to send [Odysseus] off, nor cut short his gifts” (H, B11, L374&339). Odysseus wins over the “oar-loving Phaiakians,” who are necessary for his return voyage home (H, B11, L349). Owing to his retelling of his visit to the underworld, Odysseus has gained the friends that will become essential to his return to Ithaca. In addition to the description of the layers of the underworld, Aeneas gains powerful knowledge about his fate from his father.