In Homer’s “The Odyssey” Odysseus faces the allusive and extremely dangerous cyclops. These mythical creatures are known not only for their enormity and brute strength but also for being menaces to any society. Their lack of agricultural development, sense of community, means of transportation, and even the most basic element of society, law, are among the most threatening qualities to the very foundations of civilized society itself. In the Samuel Butler translation of Homer’s text the cyclops's “neither plant nor plough” and instead “trust in providence”. All civilized and successful societies rely firmly on the most basic resources such as food and medicine, to have ready access to these resources one must first plant and grow them. These …show more content…
The cyclops lack the intellectual capacity as well as the very desire to create means going “from city to city, or sail over the sea to one another’s country”. This very lack of travel completely hinders their ability to conduct business with any other country. May they ever find themselves in great trouble their lack of alliances could greatly affect the very existence of their race. Cyclops’ “have no laws nor assemblies of the people, but live in caves on the tops of high mountains; each is lord and master in his family,”.Without well defined and enforced laws no community will last. They live in a world of unchecked chaos and madness. There is no punishment for wrongdoings due to the lack of authority itself let alone an authoritative figure. It is their lack of the very basic need of society; agricultural development, sense of community, means of transportation, and law, that will be the end of their civilizations. Not only do these attributes contribute to the downfall of the society that live by them but also to the destruction of those around them for they remain free to do as they please to any other nation, they have never known there to be another way in which they can
The Odyssey is an epic home it was written by homer in the classical Greek. The story is about the main character Odysseus a Trojan war hero and his journey to return home to Ithaca conflict and obstacles are throughout the story and affect different characters many of the characters experience some form of reciprocity by the end of the epic and get what they
The sum of all human traits is defined as human nature, meaning the excuse for our vices, and the flaws of mortal life. In Homer's The Odyssey, the main character Odysseus demonstrates these flaws throughout his journey, constantly struggling through the eternal fight for realization of life and death, and is weighed down by the never ending power struggle of nature versus mankind.
The one-eyed Cyclops present a monster with extremely barbaric qualities that the Greeks abhor. When Odysseus first reaches the island of the Cyclops, he is surprised by their uncivilized ways, which are foreign to the Greeks. He describes them as “lawless brutes, who trust so to the everlasting gods/they never plant with their own hands or plow the soil” and explains how the Cyclopes “have no meeting place for council, no laws either,/no, up on the mountain peaks they live in arching caves-/each a law to himself, ruling his wives and children,/ not a care in the world for any neighbor” (9.118-128). The Cyclops live alone in caves, never tending to their crops, and are cared for by the gods. They have no structured civilization or sense of community, and have no regard for one another: they live like wild animals. They have “not a care in the world for any neighbor”, they don’t “plant with their own hands or plow the soil”, and they have “no meeting place for council, no laws either.” The Cyclops seek no comfort of camaraderie. They live by themselves and for themselves, and do not ab...
For ten years the great Odysseus has been fighting alongside his allies in Troy, witnessing the horrors of war. Unfortunately, his journey home becomes an enduring trial filled with adversity and temptation and at times delivers sights worse than any battle scene. Odysseus, a war legend and wise man, must face monsters, muses, and gods who test him along the way and bear limitless catastrophes for him. Throughout his journey from Troy to Ithaka, Odysseus must struggle against the limitations of his human nature – specifically against pride, sensuality, and the temptation of curiosity.
Storms then blew his ships to Libya and the land of the Lotus-eaters, where the crew was given Lotus fruit from which most lost their entire memories from home. Odysseus, and the others who had not tasted it, recovered the sailors by force, and set sail again, westward, this time to the island of the Cyclops, a wild race of one-eyed giants. Leaving most of his men in a sheltered cove, Odysseus then entered the island with one crew only. They wandered around, encountering, and foolishly entering an immense cave, awaiting the owner.
The Odyssey is filled with emotion and adventure. Homer’s ability to show and give the reader a visual of each and every scene gives the story its unbelievable significance. To all the people who read his work there is something to be captured within every sentence, each one different in its own, unique way. Through tales of courage and defeat, friendship and love this book tells of all the values within the life of a single, solitary man, and his journey to attain what is true and dear to him. And this journey is known to all of us as The Odyssey. The Odyssey is a test of human devotion and trust through the gods, the mortals, and the obstacles through which they venture. No matter where they go or what they do, humans are tested for certain characteristics everyday of their lives, whether they realize it or not; and The Odyssey is just one of those many miraculous tests.
Homer’s epic, the Odyssey, is a heroic narrative that follows the adventures of Odysseus, the powerful King of Ithaca. The main story involves Odysseus’s return journey to his homeland after the Trojan War. However, Homer skips around in the action periodically to give the reader a better understanding and interest in what is going on in the epic. Homer takes his audience from the present action involving Telemakhos’ search for news of his father’s return, to the past where Odysseus tells the Phaiakians of his tragic journey home after the war. The events in Homer’s epic are not in order but still prove more effective at guiding the reader through the narrative. Although the events in the Odyssey are not in chronological order, the story line is enriched by Homer’s use of the in media res method because it introduces characters that were not involved in Odysseus’ adventure, because it shows the urgency of Odysseus’ return to his kingdom, and because it allows the reader to become more interested in the opening chapters without having to wait for a climax in the action.
Homer. ?The Odyssey,? World Masterpieces: Expanded Edition. Maynard Mack ed. Ed. Coptic St.: Prentice, 1995.
The first four books of Homer’s Odyssey depict certain instances of hospitality which are filled with generosity. One reason for the importance of this hospitality could have been a respect for foreigners, who were completely at the mercy of their hosts, especially when hosts had themselves been foreigners. A second reason why hospitality may have been important was to see if the guest was disguised as an enemy.
The Ancient Greeks sought to define how humans should view their lives and how to create an existence dedicated to the basis of the “ideal” nature. This existence would be lived so as to create an “honorable” death upon their life’s end. Within their plays, both dramas and comedies, they sought to show the most extreme characteristics of human nature, those of the wise and worthy of Greek kleos along with the weak and greedy of mind, and how they were each entitled to a death but of varying significance. The Odyssey, their greatest surviving drama, stands as the epitome of defining both the flawed and ideal human and how each individual should approach death and its rewards and cautions through their journeys. Death is shown to be the consequence
“The Odyssey” is an epic poem that tells the story of Odysseus and the story of his many travels and adventures. The Odyssey tells the main character’s tale of his journey home to the island of Ithaca after spending ten years fighting in the Trojan War, and his adventures when he returns home and he is reunited with his family and close friends. This literary analysis will examine the story and its characters, relationships, major events, symbols and motifs, and literary devices.
In The Odyssey, the hierarchical relationship between both gods and humans is a key aspect in the overarching unity that is the epic. These can both be in contrast with each other and it can been seen that there are similarities between the types of people we meet in The Odyssey as well as the gods we meet also. Homer uses this theme and system of hierarchy to effectively display aspects of his worlds though The Odyssey. The main features that help prove this point are: that society within The Odyssey is hierarchical, the upper class and the servants (with equivalent gods) are focussed on, (Hierarchy of Greek Gods, 2015) and finally, the gods parallel their respective opposites on earth. These features help to show Homers world of The Odyssey.
It may be difficult to understand how the Odyssey, a 2,700 year old epic poem about gods and monsters, could ever symbolize life today. The Odyssey does, however, parallel to a journey of life because of the decisions made by Odysseus and decisions I will make as well as the trials he endured and the challenges I will face. Some of the obstacles I will endure in the future, including high school and college, may not be as serious as the monsters Odysseus had to face, nevertheless, they are still everyday situations that I must learn from.
The history of mass media dates to the prehistoric ages of cave drawings, among other things. One key concept of the beginnings of human communication beyond spoken language was the idea of showcasing one’s own achievements in an immortal state, for example a crude drawing of a slain mammoth forever on a cave wall. Fast forward to Greek cultural anthropology: not much has changed. Human nature blatantly harnessed the natural yearning to immortalize themselves or simply “leave their mark” on society, and it will likely stay that way. Making a spectacle of one’s own greatness despite humility or reality was extremely common in Greek culture. It was sought after to be publicly intelligent and insufferably dramatic. Intelligence and dramatic inward thoughts usually create one sure thing: storytellers and/or philosophers. These people are best at making themselves immortal by planting their works into society by any means necessary. This all raises a potentially interesting question: If a dramatic writer and/or philosopher influences what historians claim as past culture, does that conclude that even fiction writers primarily speak for their own culture despite creating a story rather than recounting one?
Many diverse cultures are found in every corner of the world. Every culture is defined by its traditions and values. The film “The Odyssey,” depicts the culture of the ancient Greeks where it illustrates the life of a man, Odysseus, who has gone on a journey just to get back to his kingdom. Many values and traditions could be identified through the path of the journey. Some elements that are found important to the Greeks are the music, the religion, and the duty to the kingdom.