The Importance Of Nostoi In Homer's The Odyssey

455 Words1 Page

In Homer's The Odyssey, Nostoi was an incredibly prevalent theme as it was Odysseus’ (The Protagonist) main reason for coming home, in this essay I will discuss both Nostoi and how it made the epic poem appealing to Greek society.

Nostoi was an incredibly prevalent feature in The Odyssey as it was the main reason for the plot to progress. Odysseus is stranded on an island with the minor goddess Calypso when we first meet him. A quote from Zeus, the king of kings That shows Nostoi to us is “He is destined to see his friends and come to his high-roofed house and his native land once more” This proves the importance of Nostoi as Homer decided that it was necessary to have the king of the gods specifically mention it, it must’ve played a significant role in Greek society especially because they were so heavily religious. Nostoi was definitely one of the most foremost themes of the Odyssey as it was such an important aspect of odysseus’ character as shown by the quote from book five “Life was ebbing away in all it’s sweetness in the tears he (odysseus) shed for his home”. This quote shows that Odysseus placed immense value on his homeland as he “shed tears” not for his possessions, nor wife, nor dog, but his home. …show more content…

As Nostoi was such a prevalent cog in greek society, it was only natural for it to be the most appealing theme in one of the biggest epics of

Show More
Related

  • Jourody Free Essay Importance of the Journey in Homer's Odyssey

    1057 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the Odyssey, by Homer, Odysseus's main goal was to reach home. Even though all of his thoughts were turned towards his home and family, he learned many lessons along the way. Odysseus's greatest learning experiences were in his journey, not his destination.

    Read More

  • The Relationship of a Father and Son in Homer's Odyssey

    754 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • The Importance of Identity in Homer's Odyssey

    1427 Words  | 3 Pages

    ... to recognize himself, for he knows that he has a past and a homeland, both of which construe his identity. Homer includes the story of Circe and the men who while in her house "forget their fatherland wholly" and are turned to swine only to illustrate what Odysseus has known all along, that just as he can not be immortal nor can he truly be "Noman" for that means he becomes an animal (Ch. X, 236). In this way, the artifice of being "Noman" only serves to remind himself of who he truly is. For Homer this recognition becomes essential to Odyssey's ultimate identity - that of the civilized human.

    Read More

  • Themes of the Odyssey

    701 Words  | 2 Pages

    Throughout the Odyssey there are many themes that Homer uses to portray different people and events. To name a few, there are the themes of Betrayal and Revenge,Greed and Glutony, Hospitality, Role of the Gods and Wealth (the amount of money one had determined the status he held in the greek society, and this explains Odysseus's love for plunder).

    Read More

  • The Odyssey

    646 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the Odyssey the people of Ithaca are accustomed to hospitality. In Odysseus’s lengthy journey home he learns to maintain modesty. Odysseus’s family never give up on him throughout his entire 20 year journey, and they kept Ithaca for him when he came back. The Greek values of hospitality, humility, and loyalty are conveyed in The Odyssey.

    Read More

  • Essay on Homer's Odyssey: Foreshadowing the Homecoming

    861 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • The Odyssey

    537 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Odyssey is a tale that has changed literature and storytelling. In this tale Odysseus is a Soldier from the battle of Troy trying to get home to his island of Ithaca, where he is king. His wife and son must wait ten years while he is trying to make his way home. In Odysseus’s absence wooer’s, or better known as suitors, learn of his absence and travel to Ithaca to win his wife’s hand in marriage. These men come every day feasting on Odysseus’s food and wine, and give his servant’s orders. His son Telemachus, does his best to keep the suitors from ruining his fathers house but he is only a boy, and doesn’t receive the respect of an adult. Telemachus then has a visit from the god Athena, whom Odysseus is friends with, who advises him to travel to find out about his father. In his travels he hears that Odysseus may still be alive. Meanwhile Odysseus goes through a series of adventures and hardships that prove his wisdom. It is interesting in contrast of the Iliad, even though Achilles was much stronger and a better warrior, Odysseus was portrayed as a greater hero due to his wisdom. He uses this wisdom to escape from the Cyclops.

    Read More

  • Odysseus's Heroic Attributes

    920 Words  | 2 Pages

    The epic poem The Odyssey, written by Homer, centers around the main protagonist Odysseus and his long journey back home. Odysseus, the king of Ithaca, returns home after defeating the Trojans in a ten year war. On his way back, he angers Poseidon, god of the sea, by blinding his son, Polyphemus the Cyclops. Due to Odysseus’ actions, Poseidon refuses to let Odysseus reach home, and Odysseus and his crew are forced to go through a series of obstacles throughout the epic. Through this adversity, Odysseus must show his heroic attributions in order to survive. Homer portrays Odysseus as a hero by giving him characteristics such as: craftiness, loyalty, and bravery.

    Read More

  • Odysseus and Aeneas Similar with Important Differences

    1001 Words  | 3 Pages

    Home is extremely important to Odysseus just as home is important for most Greeks. Greece is not a huge country. At no point in history did Greece become a large empire taking over great amounts of land. Greece is a specific place and the Greek traditions are found only within the borders.

    Read More

  • The Importance Of Death In The Odyssey

    756 Words  | 2 Pages

    Death, humanity’s worst fear. Humans do everything they can to avoid it, yet it is inevitable. If one believes, as the Ancient Greeks did, that there is some sort of life after death that can be reached by the living, then one would be able to theoretically speak to one’s dead acquaintances. Most people believe that one grows wiser as one grows older; however one can wonder whether the dead are wiser than even the oldest of the living. Death, death occurs to many men in the Odyssey, but one can wonder at the amount of death in this epic poem. Epic poems were supposed to teach listeners on how to be good Greek citizens and they were supposed to teach life lessons, similar to fables in today’s time. This leads one to question why Homer, the author,

    Read More

  • The Theme of Love in The Odyssey by

    945 Words  | 2 Pages

    Victoria agreed with the theme of the Odyssey having to do with loving one another and being loyal too. “The Odyssey takes itself less seriously than other epics; it is a great deal more fun, but also has a great deal more heart. It is a moral poem; it teaches us about civilization and human nature, how to live together in respect and harmony, how important are the virtues of love, home and family, and ultimately how happiness is a greater goal than any amount of fame and fortune; lessons that have not lost their relevance today”(BookDrum, victoriahooper). This quote shows that the odyssey is more than just a journey and Odysseus taking an adventure and trying to make his way home; it’s about during this adventure what his loved ...

    Read More

  • The Role of the Gods in the Odyssey

    1194 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Connotation In The Odyssey

    439 Words  | 1 Pages

    The Odyssey, an epic poem written by Homer and translated by Robert Fitzgerald, is about the war hero Odysseus' ten year adventure to return home after the Trojan War. At one point in the epic poem, Odysseus is retelling his adventure at the land of the Kyklopês, in which he and his crew go to an island filled with these creatures. Through Odysseus, Homer uses contrasting connotation when speaking of the crew and the Kyklopês to convey that mankind is better than the Kyklopês using two different domains domains of society.

    Read More

  • Nostos In The Odyssey

    1238 Words  | 3 Pages

    Homer’s epic poem, The Odyssey describes the journey of Odysseus trying to make it back to his island of Ithaca through many obstacles. All these interruptions along the way turned Odysseus’s journey home into a 10 year-long trip. Homer elongated Odysseus’s Nostos by composing the poem for listening as well as separating each major event into different books. Homer does this to keep showing the readers that Odysseus is an epic hero who must go through hardships during his long adventures. Homer elongates Odysseus’s Nostos to support the auditory experience and show his character by using literary devices in each book.

    Read More

  • The Odyssey Literary Analysis

    1143 Words  | 3 Pages

    “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.

    Read More

More about The Importance Of Nostoi In Homer's The Odyssey

Open Document