“How sound it was! Yet I refused.” (Homer 492) This is a recurring theme that occurs in The Odyssey, someone offers Odysseus sound advice and yet, he ignores it and instead follows his own ideas. A fool is someone who acts unwisely or imprudently, which describe Odysseus's actions perfectly, always disregarding other’s advice and letting his arrogance and pride rule over common sense. The results are almost always disastrous for both him and his crew. Costing him many, if not all, of his so called “friends” that he tried to protect. Though many believe that Odysseus is a hero for his great deeds in Troy, the reality of the situation is that his success is undermined by the numerous mistakes he makes throughout the course of the epic. In the …show more content…
epic poem The Odyssey by Homer, Odysseus is a fool because of his disregard for respecting the gods, unwillingness to accept advice, and his arrogance. During Ancient Greek times, respecting the gods was crucial if you wanted to survive.
While Odysseus did respect certain gods, he injured and insulted the offspring of one of the most powerful gods, Poseidon. After defeating the great Cyclops instead of retreating and letting his name remain anonymous he declared it for all to hear: “Odysseus, raider of cities, took your eye: Laertes’ son, whose home’s on Ithaca.” (Homer 503) This rash decision to reveal his identity was a fatal mistake that cost the lives of several of his crew and delayed his return to Ithaca by over ten years. Angering a influential god is never a good idea, especially when he is the God of what you are traveling on, water. Another key example of Odysseus’s foolishness occurs on Circe’s island. When a goddess graciously offers advice you should listen to it. This is a key lesson that Odysseus does not seem to have learned. So, when Circe offers the advice of “Now give those kine a wide berth, keep your thoughts intent upon your course for home, and hard seafaring brings you all to Ithaca. But if you raid the beeves, I see destruction for ship and crew.” (Homer 524). Instead of heeding this advice, Odysseus ignores it and the result is catastrophic. Excluding Odysseus, the entire crew dies and the return trip takes another seven year detour on Calypso’s island. If Odysseus simply followed Circe’s advice, someone who clearly knew what she was doing, his crew might have survived and the trip could have been …show more content…
exceptionally faster. Some may argue that Odysseus is a hero because of his loyalty to his men and his cunning wit.
Yes, Odysseus did not leave his men behind on the island of the Lotus Eaters. Through sheer determination he: “I drove them, all three wailing, to the ships, tied them down under their rowing benches, called the rest: ‘All hands aboard; come, clear the beach and no one taste the Lotus, or you will lose your hope of home.’”(Homer 490). However, this statement is overruled by the fact that he never trusted his men enough to tell them his plans, making them risk their lives for something they know nothing about. An example being on the entire return trip “Odysseus decides to tell the men only of Circe’s warnings about the Sirens.” (Homer 524) If Odysseus was truly loyal to his men he would tell them of all the dangers that were ahead, saving them from a lot of grief. Some might also argue that Odysseus is a hero because of his intelligence and wit. An example being when he fooled the Cyclops by telling him: “My name is Nohbdy: mother, father, and friends, everyone calls me Nohbdy.” (Homer 498) This saved the majority of his men from death. However, Odysseus has no modesty about his feats and continue to brag about them causing the Polyphemus and therefore causing the Gods to be angry. Leading to many future hardships for his crew and himself. While Odysseus does have some redeeming qualities, they are easily overruled by his
foolishness. The final and perhaps most reckless display of Odysseus’s foolishness occurs on the Cyclops island. Although, Odysseus and his crew had already escaped the island. Odysseus can not let the Cyclops be and instead foolishly lets his anger overtake his wits and he begins to anger Polyphemus further by taunting him. His crew even tries to warn him: “Now when I cupped my hands I heard the crew in low voices protesting: ‘Godsake, Captain! Why bait the beast again? Let him alone’... I would not heed them in my glorying spirit, but let my anger flare and yelled.” (Homer 503) Odysseus does not heed their advice and instead continues on provoking Polyphemus. This is a display of Odysseus’s arrogance, instead of listening to his crews reasonable suggestions, he chooses to ride out his victory and doing only what he deems correct, a true move of a fool. Although, his actions in Troy may have labeled Odysseus as a hero to many. His disregard for respecting the gods, his inability to follow crucial advice from a reliable source, and his utter disdain for others opinions label Odysseus as a fool. No matter how witty and strong you are if you do not value and respect the opinions of your crew or the advice from a goddess, you are truly a fool. This is exactly what Odysseus does; his arrogance causes great pain for both him and his crew and ends up prolonging the return trip from Troy by nearly ten years.
Odysseus should not be condemned for his actions. There are many justifiable reasons for the method in which he punished those who were disloyal and uncivil. One should take into consideration his trials, and put themselves in Odysseus’s place. If you came home after twenty years, and found men about your wife, (or women about your husband) would you consider morality first? In Odysseus’s case anyway, his all powerful heart and emotion filled his brain with rage. And any human being today would submit their mind to their feelings if their souls had been tossed about on the sea by Poseidon.
There are many instances where Odysseus lets his pride get in the way. When he and his men are leaving Polyphemus’ island, he stops to taunt the beast and boast about what he had done. He tells Polyphemus that, “if ever mortal man inquire how you were put to shame and blinded, tell him Odysseus, raider of cities, took your eye.” This quote clearly displays how prideful and Odysseus is. Rather than leaving the wounded and betrayed cyclops alone, he goes out of his way to taunt and enrage him even more. He lets his pride and his arrogance get the best of him in this instance, purely to tell the wounded creature to spread the glory of his name. When he is discussing Scylla with Circe, Odysseus asks how he can “fight off Scylla when she raids [his] crew.” He does not want to accept the fact that he can’t fight his way through something. The fact that he can not fight Scylla makes him feel inferior to the monster, because he is driven by his pride which demands that he
In this long narrative poem, Odysseus changes from being disrespectful to the gods by explicitly saying that he doesn’t need them, to longing forgiveness later by stating that he is nothing without them. After the success with the Trojan Horse, Odysseus considered himself higher than the gods because he, a mortal, was able to accomplish something even the gods couldn’t. He boasted to Poseidon and the others about how he is overpowering, and how his power and abilities were far beyond their limits. His epic boasting to the gods had lead him to create his own obstacles as, he is one who essentially was the cause. This disrespectful attitude is the personality which shows how Odysseus behaved at the beginning of the story. It not only demonstrates what he was once like, but how his obstacles get much more precarious. As this is the attitude in the beginning, by the end of this epic, Odysseus understands the value of gods and their power, even if it’s for good or bad. At the end of book twenty-two, page 1160, on lines 107-109, Odysseus finally accepts the fact that he is not the biggest thing
When people think of Odysseus, they think of a great, cunning, warrior. Who wouldn’t see him that way, he fought his way through Troy and embarked on a journey back home to see his son and wife again. On the surface Odysseus seems like a genius but in Homer’s, The Odyssey, Odysseus shows many instances where he outwits his foes but his foolishness heavily outweighs his smarts; he becomes boastful after a victory which leads to more hardships, he leaves precious cargo in the open for his brutish crew to mess with, and refuses help from the gods which nearly leads to his demise.
In his part of the story Odysseus is trying to get him and his men free of the cyclops so they can go home. The cyclops is Poseidon's son and Odysseus offended Poseidon when he harms the cyclops, which is very disrespectful. These are two huge examples that show why Odysseus is a bad
Odysseus wouldn’t of taken ten years after the Trojan war to get home if it wasn’t for his prideful trait. Pride causes Odysseus suffering all throughout the book. For example, once Odysseus was on his way off the island of the Cyclops, the epic says “I would not heed them in my glorying spirit, but let my anger flare and yelled: “Cyclops, if ever mortal man inquire how you were put to shame and blinded, tell him Odysseus, raider of cities, took your eye: Laertes son, whose home’s on Ithaca.” After Odysseus and his men escape Cyclopes island, Odysseus pride kicks in and he tells off the Cyclop that he blinded. Telling the Cyclop his real identity, and his business. The Cyclop prayed to his father Poseidon (sea god), which Poseidon is still upset and still hold a grudge towards Odysseus, because Odysseus did not thank the gods after he won the Trojan war, and because of his pride, he said he did it all on his own. This would only cause more trouble for Odysseus and his journey home to extend
After they finally escaped from the brutal monster, Odysseus made another poor decision. The men were rowing their boats away from the island when Odysseus decided that it was a good idea to taunt the raging Cyclops: “So, Cyclops,...Your filthy crimes came down on your own head, you shameless cannibal...so Zeus and the other gods have paid you back” (9.531-36)! This angered Polyphemus more, which led him to hurl a mountain top into the water, forcing Odysseus and his men back near the shore. After one time, you’d think Odysseus would have learned his lesson, but he continued to taunt the monster after they had rowed back out: “Cyclops - if any man on the face of the earth should ask you who blinded you...say Odysseus, raider of cities...Laertes’ son who makes his home in Ithaca” (9.558-62)! Not only did Polyphemus acquire the location of his home, he cursed Odysseus, so that if and when he returned home, it would be late, he would be broken, and problems at home would arise, which was why taunting the Cyclops was a horrible decision. In conclusion, one could argue that most of Odysseus’ choices were favorable
Odysseus is a Foolish and selfish leader, who makes rash decisions that kill his men just for his own personal gain. One of Odysseus's many foolish decisions in the epic is when he lets his men raid and pillage the Kikones. This irrational decision ends up in the death of nearly 30 of his men. If he would have stopped and though about his decisions he could have saved his fellow soldiers. Another foolish decision is when he was on the island of the Kyklops, instead of just exploring the cave he decides to explore the entire island just so he can see a kyklops this exploration ends up with the death of many of his men and a curse set on Odysseus. Odysseus makes a selfish decision when he wrongfully tells his crew Kirke, "urged that I alone should listen to their song."(XII; 58-62) when Kirke really said that he should only listen to their deadly song only if he believed it was necessary. This selfish decision could have proved to be dea...
Odysseus dealt with his disobedient crew. After an already difficult journey, Odysseus and his crew arrive at Aeolis, where the king Aeolus offers him wind in a bag, which had enough wind to send Odysseus’s ship back home to Ithaca. While Odysseus sleeps, the crew conspires, believing that the bag contained treasure, “Aeolus has lavished these gifts upon him. Let 's have a quick look, and see what’s here, How much gold and silver is stuffed in this bag” (Homer p.142). The crewmen opened the bag and the winds rushed out, taking them back to Aeolis’ island. Due to their curiosity and disobedience, the crew adds years to the journey. But the crew does not learn from the mistake, and the next time they disobey, the consequences were fatal. When they arrive one Helios’ island, Odysseus forbids the crew to consume the cattle of the Sun God. “But swear me a great oath, every last man: If we find any cattle or sheep on this island, no man will kill a single cow or sheep. In his recklessness, but will be content to eat the food immortal Circe gave us” (Homer p.186-87). But while Odysseus is gone, the crew disregards his instructions and feasts one Helios’ cattle. Their consequence was Zeus destroying the ship and the crew, leaving only Odysseus alive. Odysseus wishes to go home, but he cannot control his men’s ignorance. The crew’s disobedience prevents Odysseus from achieving his
Before letting him leave the island, Circe tells Odysseus that he must face Scylla, a sea monster, and Charybdis, a whirlpool. Circe says, “Better by far to lose six men and keep you ship” (274). Odysseus is told beforehand that no ship could pass unscathed, but he chooses to not to tell his crew. He knowingly sacrifices his crewmembers’ lives and has no qualms about it, which shows his inner selfishness. He makes sure to protect his own life, but he sees his crew as disposable. Homer characterizes Odysseus this way in order to convey his views about humanity: humans are instinctively selfish. Odysseus also carelessley kills his remaining crew when he taunts the Cyclops. After hearing Odysseus’s name, Polyphemus prays to Poseidon and asks that Odysseus “never reaches home” but if he is destined to return, make sure he returns “a broken man—all shipmates lost, alone in a strangers ship” (228). If Odysseus had never told Polyphemus his name, he and his crew might have made it home more quickly and safely. Instead, his hubris causes an inescapable curse. Odysseus cannot bear the thought of forfeiting his fame, which leads to even more hardship on his quest to return home. Homer uses Odysseus to demonstrate the danger of egotistical
In The Odyssey, book nine and ten written by Homer, Odysseus constantly embodies the principal characteristics of a hero which are : cleverness, leadership, and selflessness. Thus, this character is regarded as an idol among the other characters and greatly captures the reader’s sympathy for his choices and the fruit to his actions in life. First, Odysseus displays cleverness in Book Nine when he tricks the Cyclops Poluphemus that his name is “nobody” in order to escape the horrors of the cyclop’s cave. He states: “Nobody--so my mother and father call me, all my friends” (Homer, 18). Second, Odysseus is a brave leader of his army especially in book ten when he displays leadership by motivating his comrades in keep trying to sail despite the
Odysseus In Homer's Odyssey, the main character Odysseus is a person who only tries to help himself. Although he earns the trust of his men while in Troy, he loses it on his perilous journey home. Many times in the epic he manipulates others, commits foolish acts and is full of hubris. He tries to take shortcuts and as a result of this, his men are killed and his boats destroyed.
After his near decade captivity and escape from Calypso, Odysseus faces many challenges in his attempt to return to Ithaca. Arguably, being held captive so long may have been a shameful period, although being a sex slave for a beautiful goddess wasn’t the worst thing imaginable. With the lack of help from and trust in the gods, Odysseus had heavy weight on his shoulders that would decide whether his fate would be shameful or honorable. A quote from Zeus emphasized this, “Odysseus shall come back by the convoy neither of the gods nor of mortal people, but he shall sail on a jointed raft and, suffering hardships, on the twentieth day make his landfall on fertile Scheria at the country of the Phaiakians who are near the gods in origin, and they will honor him in their hearts as a god, and send him back, by ship, to the beloved land of his fathers, bestowing bronze and hold in abundance upon him, and clothing, more than Odysseus could ever have taken away from Troy, even if he had escaped unharmed with his fair share of the plunder” (Odyssey 5, 30-40). The gods here place trust in the abilities of Odysseus, even though he would very much appreciate some help. Although Odysseus is mortal, he is comparable to immortal heroes due to his strength and leadership. A quality of his that is notable for a great leader was that he wouldn’t ask of his men something he wouldn’t do himself. At times though, he
Homer, the ancient writer and legend, wrote tales of cleverness and trickery, many of which can be found in The Odyssey. It a well debatable question whether the acts of deception in The Odyssey had justification and necessity, or if it was just “extra spice” Homer chose to add for flavor to appeal to the ancient Greeks’ yearn for adventure. From a well interpreted assumption, though, it can be clear that the characters of this ancient epic really were dependent on their peace of mind to get through the obstacles they went through. These Greek heroes needed to use deception to overcome a copious amount of antagonists, including Polyphemus, Circe, and the suitors.
The challenges that Homer give the protagonist is all a test of character. Odysseus continues to pass the obstacles with flying colors, but his arrogance is the one flaw that is in dire need of correction. Some of the many challenges Odysseus overcomes on his voyage home is defeating the Cicones, surviving the Island of the Lotus Eaters, outsmarting the Giant Cyclops, saving his men from Circe, Traveling to Hades, passing between Scylla and Charybdis, escaping Calypsos’ Island and many more. Odysseus survives these obstacles and uses his smarts to escape near disaster. Often times he was the only one to survive these things and his crew often lost their lives due to their own stupidity. “‘We left the island and resumed our journey in a state of gloom; and the heart was taken out of my men by the wearisome rowing. But was our own stupidity that had deprived us of the wind.’”(P127 L75-79) Odysseus shows how he is an extraordinary man by being much smarter than his crew and the men that follow him. As a part of this stripping of Odysseus, Homer shows that Odysseus is a collective symbol of Everyman. On the one hand Odysseus is a great warrior, who is extremely intelligent, noble, and a great man. Although he has many god- like qualities he is still human. He shows that he is human and like every man, because of the fact that he still has major flaws. The