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Odyssey crew
Character sketch of odysseus
Odyssey crew from Odyssey
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What causes Odysseus’ men to open the bag of winds Aeolus has given Odysseus, and what is the consequence?
Odysseus’ men are loyal men to Odysseus. But throughout the epic the characters are faced with curiosity and disobedience. This curiosity may not be apparent in the beginning of the epic but once the men feel their odyssey to Ithica comes to an end they lose sight of their ultimate goal, to return home. When the crew gains sight of their homeland the soon drop their guard and become curious of the bag Odysseus received from Aeolus. The men become envious of the gift and devise a plan to open the bag to reveal the treasures but rather release the three winds.
The bag, once opened, releases the winds, creating a horrendous storm. This storm initially sends the men backwards to Aeolus’ palace.
What is Odysseus doing while his men commit this foolish act, and what is the significance?
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While Odysseus’ men are committing this foolish act, Odysseus has let his guard down also and falls asleep.
Throughout the epic sleep is seen as a negative and positive situation, and in this instance Odysseus has let his guard down and has fallen asleep, allowing chaos to brew amongst his men.
What does Circe (Known as the Witch goddess) do to Odysseus’ men (save one-which one?)?
Odysseus’ men enter the goddess’ house with a lack of concern, but Eurylochus stays hidden outside of the cottage. Once Circe has invited the men in she feeds them a bountiful meal along with a drink concoction, causing the men to leave their worries behind. Once the concoction has affected the men she transforms the men into swine and pins each man up outside. Eurylochus flees the goddess house and makes his way back to Odysseus and the remainder of the crew to inform them of the disastrous event.
How does Odysseus save his
men? Odysseus leaves his ship and heads towards Circe’s house. Along the way he encounters the god Hermes who informs him on how to win the goddess over and free his men. Along with the shared information, Hermes collects the ancient herb Moly that will counteract any potion affecting his body. Hermes, along with the herb, gives Odysseus advice on how to overtake Circe. Odysseus must extract his sword from his sheath the moment Circe goes to touch him with her wand, and Odysseus must act as he plans on killing her. She asks for forgiveness by taking him to lay with her, but odysseus must force Circe to make an oath that there will be no foul play. Circe, confused by Odysseus’ emotions, asks of him what is wrong. Odysseus replies, “Circe, how could a decent man bear to eat or drink before he had rescued his comrades and seen them with his own eyes? But if you were truly sincere in what you just said, then set my men free and let me see them in front of me, safe and sound.”(Book 10 pg. 133). Circe immediately releases his men not only because she feels obliged to but she lusts for Odysseus and wants him to feel the same for her. How long (and why) does Odysseus and his men remain on Circe’s Island of Aeaea? Odysseus and his men remain on the island with Circe for a year, indulging in her wealth, food, hospitality, and love. Odysseus remains on the island to sleep with the goddess along with creating an escape from the treacherous odyssey Odysseus and his men have encountered.
In The Odyssey, Homer conveys a mixed message about Odysseus’s crew. At times, they seem loyal, whereas other scenes reveal them as disloyal. Homer does this to help center the attention on how Odysseus can fall victim to temptation and stand up to take control of his crew. The critical moments where Odysseus and his crew are in disagreement are significant because they demonstrate how Odysseus is epic, yet still human and flawed.
It is Circe who tells Odysseus of the trip which he and his men must
The hero soon lands on Aeolus’ island. (Aeolus is the Keeper of the Winds.) He helps Odysseus on his way by giving him the right winds to take him home to Ithaca. The hero gets within site of his home but a hurricane blows him all the way back to Aeolus’ island. This time Aeolus turns Odysseus away, and he is forced to continue his journey. The hero and his men next end up in the Land of the Midnight Sun, where the Laestrygonians live. The Laesrtygonians attack the men and sink eleven of the twelve ships. Only Odysseus’ ship and forty-four men escape to safety. This is one of the most painful tribulations Odysseus faces on his journey.
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.
In the epic poem, The Odyssey, Odysseus’ heroic deeds are recounted through a narrative, written by Homer, that describes his arduous journey of his return from the Trojan war to his homeland of Ithaca. Loyalty, patience, and determination, are necessary traits to survive the perilous, painstaking journey that Odysseus embarks upon to return to his native land. Loyalty is exhibited when Odysseus goes to rescue his crewmen on Kirke’s Island despite the probability of jeopardizing his own life. Odysseus presents patience throughout the entirety of his journey, but most specifically when his crew opens the bag of wind, which causes much regression on the embark homeward. Determination is displayed when Odysseus is on Calypso’s island.
In there travels, Odysseus and his men land on the island of Aeolia. Here Odysseus is given a gift from the wind god Aeolus. Aeolus gathers all the stormy and evil winds and places them into a bag for Odysseus voyage. Odysseus heads back to the boat and gives specific instructions to his men not to open the bag, but he doesn't tell them what is in it. His men are curious go against their kings order. "But during the voyage, the suspicious and curious sailor's open the bag, thinking it contains treasure, and the evil winds roar up into hurricanes that threaten the luckless Odysseus again."(Page 911). If his men used self discipline they would not have been delayed even more and arrive at Ithaca earlier.
Homer’s The Odyssey, a magnificent story of lust, deceit, greed, and heroism, still fascinates scholars and casual readers alike today in the same way it fascinated its audience at the time it was written. The Odyssey, a journey of determination, patience, and virtue, tells the tail of Odysseus, the main character, on his voyage home to Ithaka after the end of the Trojan War. Odysseus goes through many unforeseen trials and tribulations, which exemplify his character. During these different happenings, Odysseus makes decisions that do not correspond to his character.
An epic hero is almost overwhelmed with difficulty, often beyond that which a normal man could withstand. Not only is he confronted occasionally by danger or hopelessness; it is the entire premise of the poem. “Sing to me of the man, Muse, the man of twists and turns driven time and again off course, once he had plundered the hallowed heights of Troy” (Fagles 77). This it the first line of the whole poem, summing up what is going to happen as the speaker prays to the Muses, goddesses of stories. There is in fact, no other person, fictional or otherwise, in all of history, ever so besieged with difficulty, as Odysseus. Women and goddesses often tempt epic heroes, and Odysseus is tempted too. The goddess Circe is one of the many people who tempt him, “Come, sheath your sword, lets go to bed together, mount my bed and mix in the magic work of love-we’ll breed deep trust between us” (Fagles 240). Though Odysseus does bed with her, he never loses sight of his hope of coming home to his wife, Penelope.
These two female characters are especially enticing to Odysseus because they are goddesses. Though it is evident that Odysseus longs to return to Penelope in Ithaca, it sometimes appears that he has lost vision of what life was like with a wife, a son, and with thousands of people who regard him as King. Although his experiences on the islands of these goddesses were similar in that he was retained from Ithaca for the longest periods of his adventure, these goddesses and the ways that Odysseus reacts to his experiences with them represent two very different aspects of Odysseus' life and disposition in life. When Odysseus and his men arrive on Circe's island, they are still in fairly good shape. In Book X, lines 194-196, Odysseus says: "I climbed to a rocky place of observation and looked at the island, and the endless sea lies all in a circle around it." I believe this illuminates a very important aspect in Circe's tendencies. She doesn't seem to want to cause any real harm to the men, but wishes to encircle these men with her food, wine, and lust. She seems to be obsessed with lust and material possessions, and it is my belief th...
In Homer’s Odyssey Odysseus shows his yearning for adventure and that challenging himself brings him happiness through his actions not his thoughts. Even in the clutches of a raging cyclopes Odysseus’ accepts the challenge at hand and persevere through the loss of some of his men. “My name is Nohbdy,” he tells Polyphemus who is drunk from the liquor Odysseus had given him before. The giant “reeled and tumbled backward,”. He son fell asleep and the next stages of his plan fell into place. When the sharpened log was hot enough for his liking he and a few other men “bored that great eye socket,”(380). Instead of letting his men die while he cracked under the pressure Odysseus remained calm and allowed himself to think. Having achieved his goal of defeating the mighty cyclopes he rejoiced in his valiancy. Odysseus exuded happiness when most of his men got out alive. Odysseus’ habits of getting his men into seemingly inescapable predicaments continues on the island of Cersei. At the gate of the witch’s island his need for adventure takes the best of his judgement. Against the advice of Eurylochus Odysseus “rushes to save his men from the enchantress,” (387). Odysseus’ need for thrill and excitement draws him onto the island. He knows that he will suffer the same fate but makes a decision in the heat of the moment that could've made him unable to return home, but he wasn’t thinking of home, he purely wanted to get his men back. Throughout his journey Odysseus perfectly represents the bond between a man’s adventures and the challenges they bring to
The image of seductresses is a recurring motif in The Odyssey. These women are a temptation to Odysseus. They attempt to keep Odysseus from accomplishing his goal: his homecoming. Circe is a bewitching goddess. She entices Odysseus’ crew into her palace with her enchanting voice. However, after she feeds them, she promptly turns them into pigs. Circe also succeeds in enticing Odysseus; he stays with her one year as her lover. It is so long that his crew declares that it is “madness” (326). They say that it is “high time” that Odysseus thinks of his homeland (326). Later on, Odysseus and his crew encounter the sirens. Knowing the danger they pose, Odysseus has all his men’s ears stopped up with wax. However, Odysseus wishes to hear their song; so he asks his crew to tie him to the mast. The song of the sirens is so sweet and enticing. Their “ravishing voices” almost make Odysseus forget his desire to return home (349). His heart “throbbed” to listen longer; he signals for his men to let him go free. The grea...
These few instances of revenge: Orestes’ revenge on Aegisthus, Zeus’ revenge on Odysseus and his men, and Poseidon’s revenge on Odysseus in The Odyssey, lay the background for Odysseus’ story of struggle in his journey home from Troy. Revenge proves to be the main reason not only as to why Odysseus cannot return home, but also as a means of proving the importance of the gods’ role in the epic journey. Without these occurrences of the gods getting revenge on Odysseus and other mortals, there would be no passionate tales of the perseverance that Odysseus had in achieving his goal: getting home to Ithaca.
The hyperboles “broken man” and “world of pain” elucidates Polyphemus’s craving for revenge and foreshadows Poseidon’s hindering for the remainder of Odysseus’s journey home. Odysseus and his crew would have left the Cyclops’ island with no interferences if he was able to contain his pride, but his ineptness to control himself, even with his crew begging him to calm down, angers a god, making it the greatest threat to his voyage (9.558-562). In another instance, Odysseus is successfully able to befriend the master of all the winds, Aeolus, who then propels them home with a winds and gifts Odysseus with a bag of winds. However, Homer displays Odysseus's pride overtaking him again; “never trusting the ropes to any other mate,” he overworks himself till “an enticing sleep [comes] on” (10.37,35). His incompetence to prioritize his trust for his crew above his self-confidence causes him to man the whole ship himself and endangers his crew and himself due to a lack of rest. He believes that controlling the whole ship himself would accelerate his journey home, but it does the exact opposite; it causes his crew to question him and believe there are riches in the bag. Thus, his crew open the bag once the “enticing sleep” overcomes Odysseus, and the winds send them back to Aeolus right as they approach Ithaca (10.52-54). Overall, Odysseus's most impactful challenges on his journey originate from his hubris and his inability to control it, making it the greatest threat that delays his successful
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...
The impulses of Odysseus' crewmembers also impede his journey. The ship had reached the Aeolian Island, home of Aeolus the master of all winds. He gave Odysseus a bag "binding inside the winds that how from every quarter, with the power to calm them down or rouse them as he pleased...