Greek Values In Odysseus In Homer's The Odyssey

Greek Values One may have wondered how mysterious it is when two lives on separate journeys meet, combining their journeys into one. In the epic poem The Odyssey, by Homer, Odysseus and his son, Telémakhos, do exactly this through trials influenced by hospitality, loyalty, and cleverness. After a long war Odysseus sets a voyage for home in hopes of meeting his son for the first time, but runs into many set backs. The Odyssey is an epic poem about how Odysseus and Telémakhos are reunited and the trials they go through to get back home. During both of their journeys, Odysseus and Telémakhos follow the most significant of the Greek values, hospitality, loyalty, and cleverness to help them to complete their journeys and reunite with each other.

"I tied them [ram] silently together twining cords of willow from the ogre's bed, then slung a man under each middle one to ride safely, shielded left and right." (IX 165-170). This passage shows how Odysseus used his cleverness by using his resources that were in the cyclopes' cave to escape. This was the third day in the cave, one would have thought to give up already, but he put together what he had to survive. After Odysseus stabbed Polythemus in the eye, the cyclopes yelled, "'Nohbdy, Nohbdy's tricked me, Nohbdy's ruined me!' To this the rough shout they [other cyclopes] made a sage reply: 'Ah well, if nobody has played you foul there in your lonely, we are no use in pain given by great Zeus.'" (IX 444-447). Odysseus was clever not to give the cyclopes his real name because, he knew if he did the other cyclopes would recognize him and try to go after him. Instead he stated that his name was Nohbdy. This was also a clever move on Odysseus' part because when the other cyclopes asked who stabbed him it would sound like he was saying nobody instead of Nohbdy. Due to Odysseus' quick thinking and cleverness, him and his crew escaped another challenge making them one step closer to