Both heroes are different people by the time they get home. Moses goes from an Egyptian citizen with no voice or confidence, to a leader responsible for the Israelite men. Odysseus begins and spends most of his journey as an impatient, fame-hungry man. By the end, he thinks before he acts, cares less about the glory and being a hero, and is overall more patient. After waiting ten years to have his wife back, Odysseus waits, disguised as a beggar. He eventually takes part in a contest, in which he knew he could win. It is only after this that he rids himself of disguise and earns back his wife, Penelope.
Neither hero has ultimate faith and belief in obedience to their god(s) in the beginning of their journey. Moses doubts not only his ability
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As briefly mentioned earlier, Odysseus essentially lets his entire crew die, but not to any fault of his own, according to Homer. Odysseus returns home to his wife and son, Telemachus, but does not bring his crew to safety as Moses does. Unfortunately, this is due to his crew going against his orders. The entire crew ultimately dies because they eat Helios’ cattle, which Odysseus warns them against. Prior to this, they also accidentally released the bag of winds which sent them back in their travels and all got turned to pigs by Circe. Regardless, Odysseus was extremely heroic and victorious in the Trojan War, and proved his loyalty once more when he finally returned home to his family. At the time Homer wrote the Odyssey, Odysseus was a loved and favorite hero among the Greeks for years. Which is why it comes as a surprise, as expressed by one writer in “The English Journal”, that modern readers do not see Odysseus as a hero. The author predominantly tributes this to their lack of knowledge of what people in society were like at the time. The first example they use is that modern readers see Odysseus as much less faithful than his wife, Penelope. Yet, by studying history, one will actually find that “In Homeric Greece wives were only property” and “adultery, if with a god, actually enhanced even a woman's value”(The English Journal, 2). It comes down to the change in perspective among many places and cultures concerning love and marriage. Next, the author writes that many young Americans have a problem with Odysseus’ heavy reliance on Athena. She credits this to the changing society as well, as dependence on the gods was much more common before the Odyssey was completely finished. They note that the earlier Greeks relied on intervention of the gods even more than Odysseus does. (The English Journal,
But he could not save them from disaster, hard as he strove— the recklessness of their own ways destroyed them all, the blind fools, they devoured the cattle of the Sun and the Sungod blotted out the day of their return” (Homer 1). Odysseus did not face the death of a family member such as Holden and Allie, however, Odysseus was close with his crew and whenever any one of them died he grieved. Odysseus faced many more deaths in his lifetime, due to the fact that he was
The word hero has had many meanings throughout history. The modern definition of a hero states that they are a person who is idolized for their courage or noble qualities. Whether Homer’s protagonist, Odysseus, from the Odyssey is actually a hero has been up for some debate. Yet, Odysseus is a hero since he shows loyalty to the gods, family, and crew, courage in the face of numerous perils, and leadership in challenging times. During the duration of the Odyssey, there were several instances where Odysseus’s loyalty was tested.
While on the other hand, Odysseus is another heroic person from the stories we have read that exemplified as many courageous acts just as Job did. Odysseus was faced with different test as he attempted
He is presented with his lost crew mates, his mother, and Tiresias. Tiresias tells Odysseus he sees anguish ahead. They will find Helios's cattle. but if they follow their intent of getting home, they will reach home. But if Odysseus and his men raid the cattle, Tiresias sees destruction, in which only Odysseus survives.
The Greek gods and goddesses are the ultimate representation how Greek culture. Since the gods and goddesses did not mention Odysseus’ lack of sexual fidelity, this shows that the values for men in Greek culture were not infringed upon. Sexual fidelity and how it is dealt with by the story’s most important characters in The Odyssey show the morals of Greek
His fate and journey are ultimately changed by the actions of others who are selfish, greedy, and foolish. The suitor’s greed gave him the extra desire to finally return to Ithaca, and his journey changed as he became desperate to return to Penelope. The selfishness crew caused his journey to be delayed, as he was forced to travel for ten extra days. The foolish crew, and their need to die with full stomachs caused Odysseus to be alone and stuck on an island with Kalypso resulting in more time away from
Odysseus has grown from the man he was before, as now he finds comfort and safety in obeying the gods when in the past he did not consider their wishes. Odysseus has only returned due to Athena and he has recognized that and his compliance is founded in his appreciation and respect for her. Odysseus is now a hero due to the obedience he now has to the gods, founded in a sense of humility. Through Odysseus’ experiences on his journey, he learns the value of obedience and dangers of arrogance and ultimately, become a hero through the lessons learned.
The odyssey, an epic told by Homer in ancient greece, has many major themes following odysseus’s adventures. While Odysseus is sentenced to never return home after the Trojan War. He is overcoming challenges to return home to his wife penelope and his son Telemachus. Throughout the story major themes of loyalty, hospitality and vengeance are hidden within the plot. The story continues to show his heroic side with three major traits.
He also loses many loyal people whether it was leaving them back in Ithaca or losing them through the journey, like Elpenor. While coming back from Troy, Odysseus also makes many enemies and angers the gods. One tough challenge for
In the Odyssey, there were many gods/goddess’ that affected Odysseus. Though there were some in particular that stood out. The Odyssey is a story about a hero named Odysseus, who must go through many challenges; just to get home to his wife. In this essay, it will talk about the three gods/goddess’ that affected Odysseus the most. Them being Hermes, Poseidon, and Athena.
When reading the Odyssey, it’s hard not to be captivated by the thrilling story. Even today, it’s easy to see that Odysseus has every heroic trait there is. But what made him a hero to the ancient Greeks? The reason is that ‘The Great Odysseus’ had competence, godlike capabilities, and he was determined to be righteous and victorious, regardless of the cost.
At various times throughout the story, mainly through the trials, Odysseus made many decisions and forced his crew to go through many potentially lethal situations without preparing his own crew, or situations that were just a waste of time. This then leads to not only all of his crew being killed but the creation of many bad relationships. The first example of Odysseus mistreating his crew is when he and his crew went through the trails, “No more. Come, / let me tell you about the voyage fraught with hardship / Zeus inflicted on me, homeward bound from Troy...” 9.42-44.
The Odyssey by Homer revolves around the character, Odysseus, and his ten-year struggle to return home after the Trojan War. As the epic’s idol, he displays the combination of a clever, handsome, and courageous man popular among the mortals as well as the gods. Essentially, he embodies the ideals of the ancient Greek culture, being adorned with many favored characteristics of the era. However, an intriguing aspect of Odysseus lies in his personality. As the protagonist, he does not manifest the entirety of a stereotypical hero because Odysseus has a fatal flaw—his arrogance.
While Odysseus did have good intentions of bringing his men home, he continuously made poor and selfish decisions, and he was constantly putting his men in danger more often than
In Homer’s Epic Poem The Odyssey, Odysseus is portrayed as godlike, but at the same time he is a vulnerable mortal. In Greek culture gods were considered inspiring figures. Gods were well known and played an essential role in Greek culture. Gods had absolute power over mortal action.