Odysseus, a man who was known for his adventures, but do we really understand the attributes needed for an epic hero? The King of Ithaca had a very concealed past where it is hardly ever noted that his men were mistreated by their captain and all of Odysseus’ mistakes affected those around him. Odysseus, on several occasions did his men wrong and along his journeys, he became very willful and big headed. In The Odyssey by Homer, Odysseus has several misfortunes such as losing all of his men and being stranded and not returning home for 20 years, but evidently all of these problems were caused by the mens lack of trust in Odysseus and Odysseus being too stubborn and full of pride.
The crew had a very important job in the quests that Odysseus
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Odysseus and his men were fleeting from Polyphemus’ island, he said, “ Cyclops, if ever mortal man inquire how you were put to shame and blinded, tell him Odysseus, raider of cities, took your eye…” (book 9, lines 416-418, textbook). Odysseus is being to boastful and therefore it caused him and his man to become cursed and their journey to last for several years to come. Odysseus’ actions caused his men to pay for just being too full of pride and egotistical. After encountering Aeolus, king of the winds, odysseus received a bag full of wind so they could finally return home to Ithaca, “ nine whole days we sailed, nine nights, nonstop. On the 10th our own land hove into sight… but now an enticing sleep came onto me, bone weary from working the vessels sheet myself, not let up never testing the ropes to any other male…” (book 10, page 156, PDF). Odysseus’ pride made him a self-centered leader, and he didn’t allow his men to contribute to their returning of home. Odysseus was too full of pride to allow anyone else to take credit for his doing of bringing all of his men back home, which eventually caused his men to betray him. Odysseus was very boastful, and a man full of extreme pride. From this we can grasp that he had an elaborate way of trying to achieve his goals, which usually involved only him and not allowing anyone else to contribute to his actions and …show more content…
Odysseus and his men had travel to the island of the Lotus eaters when he drove “... them, all three wailing, to the ships, tied them down under their rowing benches, and called the rest: “ all hands a board; come, clear the beach and no one taste the Lotus or you lose your hope of home.” (Book 9, lines 48-52, textbook). Odysseus saved three of his man and brought them back to the ship, saving them from a long weary death. Odysseus also taught his remaining man a lesson and showed his men how clever he was in this dire situation. As Odysseus is fleeing from the Laestrygonians, he “...shouted rapid orders at my shipmates: ‘Put your backs in the oars- now row or die… my ship alone… we… escaped our death yet at heart for the dear companions we had lost.” (Book 10, page 159, PDF). Odysseus had left almost always meant to die with only saving a few which may have caused a sense of controversy and confusion. Also Odysseus hadn’t thought of a way to save all of his men, which eventually impacted his journey and his entire crew. Though Odysseus did have several acts of heroic deeds, the amount of failure in a majority of those other acts overpowered them
The crew of Odysseus rebels multiple times throughout their journey to Ithaca by disregarding their commanding officer’s directions. King Aeolus gives Odysseus winds in an ox skin bag as a going-away gift to arrive back on Ithaca, but does not include the crewmates in the gift. Odysseus’ sailors become jealous of the favoritism shown by King Aeolus, so they open the ox bag and “all the winds burst out” while Odysseus is sleeping (Fagles 10.52). The crew does not like how Odysseus, a unilateral decision maker, receives more attention and gifts from the King, so they become resentful of their captain. Differently, Mark Watney’s crew trusts him and focuses on their new sole purpose: saving their fellow crewmember.
I took my shipmates along with me” (10.62,64). This shows Odysseus is full of strength because he was so close to reaching Ithaca, Odysseus’s hometown. When his ignorant crew mates opened the sack, they went all the way back to where they started their journey. However, Odysseus still looks out for his men throughout the rest of the journey. This proves Odysseus as a hero because he stays patient and doesn’t abandon his men, even after they betrayed him.
Although Odysseus occasionally does something for the short-term benefit of his crew, he does not deserve their loyalty because he does not sincerely care about them, trust them, or listen to them. Even when Odysseus is in the middle of nowhere in a boat with his comrades and crew members for twenty years, he still manages to not care about them and think of his own life as more valuable than any of theirs. An example of this is when Odysseus sends his men into danger instead of being a leader and going first: “All I spied was a plume of smoke, drifting off the land. / So I sent some crew ahead to learn who lived there -- / men like us perhaps, who live on bread?”
In the epic story the Odyssey by Homer, Odysseus is returning from the Trojan war, and on his way home he finds many obstacles ahead of him. Odysseus is the ruler of Ithaca and he is trying to return home to his land. Many creatures try and stop him from achieving his goal of returning home, but he and his crew have to push through and get home. Odysseus portrays bravery and courage leading his crew through these tough challenges. Odysseus heroically leads his crew and himself through dangerous obstacles, but also foolishly endangers them during the journey home.
Odysseus is extremely selfish by betraying his crew. His crew believes that Odysseus is trying to help them return home, when he is actually only concerned about himself.
As a leader Odysseus should be careful to do exactly what will benefit his crew the most. The lack of communication throughout the whole journey home will eventually lead to mistrust and betrayal of Odysseus by his crew. Following Scylla and Charybdis they reach the island of the god of the sun, and because of the crew’s spite for Odysseus they don’t follow his directions not to harm the cattle of the Sun. Just in the events of the journey back to Ithaca alone the reader can see how Odysseus’ inability to be a strong leader leads to the dismantling of a good relationship between him and his crew, which leads to a much more difficult trip. Odysseus’ inability to be a great leader for the group leads to a lot of conflict among the crew members.
This text shows that Odysseus can be humble and accept that he needs to listen to survive and he alone can not keep his whole crew alive. Odysseus tends to use his own wit and skills to survive not needing others help, but sometimes he does need to take others advice to
Odysseus portrays those three heroic traits throughout his voyage home to Ithaca, which is why he is a hero. Odysseus is highly dedicated to his reputation and ego for the whole of his rocky and treacherous journey. From going up against a cyclops that is five times the size of him, to placing wax upon his crewmates’ ears to mute the singing of the Sirens, Odysseus is brave when he faces his fears and intelligent when he creates lifesaving tools from ship materials. A modern hero can be someone who saves a life or even sacrifices his or her own for someone else. Odysseus can be compared to a modern hero because he risks his own life to protect his crewmates.
There are many lessons Odysseus and is men learn on their journey home in the Odyssey. Unfortunately, only Odysseus makes it home and the rest of men are dead because of their foolish actions. In the Thrinacia and The Cattle of the Sun episode of the Odyssey Odysseus’s men once again disobey him and cost them their lives. The men and Odysseus learn valuable lessons throughout their epic journey, but in the episode the most important lessons they learn are; temptation can lead to death, being obedient can save your life, and trust your instincts. If Odysseus’s men would have been more obedient to their leader Odysseus perhaps all of them would have made it back home alive.
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.
The Odyssey by Homer is a book that involves the Journey of Odysseus and his men and the Obstacles they come across. The Odyssey portrays many themes including vengeance, hospitality, courage, bravery and more. Odysseus experiences some good and bad during his journey. He comes across people who help him, but also comes across creatures who hold him back. Odysseus is an Epic hero because of his quick thinking skills, bravery, and confidence for himself and his men.
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
After Odysseus’s men's stupidity, greed, and foolishness gets them killed, he learns that others actions and decisions may cause some terrible, long lasting grief. Odysseus faced a terrible amount of pain, but it only pushed him farther to finish what he had started and make it to his final destination,
I wouldn’t let any of my crew / Spell me, because I wanted to make good time.” His poor decision of not telling the crew about the winds, and insisting to sail by himself is another byproduct of his pride. This scene can be directly contrasted to his journey from Phaeacia to Ithaca, as he finally trusts his crew and reaches home peacefully. The significance of this incident very much fortifies the obstacles and predicaments that Odysseus faces on his way home, as well as unmasking the impurities in the character of