The Odyssey by Homer is an exemplary story that teaches life lessons to those going on a journey for themselves. It illustrates how the challenges and obstacles one may face can help someone become a better leader. The Odyssey highlights one man, Odysseus, a man filled with excessive pride, experiencing the wrath of the god Poseidon. He expects to arrive at his home, Ithaca, safely to reunite with his wife, Penelope, but unfortunately faces many temptations and setbacks. Due to the challenges he faces, it prevents him from arriving home as early as he thought he would. Although Odysseus in The Odyssey by Homer does not learn life lessons easily and constantly puts himself and others in danger, the challenges that come his way helps him …show more content…
On the Cyclopes' island, he was interested in meeting the owner of the cave who had such fine cheeses. However, his men only want to steal the cheese and leave hastily because there was an uneasiness about the cave. Nevertheless, he fixes upon staying and not soon after, the cyclops Polyphemus returns. He and his men are now in peril because of Odysseus' recklessness. The consequence of his decision is that shortly after Polyphemus devours most of his men but this bolsters him to conjure a plan to escape. After he successfully exits the cave by blinding the cyclopes, he and his surviving men board the ship. As a result of his pride, he calls out to the monster, "If anyone asks who put out your eye, tell them it was Odysseus of Ithaca!”(Hinds 109). Considering the fact Polyphemus is the son of Poseidon, the cyclops calls out to him and therefore starts the troublesome voyage for Odysseus back home. When he returns to Ithaca he learns to control his hubris by replacing it with patience. Athena, the goddess of war and strategy, disguises Odysseus as a beggar because it is wisest to arrive in Ithaca without anyone being able to recognize him. This helps him create an element of surprise when he decides to confront the suitors and to deal the dangers of them possibly striking at him as soon as he walks into his home. In the time he spends as a beggar, he endures the abuse …show more content…
As a leader, Odysseus has to be resilient and firm but he is falling into too many traps. Nonetheless, he is a tenacious man who is focused to arrive in Ithaca. When King Aeolus captured the winds and gave it to him so it could blow them straight on their course for home, he stays up for nine days, determined that nothing will get in his way of arriving back home. Although they sight Ithaca in the distance, Odysseus' men open the bag while he sleeps because they speculate that King Aeolus gave him gold and riches. Once the bag opens, the gust of wind throws them off course and pushes them back to Aeolia. Their jealousy got in the way of what was truly right. When finally landing in Ithaca, he learns that loyalty is something that shouldn't be broken, especially when some of the suitors are from Ithaca, Odysseus' own homeland. This means that the suitors are disloyal to their King because they are courting his wife, stealing all his food, and slaughtering his animals for their feasts. Most importantly, they are plotting to kill Telemachus and Odysseus if he is ever to return to the island. He learns that the only way he can show that he is a firm leader is to reveal to all of Ithaca who he truly is. He does this by transforming back to his true form and slaughtering those who defied
Earlier in the epic, Odysseus frequently abuses his role as captain of his crew because of his curious nature. He makes several stops on their journey home in search of more opportunities to prove his skillfulness, even though he is already a king and has won a major war. One of these stops is at the Island of Polyphemus, home to the cyclops famed for eating all humans that enter his cave. Even though Odysseus is well aware of the danger ahead, his curiosity tempts him to
Pride and honor The suitors seem dangerously proud, especially when Odysseus returns. In the end, the suitors have dishonored Odysseus and must pay for this. Justice Odysseus, like Orestes, will eventually be a deliverer of justice. Justice takes time. Neither Orestes nor Odysseus can act immediately.
After escaping from the Cyclops, Odysseus and his crew reach the Aeolian island. During that time the men sailed for nine days straight with Odysseus mainly doing everything. He maned the sails alone, “never trusting the ropes to any other mate” (10.37). Instead of having faith in his team he only trusts himself to get the job done. Also when he receives the bag of wind from Aeolus he doesn't tell his crew what he had received.
Odysseus had to patiently suffer through twenty long years of struggling to return back to his family, that solely reinforced his patience because he knew he would get back some day. “I’m sure no other woman could be so cold and keep her husband at a distance, now he has come home after twenty years and all those terrible dangers!”. This extreme adventure shows the immense amount of love and loyalty he feels for his wife and family and the circumstances he is willing to travel through to get back to them. After this journey of twenty years, his
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.
As Odysseus is retelling his story to King Alcinous in Phaeacia, he showcases his deceit towards his crew. After years of fighting and traveling to get back home, Odysseus encounters Aeolus, King of the Winds. Aeolus agrees to pack up all the winds besides the west wind in order to bring Odysseus and his crew home safely and quickly. However, Odysseus does not tell his men what is inside the bag, so the men’s curiosity gets the best of them. Odysseus explains to Alcinous that “[we] got so close in that we could see the stubble fires burning, and I, being the dead best, fell into a light sleep, for I had never let the rudder out of my own hands, that we might get home faster…thus they talked and evil counsels prevailed.
The Odyssey, a story based on a great warrior who not just shows his mind but his faults. One fault being his pride. As of the day he went to fight the Trojan War, he was lost at sea for 20 years. Odysseus fought with smart and the hope of being able to defeat everyone in his path. One example of this is Odysseus built the trojan horse which helped him win the Trojan war.
“Greed is a bottomless pit which exhausts the person in an endless effort to satisfy the need without ever reaching satisfaction.” -Erich Fromm ‘The Odyssey’ by Homer, follows the story of Odysseus, a great Greek hero. It tells of his venture to Troy, to lead his army in the Trojan War, and his separation from loved ones and his kingdom for twenty years. However, the novel mainly focuses on the story of his homecoming and all he, and many others, had to endure while he was returning from abroad.
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.
When one enters a difficult situation they often focus on how to overcome it with as little damage done as possible. In Odysseus’ predicament with the Cyclops Polyphemus, he uses his intellect and cunning skills to get him and his crew to safety. After being trapped in Polyphemus’ cave and watching his men get eaten, Odysseus created a plan to trick
In the book called The Odyssey by Homer, it mainly follows the story of a king of a village called Ithaca, hundreds of years ago-This man, is named Odysseus. Odysseus goes through many adventures after the victory of the Trojan War. However, this is where Odysseus, is not being as strong as a great war hero and a king as he should be. Although Odysseus was seen as a very strong person, physically and mentally, he lacks the appreciation and the care of his crew throughout the trials and didn’t think through many of his actions thoroughly and how they would affect not only his crew but people around him.
Naturally, he has much to be proud of: his sexy and loyal wife, his bravery, and his victorious battles from the Trojan War and beyond. However, his arrogance creates a weakness in his character that negatively impacts himself and the people around him. The evolution in Odysseus’s personality turns him from an arrogant flaunter to a humble man, and demonstrates that the strifes he encounters during his journey home is not simply new experiences, but also his beginning of a profound revelation. Starting from the middle of the mountain, Odysseus’s new transformation will allow him to soar to the top with eagle
Upon Odysseus arrival to Ithaca, Athena hides his identity to help him defeat the suitors. She turns him into a very old beggar to conceal his identity from everyone, most importantly the suitors. Odysseus reveals himself to his son Telemachus, cowherd and the swine herd. The nurse Eurycleia recognizes him because of a scar he got years ago by a boar’s white tusk. Penelope doesn’t recognize Odysseus at first sight because of the disguise.
The Odyssey begins as Odysseus leaves an island he was trapped on for 10 years to go back to his hometown, Ithaca. However, we do not know if he will make it back, as it is highly probable that he will die. The Odyssey is a Greek Epic involving some of their ancient Gods. On the way to Ithaca Odysseus faces many challenges while his wife deals with challenges of her own at their house. Suitors have taken over Odysseus’s home, and are all trying to marry Odysseus’s wife, Penelope.
“Character Development and Analysis of Odysseus in ‘The Odyssey’” Odysseus, the Ithacan king portrayed in Homer’s “The Odyssey”, is a complex and round character that develops further and further as the epic poem progresses. These traits are crucial to the representation and image of the main character of the epic. Not only does “The Odyssey” reveal numerous attributes of Odysseus, but also helps the reader and the audience understand the features of the ancient Greek world. Several specific incidents and events in the epic demonstrate the development of Odysseus’ character and the development of the epic as a whole.