Hundreds of years before the birth of Christ, the ancient greeks believed in several gods and goddesses, as well as heroes and beasts that are recorded in poetry. In a renowned collection of epic poems that brings these age-old characters to life, Homer’s “Odyssey”, we learn about the protagonist, the king of Ithaca, and his eventful return to his home and family. On his homeward journey, this king, Odysseus, faced many obstacles but, with his intelligence, loyalty, and strength, he was able to overcome every barrier, from angry gods to mutinous friends. One of several external conflicts in the Epic that Odysseus faces is his interaction with one of the story’s antagonists, the cyclops, Polyphemus. While guests in Odysseus’ were supposed to …show more content…
This conflict was both internal and external in nature, because Odysseus was physically trapped on the island but he was internally conflicted between longing for his wife and accepting his stay with Calypso. This conflict was technically resolved by the gods- “Now she begs her father, Zeus, to help her favorite mortal, and Zeus agrees. He sends the messenger god Hermes to Calypso’s island to order Odysseus released.”(Holt, 912)- but if it were not for his loyalty to his home, Athena’s efforts would have been futile. His wish for home caused his release to be effective, as he actually had reason to finish his original journey. “Yet, it is true, each day I long for the sight of home”(Homer, 117-118), he tells Calypso. She responds to his confession by allowing him to leave, as Zeus wished. Odysseus builds a raft and enters Poseidon’s watery domain again. After being trapped by the beautiful nymph for so long, it is a testament to Odysseus’ loyalty to his wife and to Ithaca that he did not succumb to her …show more content…
The first time this happened was on Ismaros, when his men refused to leave- “On the spot I told them: ‘back, and quickly! Out to sea again! My men were mutinous, fools, on stores of wine. Sheep after sheep they butchered by the surf, and shambling cattle, feasting- while fugitives went inland, running to call to arms the main force of Cicones.”(Homer, 155-160) Only thanks to the strength of his army were they able to decimate the Cicone soldiers and escape, albeit with their numbers drastically reduced. The men likely would not have held their beach, had Odysseus been a weaker leader. The second time Odysseus’ men interfered with his return home was on the island of the sun god. Though Odysseus cautioned his men against touching Helios’ cattle, his men did not heed his warning. When Odysseus fell asleep, Eurylochus persuaded his companions to eat the cattle, saying, “Come, we’ll cut out the noblest of these cattle for sacrifice to the gods who own the sky: and once at home, in the old country of Ithaca, if ever that day comes- we’ll build a costly temple and adorn it with every beauty for the lord of noon.”(Homer, 884-889) The killing of his cattle angered Helios, and he asked Zeus to punish Odysseus’ men.Zeus complied, striking their ship with a lightning bolt so that everyone but Odysseus drowned. Odysseus had to use his strength and sense to overcome the problems his
As eager as Odysseus is to get back home to his wife and son in Ithaca, the shipmates on board with him are struggling with hunger and the loss of energy. Looking at Odysseus’ intense determination to return to his town, it seems as if the only idea that is filled in his mind is to go back to Ithaca without looking at the tired condition of his shipmates. Odysseus’ yelled difficult orders and tasks that were expected to be fulfilled by his sailors, and for the most part they were able to complete it. Looking at the poor men rowing day and night over the monstrous waves, Odysseus never gave them a chance to take a break and enjoy a single meal, until one shipmate decided to speak up. Even so, Odysseus was narrow-minded and thought only about
Lord Helios gets Zeus to punish Odysseus and his men. This leads to Zeus bringing down an enormous storm upon their fleet and only Odysseus survived, because he hadn't eaten
When people get lost without a way home, they will usually sacrifice everything to get home. Being on the way home for ten years already caused Odysseus to make the brash decision of sailing past Scylla, even after Circe had warned, “No mariners yet can boast they've raced their ship past Scylla’s lair without some mortal blow”(9.108-109). This brash decision lead to death of some of his crew, he sacrificed his men for himself. Odysseus also decided that in order to get home he and his men we to go, “to the House of Death”, which is extremely dangerous. So many things could have gone wrong, they may have never even made it out to get out.
In the story, Mercury travels to Calypso’s island to tell her that Odysseus must be released. However, during this meeting, Odysseus was on the beach with tears in his eyes. Moreover, he spent his days on the shore weeping for his dear wife, longing
John Ruskin once said, “The first test of truly great man is his humility”. In The Odyssey, an epic poem by Homer, the central character Odysseus learns humility through his failures and growth in obedience making him a hero. Odysseus reaches a heroic status through the lessons learned on his journey, which ultimately taught him the value of obedience and the dangers of arrogance. Initially, Odysseus appears to lack the heroic quality of humility, through his narcissistic nature.
Also in the story of Scylla and Charybdis, Odysseus led his men to both of the monsters. Once his men began to get taken Odysseus could hear his men’s struggles, “Voices came down to me in anguish calling my name for the last time.” (936) In this final part of his journey to get home to Ithaca, Odysseus allowed all of his men to die when facing these sea monsters. He sacrificed his men, who had embarked on this extremely dangerous mission with him, for his own sake.
As Odysseus arrives to the island-home of Calypso, the beautiful nymph, he is quickly held prisoner. Although it may seem that Odysseus felt that he was truly a prisoner, he, at one point in his stay, enjoyed Calypso’s presence and was willingly seduced by her. It is clear that over the seven-year stay, Calypso had fallen in love with Odysseus and he had let his vulnerability to women become his harshest weakness. Her female dominance was even shown at times of manipulation through her ability to hold a man prisoner and prevent him from carrying on with his travels home. Although, when it came upon Athena that Odysseus was eager to arrive home to Ithaca, Zeus sent Hermes to have Calypso free Odysseus.
He felt obligated to remain with her in a perfect paradise for seven years. However, throughout the entire time he was trapped with Calypso, Odysseus felt that he was wanted elsewhere. Thus, he longed to return to his home and to his dearly loved Penelope. Odysseus’ passion for being with his wife ultimately won the call for him to return home.
None of Odysseus’s men were really loyal to him because of their lack of obedience and honesty. In this episode the men learn that their disobedience causes them their lives when Helios the sun god realizes his scared cattle had been killed. Helios furious goes to Zeus and begs him to punish Odysseus’s men, or he will take the sun and go “down to the House of Death and blaze the sun among the dead” (Odyssey 12. 412). Zeus with no choice left but to punish Odysseus’s men whips up a storm and strikes his thunder bolt to destroy Odysseus’s ship soon after they leave the island. No one survives but Odysseus.
Odysseus wanted to leave and told her and she let him go. Odysseus although he went through all his journey he desired to get home very badly. He found out his son was in trouble and that his wife was going to
1. I think that Odysseus’ plan for escaping the Cyclops was very cunning and methodical. I think my absolute favorite part is when he told the Cyclops his name was Nohbdy because it was amazing trickery and it’s what helped the plan continue on. 2.
Poseidon Endangering Odysseus Throughout homer’s epic poem, the Odyssey, the main character, Odysseus, goes through many physical and mental challenges and hardships. One of the greatest challenges that Odysseus overcame to get home was the wrath of Poseidon. Throughout the whole epic poem, most problems Odysseus faced can be traced back to Poseidon.
He is so loyal and goal oriented to getting home that he rejected the offer and wants to leave the island to find home. Odysseus breaks news to Calypso, “Yet, it is true, each day / I long for home. Long for the sight of home…. “(5. 85-86).
He reaches out to Zeus, “For hope that one might show me some way of salvation” (Homer 625) and in replication, the god, “closed [Odysseus’] eyes under slow drops of sleep” (Homer 625). Although the quotes display amnesty, they have a deeper meaning than finding salvation. In response to the hero’s call, the god puts Odysseus to slumber, while the crew indulges in the cattle. Moreover, Helios messages the thunder god to kill those who ate his cattle. It was this decree that made Zeus throw a bolt at Odysseus’ men, killing them all.
Eurylochus convinced the crew to go behind Odysseus’ back and do what they were told not while Odysseus was sleeping by saying “Comrades, he said, you 've gone through everything; listen to what I say. All deaths are hateful to us, mortal wretches, but famine is the most pitiful, the worst end that a man can come to. Will you fight it?...better open your lungs to a big sea once for all then waste to skin and bones on a lonely island”(pg 841 L221-257). When Odysseus found out, he blamed Zeus because he 's the one who put Odysseus to sleep. Helios asked Zeus