How Does Telemachus Deserve His Punishment

Homer’s epic poem, The Odyssey, chronicles the homeward bound voyage of the main character, King Odysseus of Ithaca. After Trojan War which lasted ten years, Odysseus sets foot on another adventure, which also spans ten years, to return to Ithaca. Odysseus is gone from his home for a total twenty years, but upon his arrival back to Ithaca, he finds that his title has been defended by his wife Penelope and his son Telemachus, who have been awaiting his return this entire time. Odysseus and Penelope are meant to be a model couple, so people often argue about which of the two is more admirable. To be admirable is to have faced a struggle with honor and dignity. Although Odysseus has been on a terrible journey, he has not always reacted with honor and dignity like Penelope does. Penelope shows honor and dignity when she practices xenia, does not marry a suitor, and forgives Odysseus.

The prosecution’s main arguments against them were that while these characters influenced him, none of them actually forced Odysseus’ hand. When Odysseus was cross-examined by the prosecution, they were able to paint him in a dreadful light. They first confirmed that Odysseus slept with Calypso and Circe, but killed Melantho and Eurymachus for sleeping with each other. Odysseus was married and the latter pair was not. Another mistake in the defense’s logic was that they tried to argue that Odysseus was treated badly under the guise of a beggar. The prosecution tore this aspect to shreds. Firstly, while it was not right of the suitors to treat him that way, they had no way of knowing the beggar was actually the master of the house; Odysseus tricked them. Then, there was the question of why Odysseus had to pretend. The reason for it was because he had already planned to murder all to suitors and didn’t want to tip them off and have time to prepare. Then came the defense’s last-ditch attempt at letting Odysseus walk free. They argued that the book stated Odysseus only killed five people explicitly. This was detrimental to the case; they shouldn’t have mentioned it at all, because it opened a door for the prosecution to argue that five people is still a lot and that he planned to slay all of

He wants to take revenge on those who had disrespected him and his wife. He disliked the way that they had acted while he was gone, and believed that the only solution was death of them all. Odysseus is angered and desires to “[kill] till the score is paid. (1468)” This reveals Odysseus’s nature and how he values vengeance. It also shows that he is very aggressive at times, and is willing to wipe out many men in an act of revenge. Odysseus’s plan of death can even reveal his quick temper and rash thinking. He immediately thinks of a plan that would kill every suitor instead of forgiving

A hero is a person who is recognized or idealized for his or her outstanding achievements and noble qualities. The deaths of his men are the result of Odysseus’ weaknesses. The possession of the character trait, arrogance, does not help him in escaping, but rather puts him closer to danger. Another trait that ends up killing a number of his men is his lack of leadership skills, or rather the lack of respect and trust from his men. In some parts of this epic poem, Odysseus also displays the characteristic, foolishness, in which that also results in the deaths of a number of his men. In the epic poetry, “The Odyssey,” by Homer, Odysseus exhibits his arrogance, foolishness, and his lack of leadership in which it leads to him going home by himself.

Odysseus shows considerable hubris when he brags to King Alconis about slaughtering the small village of Ismarus. Odysseus claims that he and his men “stormed that place,” enslaved the women, and slaughtered those who fought. (Homer 43). Due to Odysseus’ arrogant decision to assault Ismarus, a few of his men died. This demonstrates how arrogance and the hunger for victory will lead to certain death. Odysseus’ decision to raid Ismarus demonstrates how he allowed his arrogance to get the best of him.

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.

As the precise definition of justice cannot be definitively stated, the line separating just from unjust actions is incredibly obscure. Many factors may influence an individual’s perception of what constitutes justice, such as time period, culture, or personal morals. Thus, while an act may be considered righteous in one context, the same act may be ruled unjust in other contexts. For instance, when Odysseus finally returns home to Ithaca, as retribution for defiling his home and attempting to court his wife, Odysseus murders all of Penelope’s suitors. The extremely graphic depiction of his retribution had appeared almost superfluous, causing the morality of his actions to be brought into question. Therefore, interpreting this scene from a

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. During these trials, many burdens were put on Odysseus’ crew, which led to all of his crew eventually all being killed before returning to Ithaca. The 2nd instance where Odysseus made a wrong choice that affected his crew is when he didn’t even really trust his crew. So he stayed up for days straight and

Odysseus is a very Selfish man. In other words he puts himself before others. When Odysseus and his crew sailed past the sirens he made the crew put wak in their ears. Odysseus tied himself up so he could be the only man alive to hear their song. In addition to that He cheated on his wife penelope. Penelope is sitting at home in Ithaca worried sick sand just wants her husband home. Little does she know Odysseus has cheated on her. If Penelope would have cheated on him she probably would be killed.

Oedipus certainly deserved his fate. Oedipus and his actions are clearly disrespect to the gods , he faces the fate he deserves. He was doing things that would eventually lead up to the unfortunate event of his death , he was even warned by the great and wise Teiresias , but he being himself was to stubborn and did not listen. All the things Teiresias said would happen became the truth. He killed his father, married his mother, yet he tempted his fate , he deserved everything that came his way . He did not want to believe any of it he didn't listen , he thought he knew what was correct , and being the way he was , got the worst part.

At the end of part 2 of the Odyssey, when Odysseus is finally home and confronts the suitors in his home, he decides to slaughter them all for invading his home and courting his wife: “Not for the whole treasures of your fathers, all you enjoy, lands, flocks, or any gold put up by others will I hold my hand. There will be killing till the price is paid” (22.62-64). This quote from Odysseus shows that he was furious at the suitors, and he would allow no other atonement for their crimes except death. While the suitors all did wrong things, their actions did not deserve the death penalty. This shows that Odysseus was not thinking straight and being fair, and this is not something a hero would do. 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

However, Zeus saw the two sides of the gods’ feelings towards Odysseus. “‘Great Odysseus/ who excels all men in wisdom... it’s the Earth-Shaker, Poseidon, unappeased,/ forever fuming against him..’” (1.78-83). Zeus created an equilibrium so that Poseidon could take out his anger on Odysseus through punishment, and Athena receives the duty of making sure Odysseus gets home to Ithaca. Another situation where the moral was shown in the story is the difference between Odysseus and Telemachus’s view towards the suitors. Although they both knew that the suitors had to leave, they had different methods of doing so. “‘And you, if you have any shame in your own hearts,/ you must leave my palace!’”, Telemachus said to the suitors in attempt to remove them from the palace (2.155-56). Telemachus complained about the suitors and threatened them, while Odysseus took another route of action. Odysseus and Telemachus created a complex plan in order to kill each individual suitor who attempted to wed Penelope, Odysseus’s wife (16.298-330). Telemachus saw talking and

When faced with war soldiers change, for better or for worse. Modern culture celebrates the glory of patriotic sacrifice. However, this celebration often leaves out the gritty details and trauma of violence behind war and the way it affects people. Homer’s The Odyssey and William Wyler’s The Best Years of Our Lives clearly discuss these details. Both debate the long-awaited return of warriors that went off to fight a war and the way the experience changes the protagonists. A warrior’s homecoming is typically thought to be full of loving comfort from family and friends, exemplified in images in popular culture. However, there is in fact a tragedy behind the whole ordeal, caused by the lack of effective communication by the homecoming warriors.

Odysseus’ slaughter of the suitors was an act of justice and revenge. The act was revenge because slaughtering 108 men for courting your wife and eating your food is insane. If someone did that present-day, society would frown upon the person who committed such an act. It would be considered mass-homicide and the person would be jailed for life. On the other hand, the act is a form of justice because of the setting of the story. Considering that a god, Athena, helped Odysseus, has to make the act right. The Greeks believed that Athena was the goddess of wisdom. There has to be some justice in killing 108 men with the gods helping you. It could be thought that the suitors were dangerous in society, they planned the murder of Telemachus. Getting

In the world today, finding people who truly represent what they are and stand for is a difficult task. Dictionary.com defines authenticity as “representing one’s true nature or beliefs; true to oneself or to the person identified.” Authenticity is often confused with conceitedness, when a person “has an inflated self-image and perceives himself as incredibly entertaining and wonderful.” My brother, Corey, to me, truly represents being authentic. He is currently a college football player for the University of Michigan, but the road there pushed him to be who he really is.