You would think I couldn’t need or want anything more with servants to wait on me day and night and priceless treasures to last a lifetime here of Aiaia, but I’m not content. I long for company, someone to share my days with and talk to who will listen, an equal. For years I have been luring travelers in to test them and see if they would be a worthy companion. Alas, they never made the cut. The men, although brave, did not have a brain to match. I needed someone who could keep up with me and have intelligent conversations, someone worthy of being immortal like I.
When Odysseus and his crew arrived on my island I thought that they would all be just like the others. Some men came to my palace and I offered them a feast and wine with honey. I hoped they would be clever enough to avoid my enchantment and be a worthy companion, but alas my hopes were extinguished. They quickly devoured the feast and drank my wine. The spell was cast and I turned them into animals, mainly pigs to reflect their true forms. They were greedy and power hungry, all of them, with no mind to back their courage. As I looked out the great windows of my
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I looked out the window, expecting to see the runaway crew member but instead I saw a different man who I immediately recognized as Odysseus. My spirits rose because I knew he was smarter than the others. Once again I lured him into my palace and offered him food and wine, which he refused. He only wanted to get his men returned to their original forms and to continue his journey to Ithaca with them by his side. When I finally convinced him to drink my wine, he was not affected by it. He avoided the spell, proving he was clever. I rejoiced because I had found my equal, who I could keep with me forever. I quickly walked to the crewmates to return them to their original forms. With a flick of my wrist I, Circe skilled in spells, returned them back to human
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
One narrow strait may take you through his blows; denial of yourself… When you make landfall on Thrinacia first and quit the violet sea, dark on the land you’ll find the grazing lord of Helios… Avoid these kine, hold fast to your intent, and hard seafaring brings you all to Ithaca. But if you raid the beeves, I see destruction for ship and crew. Though you survive alone, bereft of all companions, lost for years, under strange sail shall you come home, to find your own house filled with trouble: insolent men eating your livestock as they court your lady… But after you dealt out death - in open combat or by stealth - to all the suitors, go overland by foot, and take an oar, until one day you come where men have lived… The spot
Having been stuck on an island for many days with our food supply now empty, us men are willing to do almost anything to fill our stomachs. As a group, we have been through so much turmoil, and have lost some men along the way. I have never agreed much with our leader, Odysseus, for he was the one that usually caused all our troubles. However, for once I like his suggestion to leave “The Cattle of the Sun God’s” heifers alone. Consequently, this time it was the fault of a man I once thought to be smart, Eurylochus.
Odyssey Quiz Erin Brzusek 1) Book I, page 7-8, lines 236-254 “’As for my sailing here-/the tale was that your father had come home,/ therefore I… he can do anything’”(Mentês). 1 Athena, disguised as Mentês, is speaking to Odyssey’s son, Telemakhos. Mentês enters Odysseus’ home in search for Telemakhos. Once Telemakhos sees Mentês he brings him to a more secluded area away from the suitors in order to speak with him. Curiously, Telemakhos asked Mentês “’What kind of ship is yours, and what course brought you here?
Before reaching Ithaca, Tiresias tells Odysseus when he stops on the Island of the Sun god to refuse consumption of the cattle. Odysseus is the only man intelligent enough to ignore his hunger and ends up being the only to survive the punishment given towards the consumer. When Odysseus finally reaches home, he is faced with the challenge of hundreds of greedy suitors and a wife who may not have stayed loyal since he left. Instead of letting his emotions take control and immediately returning to his house, he takes the time to let Athena disguises him as a beggar to first safely investigate the situation at hand. When making decisions, Odysseus keeps in mind the consequences before jumping in.
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 physical journey, filled with malicious obstacles, Odysseus endures on his journey home to Ithaca is symbolic of a much greater development, both mentally and emotionally, which reinforces his identity. In the Odyssey, Homer has a knack to describe each character with profound detail. Odysseus especially has innumerable characteristics that describe his personality. However, his endeavor and struggle miraculously helps him to discover a new identity. Odysseus’s true identity, Dimock, too, undoubtedly believes that Odysseus’s journey back is a road to establish his identity.
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.
Odysseus, in The Odyssey by Homer, and I both demonstrate self-restraint. One time Odysseus shows self-discipline is when he’s in the cyclops’ cave and stabbed his eye. The cyclops “squatted in the breach with arms thrown wide for any silly man or beast that bolted” (907). Odysseus restrains himself from running the first time he sees a way out. Instead he stays back and plans for a better way out.
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
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.
In this book, Odysseus has been disguised by Athena as a beggar who has traveled the world. He has been dropped back on Ithaca by the Phaeacians. On his journey back to Ithaca Odysseus has changed greatly. As the prophecy has said he has returned home in a stranger 's ship, without his crew, and as a broken man. After Athena disguises him, Odysseus goes to his loyal swine herder, Eumaeus.
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
Diction and imagery are very important components to a story. It is the way that the author displays their feelings through the character. Homer uses very vivid shifts in tone, sometimes creating room for the reader to learn a lesson. In one of Homer’s famous books, “The Odyssey,” he uses diction, imagery, and tone to show that everything does not always go as planned. Wishing to escape the cyclops’ bondage, Odysseus tries to get out of trouble and assumes that he and his men are safe by lying to the Cyclops.
This character is brought to light using several incidents and events that help to analyze and interpret the ancient Greek world and the values surrounding them. Each episode supports and allows for the development of Odysseus’ character and acknowledges the effects of these features. Through these specific incidents, the reader uncovers the quality of Odysseus and how his characteristics relate to those praised by Greeks and those that were criticized. Persistent components of Odysseus’ character include cleverness and pride, while major themes that are reiterated are Greek ideals and the struggle to reach home. Conclusively, definitive occasions in “The Odyssey” establish and expand upon the character of Odysseus and how it impacts himself and