Odysseus Loyalty In Homer's The Odyssey

Odyssey Argumentative Essay The Odyssey is an epic by Homer. It is a story about Odysseus journey back to Ithaca after the Trojan War. All the Greek heroes had returned home after the Trojan War except for Odysseus who was an important hero in Ithaca. Odysseus was absent in his son’s life and Telemachus decided that, it was time to find his father and bring him back home to his wife Penelope.

A hero is someone who is revered for his or her exceptional achievements and bravery. Anyone who puts themselves before others not for recognition or an award, but because it is the right thing to do, is a true hero. In "The Odyssey," written by Homer is an epic poem about a man named Odysseus and his crewmates competing against the power of the gods to return to their homeland, Ithaca. Throughout his journey, he loses almost all of his men, but Odysseus finally arrives home, concluding his prolonged twenty-year voyage. Odysseus must battle the suitors that have taken his wife Penelope, and may soon kill his son Telemachus.

His impeccable leadership skills are yet another demonstration of the hero in Odysseus. Odysseus shows his men loyalty in return for the same. When Circe turns Odysseus’ men “into swine” (Homer), he agrees to stay with her for one year after she returns them to their human bodies. Odysseus acts as a hero yet again to his people by doing whatever it takes to free them. He sacrifices a whole year, in which he could be returning home, in order to get them back.

I chose the word “loyal” to best describe the character Telemachus because if his bravery and loyalty to his father. In the book Odyssey written by Homer,Telemachus waits for his father for twenty years and when he return he stood by his father side in battle against the people that tried to marry his mother. This shows where his loyalty had lied. Telemachus is loyal for his courage to stand in for his father while he was away and him helping him during a battle.

Menelaus states, “No one took on so much, went through so much as Odysseus.” The epic poem, The Odyssey, by Homer, is the story of an ancient war hero’s 10 year struggle to return home after the Trojan War. Throughout the Odyssey, Odysseus faces the wrath of the gods, and fights battles against many mythical creatures such as Polyphemus, and the his grueling mental battle with the sirens. Across Odysseus’s journey, he shows many characteristics of a hero such as his resiliency, and his tactileness. For example, Odysseus shows his ability as a tactician through his encounters with Gods and monsters, such as his seven year time span on calypso’s island.

Odysseus possess the character strengths of loyalty and compassion because he cares deeply for his comrades. For example, Odysseus proves his loyalty to his dead comrade Elpenor when he travels back to the island of Aeaea, “We cut logs in haste and out on the islands jutting headland his funeral rights in sorrow, streaming tears” (12.10-12). Odysseus feels a deep sense of loyalty towards his comrades as shown when he immediately returns to bury his friend. He exhibits compassion and loyalty towards his trusted friends throughout the book; he always puts the safety and well-being of his men first. Furthermore, Odysseus portrays his compassion and loyalty when after gaining Circe’s trust, he demands, “If you really want me to eat and drink, set

At the beginning of The Odyssey, Odysseus’ son Telemachus is immature and helpless; however, through the lessons he learned on his journey, he matures into a stronger young man. Telemachus sees Mentes, who is actually a disguised Athena, for the first time in the beginning of The Odyssey. “First by far to see her was Prince Telemachus, sitting among the suitors, heart obsessed with grief.” (1.132-3) Here, Telemachus, one of novice experience in dealing with life crises weeps and wishes that his father could come back and deal with those residing in their household, rather than facing the suitors that feast on what little is left of Odysseus’ inventory. The suitors are finally getting on newly brazen Telemachus’ nerves, “But self-possessed

Odysseus, the king of Ithaca, is a man that is looked at as a celebrity by humans because of his skillful fighting, and by the gods because of his intelligence and wits. The king went through numerous tasks and obstacles to get back to his homeland. One task in particular proves his power and the love he has for his loyal and wise wife, Penelope. Looking at lines four hundred fifty-one through four hundred seventy-one, the moment Odysseus, while disguised by the God Athena, proves to the suitors and workers that he is the rightful husband, king, and lord by stringing his own bow and shooting it through twelve axes; the task was quick and perfect for Odysseus.

He shows this in the book by when he gets home to Ithaca after 20 years with him almost dying many times. Also, what fits with that is a great warrior. This means that the epic hero was at war before the epic. This is just like Ody because he was going to the Trojan War when he left home and that is where is he trying to get home from, Troy. Also what goes with that one is that they travel far because he went to Troy to help out another country which makes what he did unselfish.

Crummey uses this symbol for Sandy and Georgie to describe their emotional state. Sandy’s reoccurring dream is of himself drowning as a teenager. “It sometimes seems to Sandy as if he’s lived all his days on that ice field” (268) because he constantly lives in a state of anxiety and fear about looking emotional and weak. This results in a communication breakdown and Georgie is contemplating leaving her husband and “how numb she had become, as if she had spent a decade submerged in frigid water”(p.266). Crummey uses the symbol of drowning to emphasize Georgies emotional distance.

The Odyssey, Trojan War hero Odysseus exhibits perseverance in the ten years of war and leads his men on the long journey home. Odysseus has to endure the frustrations of the war and the negligence that the gods show to him in his most desperate times. The pain he goes through exhibits his love for the special ones in his life, and it gives him the strength to make it home. Odysseus is challenged during the ten year war, but he will not give up, which proves how he is a true hero. The hero shows how he is a true hero through his actions and not his words.

Odysseus’ relationship with Circe keeps him from returning home because he stays there for a year. Odysseus says “So she enticed and won our battle-hardened spirits over.” (245:10: 513-514) While Odysseus is there, he is so enamored with Circe that he forgets about the home he loves so much, and the son and wife who he had left behind. Similar to the situation with Calypso, Odysseus is lured to spend time with Circe even though he focused on returning home otherwise. This shows that Odysseus may be a lot more fake than he lets on because for all his talk of wanted to return home he spent a year on Circe’s island not making an effort to return to his homeland.

​Odysseus is astute and witty, as well as furiously faithful to his family and home. All through the book, Odysseus was totally centered around having a go at returning home to Ithaka and Penelope. His steadfastness to his family and to his kin is the thing that kept him experiencing the tough times. Nothing is more critical to an epic saint than honor and pride. Odysseus unmistakably demonstrates that he is faithful much of the time.

A dynamic character is defined as a literary persona who undergoes an important inner change; a change in personality or attitude. Odysseus, main character in Homer’s epic poem The Odyssey, is no exception. Despite facing the hardships of war and the challenges of the journey home, Odysseus keeps his tactical outlook. However, he does not remain the powerful and confident man that left Ithaka.

In the Odyssey the goal of getting home is more important to the development of Odysseus's character. He learns something important while on his journey that makes him a more fully developed character. He learns about the value of family. After the Trojan war, Odysseus understands that he can now go back home to his family.