Odysseus Responsible For His Own Downfall

The main character Odysseus in the Odyssey written by Homer is generally thought to be a great hero; however, he shows more traits of a quite flawed character on closer inspection. Around the beginning of Odysseus’ journey home after the war, Odysseus decides to take a detour to the home of a cyclops deciding to not listen to his men’s suggestions to leave while they still could; consequently, it does not end well: “Ah, how sound that was, Yet I refused. I wished to see the caveman, what he had to offer no pretty sight it turned out, for my friend” (9.130-132). This thought by Odysseus shows that he realized his decision to go to the mysterious island wasn’t the most rational one and that his men’s pleas to leave were the better option, but he decides to be stubborn and place his curiosity before his men’s safety resulting in a non-heroic

In the Odyssey, Odysseus had to go to The Land of the Dead in order to speak with Tiresias who is a dead sage. He had to ask him about his future and how to get back to his homeland, Ithaca. He gave him useful information that helped him with his life. For example, he said to avoid the cattle of Helios. He is the god of the sun. If Odysseus’ crew had just listened to what Tiresias said, then they wouldn’t be in any trouble. He also saw his dead mother there, along with his dead crew mate. He asked his mother how she died. She said that she killed herself from grief. This probably made Odysseus feel guilty since it was his fault. His crew mate died from getting drunk and falling off of a ladder. He requested that Odysseus had a funeral for him. This probably wouldn’t have happened if Odysseus did not see him in the Underworld. This relates to my

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.

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 was wise to take Circe’s advice, as well as Tiresias's advice in the Kingdom of the Dead. Tiresias advised Odysseus not to eat Helios’s cattle, which failed because of the crew’s need to eat or die of starvation. Although, Odysseus did follow through with the rest of Tiresias’s advice, as he killed the suitors in order to save his family and his kingdom. A few choices that tested Odysseus’s ability for decision making was during the trials and Odysseus was cautious with the emotions that he let overcome him in order to make a choice. Sometimes Odysseus’s emotional need for rest and relaxation got the best of him, but that was only on one occasion. Odysseus made the selection to use his motives and emotions to choose the right way of path and ultimately save him from what could've been a deadly consequence. One trial where is occurred is when the crew was getting caught up in the moment with the Cicones, Odysseus made the choice not to get caught up in victory, but to continue going on his journey. If Odysseus were to of been in that mindset, all of the crew could’ve possibly gotten killed. “Then I urged them to cut and run, set sail, / but

Throughout the stories in Homer’s, The Odyssey, Odysseus shows characteristics of a poor leader but sometimes lets us see moments where he is a good. In the stories Odysseus is faced with situations that show his true colors. Most of the time Odysseus is very brave and loyal to his crew mates. On the other hand at times he can show a lack of trust in his crew and let his pride outweigh his brain. He shows loyalty by never leaving any members of his crew behind. He also shows lack of trust through his miscommunications and hubris. Odysseus is just a person who is trying to do what is right but sometimes things tempt him otherwise.

The Odyssey is an epic written by Homer. In the epic, the hero Odysseus is tested after given the task to get his men, as well as himself back home, while trying to survive the harsh terrain and vicious monsters that they encounter. After analyzing Odysseus's carelessness, lack of truth, and selfishness throughout the epic, the readers realize that he is a horrible leader. Throughout the epic, Odysseus neglected to pay attention to the men’s safety. Before Odysseus and his men encountered Scylla, he made sure that he was safe from the monster, leaving his men to be eaten (The Sirens; Scylla and Charybdis. 728). Odysseus's carelessness when making sure that his men are safe illustrate him as a carless leader who does not attempt to keep

In the epic poem The Odyssey Homer tells of Odysseus’s 10 year journey home from The Trojan War and how he is cast out to sea and loses his ship and all his crew. Odysseus’s ego and curiosity led to his ship and crews destruction. this is because when odysseus goes to the cyclops island he is curious about him so he stays and loses 6 men. This proves that odysseus’s decisions have directly caused the death of his crew. It can also be said that odysseus isn’t responsible because on thrinacia his crew are the ones that ate the sun gods cattle.

In the novel The Odyssey by Homer, the great Odysseus retells the stories of his adventures after many years of travel and destruction, and through self-reflexive moments he is able to convey his regret over their deaths. Although Odysseus blames himself, he did not realize how he could blame himself for the loss of his men until he began retelling the story. One example in which Odysseus realizes it was his fault, is when he retells the death of his youngest crew mate and comrade, Elpenor. While Odysseus and his crew were enjoying themselves at Circe’s island and getting ready to leave, young Elepnor had wandered onto the roof and fell off, killing himself immediately. “There was one called Elpenor, the youngest of the party, not much of a

To live for a reason, is to life for a purpose. A purpose that can alter the chance of life. A purpose can drive a person to be the best they can be, to never give up, and to strive for the best. Shouldn’t leaders represent strength, great power, invincibility? Than why isn’t Odysseus a good leader? Odysseus is a good leader. As a true king, Odysseus demonstrates sacrifice as well as honor to his faithful companions. He also exhibits determination to continue the everlasting journey to return home. Now, some may call him a foolish, selfish, and unethical man who does not deserve the title of a leader, much less a king. People say, Odysseus lacks the ethnicity or lacking the common leadership skills. It is said that Odysseus was also very dishonest. In the end, yes no leader is perfect, but the best is Odysseus.

If you have ever been in a high school english class than you will know one name, Odysseus. Odysseus is the great hero in Homer’s epic the odyssey. Though his title is “hero”, this is not justified. During his journey he has angered the gods and had many encounters with beast, that resulting in the death of his men. The topics I will be covering in this essay are: Odysseus’ recklessness, the death of his men, and the slaughter of the suitors.

This might have seemed to be a selfish choice that Odysseus made, but Odysseus knew that if he told his crew more, that the boat would fall into chaos, and everyone would have died.

A hero is someone who is able to suffer while someone else is happy. They are both spirited and courageous. In the novel The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd, Lily is a young girl who shot her mother accidentally when she was only four. Her father abused her on a weekly basis as a result. With this Lily felt ashamed and unloved. She was able to accept her actions and grow from them. In the novel The Odyssey by Homer, Odysseus, King of Ithaca, was sent to go fight in the Trojan War after the war was over he had to return to his Kingdom. He had a ship and dozens of men and he was on these journey for numerous years. Lily compared to Odysseus, is a hero by having a strong mental capacity to deal with difficult situations and is able to achieve her goals while being abused by her father.

AEAEA - An astonishing tale is filled with moments of irony and conquest that challenge a hero and test their loyalty. No one knows this better than Odysseus and his men, who have experienced many hardships that would overwhelm the average man. They spot an island after fleeing from their encounter with the giant-like Laestrygonians. Hunger and the lack of hope have overtaken their hearts so they decide to investigate the smoke that came from Circe’s halls. Once Odysseus lands on the island, he sends a scouting group ahead to face imminent peril. This event serves as the beginning of yet another conflict in the chronicles of his life.

Although, Poseidon has cursed Odysseus, he has other gods on side who are able to help him. Odysseus will go on another quest to appease Poseidon and will return safely and live a good life Oedipus is cursed by Apollo and receives no help from any other gods. This curse was placed on an ancestor of Oedipus’. “Cadmus, the founder of the Thebes, angered Apollo by killing the god’s favorite snake. As punishment, the descendants of Cadmus lived under a curse prophesied to each generation by Apollo’s oracle. According to prophecy, if Laius, king of Thebes, had a son by Jocasta, his queen, that son would kill his father and marry his mother.” (“Background”; 430). From early on, Oedipus was fated to do this and it could not be avoided. It is Apollo