Odysseus's Adventure
Odysseus is a wise and noble hero in “The Odyssey”. The hero ,Odysseus, was not always such an epic hero, but instead grew into one throughout his adventure to Troy and back to his home land Ithaca. He faced monsters that scared and lured him causing him to learn how to be a better person and an epic hero. When Odysseus did return back to Ithaca he was graced by a goddess, Athena, and had her on his side when he fought the suitors Odysseus learned throughout his adventure, from Troy to Ithaca, on how to be the best hero, an epic hero.
When Odysseus first was coming back he traveled to the land of the lotus his men were influenced not to leave, but Odysseus did not leave them behind. “Then I sent out two picked men and a runner to learn what race the land sustained”(Homer 92-93). Odysseus only sent two men which was a
…show more content…
Odysseus tells his men about the sirens and how to ignore their luring music to death (Homer 686-698). This shows Odysseus’s loyalty to his men and how he is not going to keep important secrets to his men unless it is necessary. “I carved a massive cake of beeswax into bits and rolled them in my hands until they softened no long task, from a burning heat came down from Helios, lord of high noon”(Homer 708-711). Odysseus took his time carving wax for his men's ears to not hear the sirens which was very generous of him, for Odysseus could have made his men make the wax earplugs themselves and if they messed up they would be in a trance like Odysseus. When Odysseus’s men tied him to the mass and told men to muffle him when he talks which shows true commitment to his men, and his men do so which shows his men are loyal to Odysseus to. Odysseus shows true commitment to his men when he made wax ear plugs and his men tying himself to a pole listening to the sirens, and his men are still loyal to Odysseus for they do what he
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
Despite doing things only for himself sometimes, he cares for his men and protects them, as well as motivates them. When they encounter the lotus flowers, some of his men eat them and no longer want to go home. Odysseus doesn’t want to leave them behind to suffer, so he brings them back to this ship and ties them down, despite their protests (9. 211-215). By tying them down, he shows that he wants the best for them and that he is willing to protect them no matter what. He also warns the rest of the men about the lotus flowers as well, which proves that he does not want to see the rest of his men get
To prevent this from happening Odysseus puts beeswax into his men’s ears to prevent them from going under their spell. To prevent Odysseus from going under their spell Odysseus’ men tie him up very tight. As they pass through the Sirens, Odysseus begs and pleads for his men
Odysseus must of really cared about his men to do that. Even if he got help from Hermes. That is one trait that is hard to find in
One of the numerous ways Odysseus embodies the characteristics of an epic hero is through his leadership of his men. “I drove them, all three wailing, to the ships tied them down under their rowing benches, and called the rest” (Homer 564). Odysseus leads the group to the ship because the three men who had become addicted to the lotus flowers needed to be tied down. This shows his act of leading because he notices that those men will only slow them down which results in him securing them down to the benches. “My ship?
(10. 109-111). In this quote, Odysseus and his men arrive at a new, foreign land. The land is smokey and mysterious Odysseus questions who lives on the land -- it could even be non-humans. However, Odysseus doesn’t use his leadership position to lead or help his crew, in fact, he sends his men into danger instead of himself. This proves he doesn’t care about his crew because he will send them into the
Odysseus has grown from the man he was before, as now he finds comfort and safety in obeying the gods when in the past he did not consider their wishes. Odysseus has only returned due to Athena and he has recognized that and his compliance is founded in his appreciation and respect for her. Odysseus is now a hero due to the obedience he now has to the gods, founded in a sense of humility. Through Odysseus’ experiences on his journey, he learns the value of obedience and dangers of arrogance and ultimately, become a hero through the lessons learned.
Odysseus is tempted by the land of the Lotus-Eaters he desires all that he can benefit by raiding their home. Homer writes, “Then I sent out two picked men and a runner to learn what race of man that land sustained”(92-93). In line 94 Odysseus then learned that his decisions were made in vain, because Odysseus’ men “.. fell in soon enough, with the Lotus-Eaters,” Odysseus took his pride from defeating Troy and turned it into arrogance. This then created problem with Odysseus and his crew and their ability to get back home. One would think that Odysseus would not run into a conflict like he had already endured, but as stated in lines 458-459 Odysseus didn’t learn.
This is an example of one of the major problems on Odysseus’ journey. He is always losing his men in battles. This doesn’t help him at all his manpower slowly dwindles down until just him remains. In the encounter with the Sirens Odysseus had to listen to Circe’s warning so he wouldn’t be lured by their song. Odysseus took the advice of Circe for his encounter with the Sirens:“ I carved a massive cake of beeswax into bits, rolling them out I then went down the line and covered the men’s ears heavily” (Homer 933).
For example, when he and his men encounter the sirens, he orders his crew to plug their ears with wax so that they will not be tempted by the sirens' song. However, he himself chooses to listen to the song, putting his own desire for knowledge above the safety and well-being of his crew. Similarly, when he is offered the chance to stay with Calypso on her island, he initially chooses to remain with her, despite the fact that his wife and son are waiting for him at home. These actions suggest that Odysseus is more concerned with his own desires and interests than with the well-being of those around
In The Odyssey, societal values and ideas about what a hero should be are quite different from the modern ideas, and Odysseus is the hero shaped to a near perfect representation of those ancient ways from centuries before the common era. In Book 12 of The Odyssey, Circe warns Odysseus of the Sirens he will inevitably come across when he continues his journey. She tells him to plug his men’s ears with beeswax, but also includes what to do in case Odysseus wants to listen to the Sirens’ beautiful singing. Odysseus warns his men about the Sirens; nobody questions his commands, and they continue their journey, Sirens awaiting. In The Odyssey, Odysseus states, “Going forward I carried wax along the line, and laid it thick on their ears.
In part one of Homer’s Odyssey, Odysseus uses his epic hero qualities to help him out on his quest to get back home to Ithaca. He’s shows superb intelligence when fighting the cyclopes in “Book 9.” That’s a quality of superhuman intelligence that Odysseus possessed all throughout his entire journey. Another epic hero quality that helped Odysseus was help from Greek gods and goddesses. In part two of Homer’s Odyssey, Athena helped out Odysseus when he got back to his home land.
Odysseus and his men had travel to the island of the Lotus eaters when he drove “... them, all three wailing, to the ships, tied them down under their rowing benches, and called the rest: “ all hands a board; come, clear the beach and no one taste the Lotus or you lose your hope of home.” (Book 9, lines 48-52, textbook). Odysseus saved three of his man and brought them back to the ship, saving them from a long weary death. Odysseus also taught his remaining man a lesson and showed his men how clever he was in this dire situation. As Odysseus is fleeing from the Laestrygonians, he “...shouted rapid orders at my shipmates: ‘Put your backs in the oars- now row or die… my ship alone… we… escaped our death yet at heart for the dear companions we had lost.”
Odysseus displays a strong act of leadership by doing whatever it takes to get done. Whether it's fighting Sirens or a cyclops Odysseus does whatever he could to get his men past the obstacle. In the text it states “I carried wax along the line and laid it in their ears.” (Homer 12.
In The Odyssey Homer makes Odysseus’ journey to his beloved Ithaca excruciating. Odysseus encounters many friends and foes throughout his journey and has to be a leader throughout his experiences. As an example, he encounters Polyphemus and Poseidon, both of whom make his journey mentally and physically painful. Odysseus faces countless scenarios in which he has to save multiple people in those situations. He also encounters the suitors, who are a group of men that try to marry Penelope, when he returns to reclaim his home.