Suitors In The Odyssey

In the epic poem The Odyssey, written by Homer, Odysseus’ heroic deeds are recounted through a narrative that describes his arduous journey from the Trojan War to his homeland of Ithaka. This journey makes Odysseus an epic hero. An epic hero is a brave and noble character who is admired for his achievements. Traits of an epic hero are necessary for the journey Odysseus goes on to reach his homeland. Loyalty is a trait exhibited when Odysseus jeopardizes his own life and goes to rescue his crewmen on Kirke’s island. Odysseus presents skillfulness when he plans to kill the suitors in a productive and quick way. Determination is displayed when Odysseus is on Kalypso’s island. He is so determined to get home and to escape Kalypso’s imprisonment that he says he would die rather than spend another moment on the island. Loyalty, cleverness, and

Some may say that throughout his whole trip Odysseus stayed strong in order to meet his family again and that he thought of them the whole time. However, was he thinking of his family when Odysseus was with Circe for 1 year? Or when Odysseus was with Calypso for 7 years? He just seems selfish. You could also say that he was a good father to Telemachus when he came back. Well, if you think about it Odysseus could’ve gotten home 8 years ago if he hadn’t cheated on his wife. This would’ve made the suitor situation easier to deal with and also have more time with Telemachus. While we are on the topic of suitors the first thing that they did as father and son was kill. What type of bonding experience is that, slaughtering men together out of cold blood is a good way to greet your son after 20 years apparently. Finally, you might say that Odysseus is so smart that even gods like Athena recognize his wits. If he is so smart though why did he go into Polyphemus’ lair. Killing 6 men and making their journey even longer. Also, if he is so smart why did he not realize that he spent 7 years on Calypso’s island. Odysseus sure seems to not be so

Most societies, both past and present, worship one or multiple deities. The powers and characteristics of these gods vary among cultures, and the personalities of one society’s deities directly influence the culture and beliefs of its people. The discrepancies between the religions of different civilizations can be observed through the literary works of their religion and mythology. The Judeo-Christian God, who is shown in the Bible to be absolute both in power and in judgment, is antithetical to the Greek gods, who are depicted as having human traits and flaws. In Homer’s Odyssey, many gods are shown to act on their own self-interest, keeping favorites among the mortals and conspiring against other gods. Zeus, however, is portrayed as just

Throughout the whole journey, Odysseus makes impulsive decisions by never sticking to one plan. In the beginning, Odysseus and his men are stuck in a cyclops cave. In order to get away from the cyclops, he offers him "some wine"(Fitzgerald 123). Though it is a good idea to get the cyclops drunk to escape, many men had already died at the hands of the cyclops. Odysseus could have had a better plan before many men died. Later on, dressed as a beggar, Odysseus gets offended by Antinous and starts “making cruel plans in his heart” (Fagles 59-60). Instead of confronting Antinous, Odysseus

In the novel The Odyssey, written by Homer, Odysseus is portrayed as a bad leader because of his selfish decisions and bad character. Odysseus makes a selfish decision when he leads his crew to stay in Polyphemus’s cave thinking he would offer gifts and Odysseus would “accept (his) help, or any gifts/” he had to “give” (9.726-727). This is a selfish act because he is putting his crew in danger for something that would only benefit himself. In the end, many of his people died and no one benefited. Once again, Odysseus displayed selfish acts when Circe told him “ he will be the only survivor of their long journey” (Homer 764). Odysseus is extremely selfish by betraying his crew. His crew believes that Odysseus is trying to help them return home, when he is actually only concerned about himself.

In book one Athena is disguised as Mentês, the son of Anchialos. Then when she left she

Odysseus showed cleverness throughout the books. He got Polyphemus drunk and told him that his name was “nobody”. “Nobody- that's my name. Nobody-” (Homer 223). He says this because when someone asks Polyphemus who is hurting him he will say “nobody”. When he reaches back home, he uses his intelligence to kill the suitors. He says that he will put the dead suitors in the hall where nobody will be. He throws a party so that everyone will think that the commotion at the palace was just a party, but really he is killing the suitors. “Odysseus, master of tactics, answered briskly, ‘I and the prince will keep these brazen suitors crammed in the hall, for all their battle-fury’”(Homer 444). In this passage, he is referred to as the master of tactics. When he goes to see his father, he plays a trick on him to see if he remembers him. “I once played host to a man in my own country” (Homer 476). In this passage, the man he is referring to is himself. He pretends to be somebody who had Odysseus stay at his house a while ago. He talks to is father like he knows Odysseus. He does this to see if his father still remembers him after twenty years. Overall, Odysseus uses his intelligence for the

In “The Odyssey” written by Homer, Odysseus has fought big creatures that you have never thought you would ever hear about, but the only real thing he cares about, is his wife, Penelope. Even after twenty years, Odysseus has never forgotten about Penelope. Odysseus may have made poor decisions, yet he was always loyal, trustworthy, and strong-hearted when it came to his wife Penelope.

The Odyssey by Homer seems at first glance to be an ancient text, separated from the modern world. However, the problems that The Odyssey’s characters face are still very real today. One example of this is that Odysseus experiences xenophobia when visiting Phaeacia in Book 7. Odysseus is probably the most powerful character in the book; he is graced with more polymetis than any man in Greece. Yet, in Phaeacia, Odysseus needs to be disguised in order to not be penalized for not being Phaeacian. Because of the Phaeacians’ attitude towards foreigners, Athena, disguised as a little girl, warns Odysseus of the Phaeacians before leading him through the city.

In Homer’s book, The Odyssey, the question has been raised as to whether or not Odysseus is considered a hero. In today’s society, a hero is someone who is brave and courageous. Heroes also typically give their life a purpose whether it is sacrificing their life to help others or doing something kind for someone. However, it does take more than these traits to consider oneself a hero. A hero is someone who is willing to ask for help and someone who is intelligent, brave and loyal. For example, one can consider himself a hero if that person decides to have the courage to go on a journey home. In this book, Homer chose the traits that he admired for the character Odysseus. He made Odysseus courageous, arrogant, overconfident, smart and brave.

In The Odyssey, by Homer, Athena influences the lives of Odysseus and his family. In Greek mythology, gods challenge and control mortals. Gods also provide support to mortals and thus, mortals depend and act on behalf of the gods and their decisions. Athena, daughter of Zeus, is the goddess of wisdom, and both Telemachus and Odysseus benefit from her power. Athena possesses the ability to disguise herself and others, and this skill allows her to give advice and guidance. For example, Athena uses her power of disguise to help Telemachus on his journey to find his father. She continues to use this power to disguise Odysseus as a beggar to allow him to reunite with his family and prove his power and worth to Penelope among the suitors. Telemachus and Odysseus are ultimately victorious because of Athena’s power; in fact, Athena is the hero of this epic poem.

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

The Odyssey is a well known epic that brings the reader through the tale of how Odysseus and his family reunited. Odysseus spent twenty years away from his son, Telemachus, and his wife, Penelope. He was away for ten years at Troy and spent the other ten years on his journey back to his native land, Ithaca. Within the epic, author Homer reveals characters of gods and goddesses throughout the poem who impacted the families journey. One importantly, was the goddess of wisdom and war, Athena. She stayed present through the entire book playing a very important role in the story as she mentored both Odysseus and Telemachus in their journey to reach each other and regain their place in the palace. Above all Athena is the true hero in the Odyssey as multiple times she would be admired for her noble guidance, strategies, and loyalty.

Heroism, tends to be difficult to define and remarkably ambiguous in literary works. In the Odyssey, however, Homer clearly defines a hero as a humble, determined, and loyal individual; thus, according to Homer, it is not enough to claim to be a hero, but it is also important to exhibit those qualities that Homer values as heroism. Odysseus, despite claiming heroism, upholds these traits inconsistently, as seen in his taunting of Polyphemus. In contrast, Telemachus, Odysseus’ overlooked son, dramatically grows up over the course of the epic and ultimately reveals his truly heroic qualities by the end of the poem. Thus, because Odysseus claims to be a hero, but fails to remain humble, determined, and loyal throughout the epic, he is not a hero.

In what ways does Odysseus develop as a character during the time of the story?