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The Slaughtering Of Odysseus In Homer's Odyssey

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“And the suitors mad with fear at her great sign stampeded like stung cattle by a river when the dread shimmering gadfly strikes in summer, in the flowering season, in the long-drawn days. After them the attackers wheeled, as terrible as eagles from eyries in the mountains veering over and diving down with talons wide unsheathed on flights of birds, who cower down the sky chutes and bursting along the valley.” (Homer, 1842-1850) The Odyssey, a legendary epic poem, stars a noble king on his quest to returning home, Odysseus, son of Laertes. To start of the story, Odysseus, king of Ithaca, was called to fight in the Trojan War. After winning this battle, he and his crew committed a handful of unhonorable causing the gods to condemn them on their way home. As punishment, the gods sends them off course to pay for their crimes. During their voyage back to their families, they committed some questionable acts such as; mocking the cyclops, opening the bag of winds, but no act was more questionable than the slaughtering of the suitors and the maids. Many people may disagree with this opinion, but I believe his actions were righteous. The way that Odysseus, a brilliant strategist, dealt with the intruders is …show more content…

The reason I believed this, is because something similar happened to him near the beginning of His adventure. During his quarrel with the Cyclops, Odysseus had the option to kill the Cyclops in his sleep, but instead he overcame the rage and realized that they needed him for another task. “My heart beat high now at the chance of action, and drawing the sharp sword from my hip I went along his flank to stab him where the midriff holds the liver. I had touched the spot when sudden fear stayed me: if I killed him we perished there as well, for we could never move his ponderous doorway slab. (Homer, 758-764) This showed that Odysseus is capable of preventing his emotions take the best of

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