Agamemnon’s taking of Briseis enrages Achilles and spurs him to remove himself from the war, leading to a massive death toll in the Achaean forces. In stealing Briseis from Achilles, he is not only robbing of him of a material prize, but also a symbol of honor, his geras, in Greek culture. In retaliation, Achilles removes himself from the war and prays to his mother, Thetis, that she will ask Zeus to damage the Achaean forces. Achilles’ only goal is that “even mighty Atrides can see how mad he was to disgrace Achilles” (1.488-490). Despite having no true grievance against the Achaean army as a whole, Achilles’ rage blinds him from the potential harm that may befall his troops.
English 271 Achilles and Hector in The Iliad and Medea and Jason Medea all have characteristics that potentially led to their downfall. Achilles is a very angry man and it leads him to do unspeakable things. Hector is very prideful and in the end clouds his judgement. In Medea, Medea is revengeful and all she thinks about his getting revenge. Jason is insensitive and in the end it cost him his family.
Jack’s growing fear was Ralph gaining back his power, so he sent forth to destroy the fear. In the process of blind rage and savagery they hunt for Ralph, they burn the island in search for him. They chase Ralph to the island end only to find the rescue that they so longed for. At the sight of an adult the boys are stopped in their tracks and break down in tears in shame. For at that moment they knew that the beast was in
They realized that Odysseus needn’t “bait the beast again.” They ask “Captain!, Why” for they see Odysseus is merely being cocky. Yet, Odysseus ignores them and respond to the monster by shouting “Kyklops,/if ever mortal man inquire/how you were put to shame and blinded, tell him/Odysseus, raider of cities, took your eye:/Laertes’ son, whose home is Ithaca!” (Book 9, Lines 548 - 552) Odysseus makes a very large tactical mistake; he tells Polyphemos’ that his is “Odysseus … Laertes’ son.”
Odyssey Essay “Nothing stops the man who desires to achieve. Every obstacle is simply a course to develop his achievement muscle. It’s strengthening of his powers of accomplishment” - Thomas Carlyle. In the Odyssey by Homer, Odysseus, the king of Ithaca goes upon a journey, and encounters danger and challenges that prevents him from going back to Ithaca, which is his goal. And during the journey, he begins to become an epic hero.
For example, Odysseus taunted Polyphemus and incited the wrath of Polyphemus and Poseidon, which led to the deaths of all his crewmembers. That was incredibly unwise, and not worthy of a leader who is responsible for the protection protect of his men. However, Odysseus learns his lesson, and realizes that he needed to grow through his horrifying experience of the earlier deaths. By the time Odysseus finally returns to his home, he not only has a burning desire to avenge his family by killing the suitors, but he also attained a greater understanding for the suffering of others. Even after Odysseus had satisfied his desire for revenge by killing the suitors, he refuses to gloat, and made sure
Scyld Scefing died and the kingdom was overtaken with evil. “Such is the feud and enmity, the cruel malice of men, for which I look, in which the Swedish people will come against us, when they learn that our lord is reft of life, who aforetime did guard against those that hated him his treasury and realm, after the fall of mighty men did rule the sea loving Geats, accomplishing the profit of people, yea, and before all did knightly deeds.” This shows that Beowulf was going to end and the fate of his people was inevitable. He had to sacrifice himself to save the lives of his people but coherently his people were still doomed. Valor-
The tragedy is filled with dramatic ironies due to Oedipus’ ambition in finding King Laius’s murderer. As Oedipus was addressing the people of Thebes about the consequences that will follow the murderer, “Be driven from every house, being, as he is, corruption itself to us”(Sophocles 227-228). The dramatic irony is that Oedipus is the murderer himself but he does not know it yet, so the proclamation that he said should be applied to him. Alternatively, Tiresias replied to Oedipus after he insulted him for being “sightless” and “ senseless” and said, “There is no one here who will not curse you soon, as you curse me.”
And at its climax, the chorus, representing his Theban people, disavowed King Oedipus and his contributions to Thebes saying it would have been better without him. These acts combined drive the humiliated Oedipus towards self-punishment, exile, and to his piteous, shameful fate. Sophocles in Oedipus the King puts the idea of truth and knowledge in the spotlight of Greek and modern audiences. Although Oedipus himself meets a collectively negative end, the power of truth is revealed through his misery. Some things are best left to the Gods rather than in the minds of men, it would have been to Oedipus’ ignorant bliss.
The cyclops Polyphemus effectively sets up the entire plot of Homer’s Odyssey, unleashing Poseidon’s wrath on Odysseus and consequently emerging as one of his most formidable rivals. Despite being perceived by Odysseus as an uncivilized savage and the polar opposite of a Greek citizen, it becomes evident that although the two are opposed in terms of customs, they fundamentally resemble one another when analyzed through the lens of xenia, rendering Odysseus’ worldview xenophobic. Thus, the Polyphemus episode turns into a powerful allegory for how the West has traditionally viewed people from foreign cultures that they sought to subjugate. Odysseus regards Polyphemus as inferior because of behavior that he sees as uncivilized when compared to
The Greeks started pillaging the city and setting buildings on fire. The Trojans, surprised by the attack, quickly woke and grabbed weapons. The attack was one-sided. The Trojans stood no chance. During the attack was happening, the Trojan hero Aeneas, son of the goddess Venus and the mortal Anchises, received a message from the gods telling him that Troy was destined to fall.
In The Odyssey, Odysseus and Telemachus are two heroes that go through tests to try and complete their quests. At the beginning of the book, Odysseus is a Trojan war hero who has been away from home for a war that lasted ten years. It takes him another ten to get back home. Telemachus is Odysseus’s son. Telemachus believes that his father will never come back until Athena tells him to go and try to find any information about Odysseus’s whereabouts.
Humanism and Heroism Odysseus showed lots heroism and humanism throughout his dangerous journey. His humanism was shown with encounters that delayed his journey and that endangered it. Also Odysseus showed heroism when he took down dangerous obstacles that took his ca down. Another way his heroism was shown was steering his crew away from danger and back home. Calypso showed lots of affections towards Odysseus and held him as a prisoner.
Hierarchy is abundant in all societies, whether it be ranks in a government, social classes, or any other worldly positions. In Greek society especially, there can be seen a hierarchy not only including governmental positions and social classes, but also a ranking of power of the gods above men, and even some gods above other gods. The gods can help humans by making sure their lives go smoothly, and even by controlling the weather and aspects of nature. The gods also have to power to make things go horribly wrong for a person, and can be triggered by disrespect from a human being, or even by the emotions of the god. Odysseus, one of the main characters of The Odyssey, an epic poem written by homer, embarks on a journey in efforts to reach home,
The Odyssey of Homer is about the hero Odysseus who starts an adventure to return to his home and kill the suitors who woo his wife and squander his wealth. Meanwhile, his son Telemachus searches for news of his father from his father's friends, and teams up with his father to kill the suitors. All the suitors are killed and Athena protects Odysseus and Telemachus from the suitors' parents. Honor and pride are the most important aspects of life and hubris leads to destruction. Honor and pride are considered important and must be defended.