Wrong Decisions In Odysseus In Homer's Odyssey

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

I think Odysseus is not a hero. Most people would say he is but I think this because he is a selfish man and kills people. At first he sounds like an okay person who is a nice man. Wait till you find out what he has done.

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.

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.

Fourth reason, in the beginning of the book, Homer wrote, “he fought only to save his life, to bring his shipmates home” (Homer 5). But what good is Odysseus saving himself for when in the end he couldn't even control his members in the end. That's why he shouldn't have recklessly sacrificed so many of his members and had a big ego. When Odysseus went back home, he saw that his son and his wife were not safe, so he killed the man’s who were trying to win Penelope heart to gain power. Penelope was so happy that he was back, but really, if Odysseus never left, Penelope and his son would've never be in danger in the first place, that's why he is not a hero.

Also, we can see from the text that Odysseus has defied death multiple times with requires a lot of cleverness. Another example of Odysseus’s dishonesty helping him is in the quote,” My name is Nohbdy… Nohbdy, Nohbdy tricked me… ah well, if nobody has played you foul there in your lonely bed, we are no use in pain given by great Zeus… So saying they trailed away,”(Applebee, 906). In the quote Odysseus uses his cleverness to trick the cyclops into telling the other cyclopes that “nobody” is hurting him. This allows him and his men to not be found or hurt by all the other cyclopes. Another example takes place immediately after Odysseus tricks the cyclops into saying his name is “nobody” in the quote,”I tied them silently together, twining cord of willow from the ogre’s bed; then slung a men under each middle one to ride there safely, shielded left and right. So three sheep could convey each man,”(Applebee, 908). This plan Odysseus comes up with works very well and allows them to escape without the cyclops knowing they're gone, it also allows them to steal his sheep. This shows how Odysseus’s dishonesty and cleverness can get his men and him out of trouble. Another example of how his cleverness helps him is when he goes to the underworld to talk to telemachus. Odysseus is able to get into the underworld and get out, which

Odysseus, a man who was known for his adventures, but do we really understand the attributes needed for an epic hero? The King of Ithaca had a very concealed past where it is hardly ever noted that his men were mistreated by their captain and all of Odysseus’ mistakes affected those around him. Odysseus, on several occasions did his men wrong and along his journeys, he became very willful and big headed. In The Odyssey by Homer, Odysseus has several misfortunes such as losing all of his men and being stranded and not returning home for 20 years, but evidently all of these problems were caused by the mens lack of trust in Odysseus and Odysseus being too stubborn and full of pride.

Heroes used to be considered people who held great power and always came out on top no matter how high the odds were stacked against them. Today we are more critical of the people we look up to, which I believe to be a good thing. We now realize that the people we consider heroes must be good people, who even though they have flaws, try their hardest to do good for the world. Another interesting question is what it means to be a bad person. Is a bad person someone who is inherently bad? Can a bad person do good? Does doing bad things in your life cancel out all the good things you’ve done? To answer these questions, I am going to look into history for a figure we

Homer’s epic poem, The Odyssey, chronicles the homeward bound voyage of the main character, King Odysseus of Ithaca. After Trojan War which lasted ten years, Odysseus sets foot on another adventure, which also spans ten years, to return to Ithaca. Odysseus is gone from his home for a total twenty years, but upon his arrival back to Ithaca, he finds that his title has been defended by his wife Penelope and his son Telemachus, who have been awaiting his return this entire time. Odysseus and Penelope are meant to be a model couple, so people often argue about which of the two is more admirable. To be admirable is to have faced a struggle with honor and dignity. Although Odysseus has been on a terrible journey, he has not always reacted with honor and dignity like Penelope does. Penelope shows honor and dignity when she practices xenia, does not marry a suitor, and forgives Odysseus.

In the book called The Odyssey by Homer, it mainly follows the story of a king of a village called Ithaca, hundreds of years ago-This man, is named Odysseus. Odysseus goes through many adventures after the victory of the Trojan War. However, this is where Odysseus, is not being as strong as a great war hero and a king as he should be. Although Odysseus was seen as a very strong person, physically and mentally, he lacks the appreciation and the care of his crew throughout the trials and didn’t think through many of his actions thoroughly and how they would affect not only his crew but people around him.

Throughout the Odyssey, the main character Odysseus goes on an epic adventure with his focus being to get home to his wife Penelope, and his son Telemachus. He faces many obstacles dealing with characters such as the Cyclopes, Poseidon, Aeolus, Athena, Helios, Calypso, Zeus, Hermes, Scylla, and Circe. Odysseus’s men are some of the most valuable people to him throughout the Odyssey. He always puts himself in front of danger for them to protect them even though they all died from an unexpected turn of events soon before he returns home. When Odysseus comes home he greets his twenty year old son and straightens things out on his homeland, Ithaca. The only reason Odysseus makes it through twenty years of life

It is often wondered how words are formed or created. Many of our words are derived from different older cultures, like the civilization of Ancient Greece. An example of this is the word museum which comes from the word muse. The Muses were greek goddesses of the fine arts who were prayed to by philosophers, musicians, and artists who seeked inspiration. The Greek poet and author of the famous stories The Iliad and The Odyssey was one of them. In the epic, The Odyssey, Homer displays Ancient Greek values and virtues through his character/hero, Odysseus. Odysseus is a true hero in the eyes of the Ancient Greek Civilization because he was intelligent, loyal, and extremely religious.

Imagine landing in a difficult situation... getting stranded from home, encountering beautiful woman at the same time, but you have a wife. You have to choose your wife, or a beautiful woman. This is exactly what happened to Odysseus on his travels in The Odyssey, by the Greek poet Homer. In this epic poem, Odysseus is married to his wife Penelope and has a happy family, who lives in Ithaca. Even though Odysseus has been stranded from home for many years, he still remains loyal to his wife. Odysseus is truly loyal to Penelope because he leaves Ogygia (where he was trapped) as soon as possible, puts all of his effort into making it home to his wife, and even flirts with Princess Nausicaa to get him home.

This moment of so-called heroism suggests that Odysseus has still not learned the consequences of his impulsive actions he makes for his personal gain. Although Odysseus puts his people in danger, he has always remained loyal to his wife Penelope and the country of Ithaka. During the Trojan War era, it was a common occasion to have people go to war and risk their lives without ever even debating it. With this in mind, Odysseus’s people look to him as a hero because he is both a great warrior and a loyal leader to their country. Odysseus killing the suitors back in Ithaka may seem cruel, but you can see the admiration people have for him when Telemachos says, “You must look to this yourself, dear father; for they say you have the best mind among

In the epic poem written by Homer, The Odyssey, the king of Ithaca named Odysseus sails home from the war at Troy. Along the way, he and his men encounter a lot of tedious obstacles. They go to Ismarus as well as discover the island of the Lotus, and the Lotus eaters who live on the island. Odysseus and his men also find a cyclops named Polyphemus, which they find out is the son of Poseidon. The land of Hades, or the land of the dead, is another place they travel to. Throughout all of the places they went, Odysseus expects his men to follow him whether he is doing right or wrong. Odysseus’ men have clear tension with Odysseus, and almost never agree with him. After 20 years, Odysseus finally sees his home again. He soon discovered that he was not welcome, and the suitors of Ithaca are trying to replace him. Odysseus’ wife still believes he is alive, and will not give her hand to marriage to any of them. While those who are loyal to Odysseus are rewarded, those who are unloyal receive severe punishment.