Alexander Hamilton In The Odyssey

Odysseus, through the tremendous physical journey that he has embarked on, goes on many mental journeys that greatly develop him as a character: he starts out hotheaded and single-minded, yet grows to be a lot more rational by the end of the book, which ultimately saves his own life and the lives of many others. For example, because of the inadvertent trip he and his crew take to the island of the Cyclops, and their subsequent escape from the Cyclops Polyphemus (which causes the ire of Poseidon, Polyphemus’ father, to be incited), Odysseus learns to not invite the wrath of the gods. He also learns, after taunting Polyphemus multiple times and consequently, almost getting everyone killed because of it, to not act in such a rash manner and to

During Odysseus’ wanderings, a change comes over him. A change that is motivated by the immense suffering he brings both on himself and on those around him through his prideful actions. Beginning with the prideful raid on the city of the Cicones and culminating with Odysseus taunting the newly-blinded Polyphemus, Odysseus’ pride heaps more and more suffering upon himself and often kills those around him. Because of this increase in suffering, Odysseus changes. He becomes more humble, more tactful, less of a barbarian and more of a planner; this change can been seen primarily through his diplomatic actions in Phaeacia and his cunning use of Athena’s disguise during his time of testing in his own home.

In the Odyssey, Odysseus exemplified strong leadership and outstanding noble qualities. Like Achilles, Odysseus carried some flaws at the beginning of the story. A strong case can be made that his biggest flaw as a character was pride as it caused him unnecessary risks that only delayed his journey and possibly endangered his men. This is evidently shown when Odysseus and his crew wander around in Polyphemos ' cave. After the confrontation with the Polyphemos, Odysseus and his men escaped by stabbing Polyphemos’ in the eye while he was asleep. Once Odysseus and his men were safe on board on their ship, Odysseus took it upon himself to reveal his true identity and proceeded to taunt Polyphemos. At

Odysseus is described as a god-like man. He is cunning, sly, suave, strong, confident and self-possessed. He accomplishes many great events like that of defeating the Trojans, slaying the suitors and travelling to and back from Hades. When on the beach in Phaeacia he confidently “stalked as a mountain lion exultant in his power strides through wind and rain and his eyes blaze and he charges sheep or oxen or chases wild deer” , and when he sees Nausicaa “He launched in at once, endearing, sly and suave” . Athena found him to be “so winning, so worldly wise, so self possessed!” . Neither does he lack in ingenuity, King Nestor said that “No one...could hope to rival Odysseus, not for sheer cunning–at every twist of strategy he excelled us all” . Odysseus has a large and gallant reputation to fulfil, but when he first makes an appearance in the book he is crying on Calypso’s island. Crying is often seen as a weakness in a man, but this makes Odysseus more endearing as it reveals the labour of his love.

The Cyclops says to the Cyclopes: “Nohbdy’s tricked me, Nohbdy’s ruined me.” The Cyclopes reply: “Ah well, if nobody has played you foul there in your lonely bed, we are no use in pain given by the great Zeus.” Odysseus’ cleverness helped him evade the fate that would have befallen him if the other Cyclopes caught him. One more leadership quality possessed by Odysseus is wisdom. Odysseus’ wisdom is displayed when Odysseus conquers the town of Ismarus. Odysseus says: “I told them ‘Back, and quickly!

In the “Odyssey”, Odysseus goes through obstacles throughout the book that a normal man couldn’t subside. One example is in book 9, his main obstacle that he is trying to face is to escape from being held hostage in a cave by a Cyclops better known as Polyphemus. Odysseus is a archetypal hero, he is also a role model, with an ambition to get to his homeland Ithaca. He goes through resisting temptation and using his intellect and physical strength to get him there, no matter the obstacle nor the negative flaws that he faces. Odysseus put himself and his men in that situation by being curious and wanting to know what kind of land his ship and the winds led him to. This was selfish of him because it cost him some of his men, but a leader and hero has to play that role and some lives will be dealt with on the way. Odysseus says, “The rest of you will stay here while I go with my ship and crew on reconnaissance. I want to find out what those men are like, Wild savages with no sense of right or wrong Or hospitable folk who fear the gods” (Homer 429). Saying this quote alone makes Odysseus a humble man due to the fact that not even a piece of land is going to slow him down on his journey back home.

Odysseus arrogantly does not think of the safety of his men and does not listen to them, only caring to annoy the Cyclops and to take the credit for blinding him. This shows his pride and his only care, to expand his legacy. By doing so, Poseidon curses his journey and makes it tougher for him to return

Odysseus’ hubris played a negative role when Odysseus revealed his identity to Polyphemus. Odysseus and his crew had just managed to escape from the Cyclops, Polyphemus, after driving a stake into his eye. But then, Odysseus told the blinded Cyclops his identity by shouting, “Cyclops – if any man on the face of the earth should ask you who blinded you, shamed you so- say Odysseus, raider of cities, he gouged out you eye, Laertes’ son who makes his home in Ithaca” (9, 558-562). Odysseus managed to tell Polyphemus his name, father, and home. Polyphemus then prayed to Poseidon, his father, to get revenge on Odysseus. Poseidon ended up killing Odysseus’ entire crew and delaying Odysseus for 10 years. None of those terrible consequences would have happened if Odysseus had suppressed his enormous pride. Odysseus’ hubris resulted in a lot of suffering for many people. Odysseus’ hubris prevents Odysseus and his crew from getting back to Ithaca again when Odysseus did

To start, Odysseus’ pride is shown during one of his first trials he overcomes when trying to get home: the Cyclops. This is part of the beginning of the Tests, Allies, and Enemies stage of his Hero’s Journey. After he had successfully defeated the Cyclops with his guile, he and his men successfully escape and are making a run for their ships. Odysseus taunts the Cyclops, despite his crew members’ warnings. Odysseus then says, “I would not heed them in my glorying spirit, but let my anger

How would a person feel being away from their homeland for ten years with no communication with the ones they love? In the epic poem of Homer’s The Odyssey, the protagonist, Odysseus, makes his way home after the Trojan War. Odysseus angers Poseidon for blinding his son and he goes through many years of turmoil while struggling to return home. Odysseus battles the obstacles he faces and eventually returns to Ithaca to claim back the throne. In The Odyssey, Odysseus’ arrogance is demonstrated throughout the book when he interacts with the Phaeacians, the cyclops, and his son Telemachus, thus proving to be a static character through his thoughts and actions.

Odysseus has a sense of hubris that leads to adversity and causes him harm, he also has humility; however, the lack of balance between these emotions takes Odysseus through many tough obstacles. When Odysseus tricks Polyphemos, he does it logically, and he uses his mind and reason; however, his hubris comes out when he feels the need to expose his true identity thus leading to his difficulty to return to Ithaka and future problems. Odysseus’s men beg him to stop harassing the beast, but Odysseus has one other plan in mind when he says, “Kyklops / … Odysseus raider of cities, took your eye: / Laertes’ son, whose home’s on Ithaka!” (Homer 160). This provoking of Polyphemos that Odysseus displays is a cause for the pain Ithaka is going though, as well as personal and direct grieving directed at Odysseus and his immediate

During his journey Odysseus used what he has learned from is mistakes to return home and kill the suitors of his wife. On the island of Cicones,and with his encounter with Polyphemus, Odysseus learned that bragging can bring great misfortune. On Ithaca Odysseus never brags to the suitors and is able to enter his house with the Antinous and the other suitors knowing his real identity. He takes the punishment of Antinous and the other suitors without saying a word and is able to see those who have invaded his house. Odysseus is able to see who is loyal and who is not and take his revenge with the suitors never knowing who

“‘Cyclops- if any man on the face of the earth should ask you who blinded you, shamed you so-say Odysseus, raider of the cities, he gouged out your eye. Laertes’ son who makes his home in Ithaca”’ (9. 558-562). Had Odysseus not yelled at the Cyclops saying “say Odysseus, raider of the cities, he gouged out your eye” Poseidon would not have released his wrath on Odysseus and he would have come home to Ithaca much sooner but Odysseus’ ego ruined his homecoming. Odysseus could not let himself leave without telling the Cyclops that he is great. Odysseus could not let himself do something great and have the accomplishment go unnoticed. His ego gets the best of him even at the expense of those around him. A truly great person would stay humble and put their life at greater risk than the ones of those around him. Another way Odysseus reveals his vainglorious character is his disregard for people who try and help him. Odysseus is stranded in the ocean with no hope of survival when he meets a nymph, Ino, who

Odysseus’ lack of modesty assists his hubristic personality and the exasperated personality of Poseidon. Odysseus indirectly brought his own wrath upon himself by telling Polyphemus that when he (Polyphemus) is asked who blinded him, to say it was “Odysseus, raider of cities, he gouged your eye, Laertes son who makes his home in Ithaca” (Homer 99). Had he been more humble, gracious winner, he may have avoided his quarrel with Poseidon. Poseidon would have no reason to have a grudge against Odysseus, in fact Poseidon would not have had a name to lay his vengeance on. Without a name there is no face for counterpart, and there would be no need for Poseidon's anger to reside on Odysseus. However, Odysseus let his pride swoon by taunting the cyclops leading to the eventual ten year trek towards home. Odysseus’ self-centered values create a built up ignorance towards others values and needs. As mentioned before he made the mistake of calling out the cyclops and even taunting him, Odysseus also ignored his peers wishes in which they exclaimed “ Do not be mad enough to provoke this savage creature further” even after his crews pleading he “would not listen to them and shouted out to [Polyphemus] in rage” (Homer 100). Furthermore, his ignorance also reaches to his men when they reach Circe’s island where she turned his men “into pigs by the stroke her wand and shut them up in her pig styes” (107).

So when the Cicones gather an army from inland to ward off the Greek invaders, Odysseus loses many men and rather than acknowledge his error in judgment, he shifts the blame of the defeat to his crew. Convincing himself that he is not at fault for having been defeated, but rather his selfish crew who refused to leave, he justifies his actions, “Then I urged them to cut and run, set sail, but would they listen? Not those mutinous; there was too much wine to swill, too many sheep to slaughter”(9.50-52). Odysseus knows that if he stays on the island, the Cicones will rally an army and come to kill Odysseus and his men. Despite this, he stays and reassures himself that the major defeat was by Zeus’ hand, “Zeus presented us with disaster us, me and my comrades doomed to suffer”(9.61-62). Homer teaches us that no matter how many great accolades one holds, they are destined to fail if they cannot own up to their mistakes and actions.