Analysis Of Homer 's ' The Odyssey '

Brains over brawn, who will win this battle?Homer's tale of Odysseus' adventures in “The Odyssey” show that being intelligent and cunning can be far better than having physical strength. Being physically strong certainly has its advantages, but not in all circumstances. Strength in intelligence shows new meaning of strength. Odysseus is amused with himself when he defeats Polyphemus. His great skills with a bow outweigh the others abilities. Knowledge of the placement of his bed win his beloveds heart.

The Odyssey is one of two epic poems written in the late eighth century BC by the Greek poet, Homer. It encompasses the lives of many characters, including: Athene, the goddess of wisdom, Penelope, wife to Odysseus, and Telemachus, the son of both Odysseus and Penelope. With these and many others comes one major, most important character, son to Laertes and King of Ithaca, Odysseus. In reading, The Odyssey portrays Odysseus to meet the many requirements of being an epic hero: strength, courage, intelligence, and loyalty.

A hero isn’t shaped by his strengths but by the values he possesses. Homer’s epic, The Odyssey, reveals the moral and ethical constitution of the ancient Greeks. Over time, certain cultures have grown to value a number of human characteristics. Those who acquire such values become respected heroes. After the fall of Troy, the protagonist of the epic, Odysseus, set sail for his home, Ithaca, where his faithful wife and son were waiting for him. Over the course of his journey, Odysseus faced some of the most ferocious opponents known to the Greeks. Even through this formidable journey, Odysseus and his family have stayed true to the diverse aspects of the ancient Greeks. The Odyssey exemplifies the human ideals of hospitality, loyalty and

In the Epic, “The Odyssey", spoken by Homer, conveys a heroic tale of an epic hero named, Odysseus, who faces many challenges as he sails to get home. One of the tasks Odysseus faces is, "The Sirens", who challenge Odysseus 's will power. Another challenge Odysseus encounters is, “The Cyclops", who torments and slaughters some of Odysseus 's men due to his curiosity. One of the hardest threats he had to confront was, “The Land of Dead" which tested his self-restraint, and revealed his human weaknesses of sorrow. The Epic Hero, Odysseus, struggles with many challenges such as, the taunting Sirens, the brutish and cruel Cyclops, and one of the arduous territories Odysseus has ever crossed, The Land of the Dead.

Odysseus thinks that his reasoning are final and his activities are constantly just and right, although he frequently allows his ego control his rational thinking, resulting harm to his group and messing with the gods’s plans. His men could have went back home Securely for it is the desire of Athena and the other heavenly gods who surround to her in Mount Olympus, however Odysseus takes it to himself to outrage and blind Polyphemus, the monstrous son of Poseidon, adored by his dad yet abhorred by the people, In this way distrusting their whole arrangement . Subsequent to being blinded by the heroine, Polyphemus tosses huge pieces of rocks at Odysseus's ship, nearly obliterating them at the same time. But instead of retreating for safety, Odysseus keeps on provoking Polyphemus and “[calls] out to the cyclopes again, with [his] men hanging all over [him] begging him not to”(Book 9, 491-492). His feeling of pride and presumption influences to disregard the requests of his people even in these critical circumstances . He will fulfill his own feeling of interest and pleasure without thinking of the result it would have on his crew. Despite the fact that he is bound to get away from all passings and assaults, his group isn’t so blessed. Their lives are in mortal peril since Odysseus considers them as child sheeps who should forfeit their lives for him when the circumstances comes, much the same as how mortals make conciliatory offerings of sheeps for the heavenly gods. He is willing to fulfill his own feeling of interest without thinking of his groups lives or their suppositions and is regularly infuriated when they negate his request. If they hurt his sense of pride and self-importance and pomposity , Odysseus will be overcome with outrage and

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.

In Homer’s historic epic The Odyssey the protagonist, Odysseus, is venturing home to his native land of Ithaca. Throughout the story Odysseus is faced with many great challenges and is forced to make many decisions that will greatly affect his life and that of everyone around him. Each decision is crucial to his survival and his journey home. Homer portrays many patterns that are susceptible throughout the tale. One of the major themes that he portrays is that temptation can befall any man, even Odysseus. Many times throughout the story Odysseus and his men fall or are delayed due to the sweet temptations that the world offers them. These temptations do not end even after Odysseus

If you think about it there isn’t a day in your life that goes by without facing some kind of temptation. Temptation can be our biggest weakness, and I think that in Odysseus’s case it was his. In The Odyssey, Homer uses the siren scene to symbolize temptation in different ways. It represents how temptation can come in many different ways; and it can control us no matter how much we know that it is wrong to give in. In The Odyssey, temptation came to Odysseus and his crew from the sirens. This scene displays how temptation looks, sounds, and how it makes you act.

His men sacrificed their lives trying to protect him from getting killed because Odysseus was the only one that could guide them back home to Ithaca. When visiting the island of Polyphemus, the Cyclops, his main goal was to raid the Cyclops’ home, but Odysseus stayed, thinking that he will receive a gift from the beast. This idea ended up turning into a tragedy and the end result was that six of Odysseus’ men were eaten alive by Polyphemus. Odysseus blinded the Cyclops with a large wooden spear, not knowing that the one-eyed beast was the son of Poseidon. Screaming in agony, Polyphemus prayed to his father proclaiming “Let him lose all companions, and return/ under strange sail to bitter days at home” (Homer 9.

As Odysseus travels from one Greek city to the next, the native citizens inquire about his identity and family. Although Odysseus has not seen his native land in twenty years, he defines himself as the product of family: either the son of Laertes or the father of Telemachus. Odysseus is treated like family in the foreign lands he visits. Telemachus embarks on an adventure of his own and is accepted by Nestor and Menelaus, especially because his father suffered through the Trojan War along with the two kings. Family is at the heart of decisions, central in society, creates a frame of reference for individual members of society, and is a source of learning. Family, the central theme in The Odyssey, connects individuals, cities, and gods to one another and is a driving force in decisions and emotional reactions.

Homer’s epic poem The Odyssey follows Odysseus on his long journey home. The Epic also includes the stories of Odysseus’ family left behind: the travels of his son, Telemachus, and how plenty, of what we would now call “home wreckers”, suitors pressured his wife, Penelope, into marrying one of them. The characters are beautifully crafted and the story is truly epic. All the elements presented can bring in any reader from any century, the Cyclops, the Gods, the trickery of Penelope, and the disguises of Odysseus, are all legendary literary hooks . There are many things to learn—about writing, about the world around us, the world ahead of us, and the past behind us—from The Odyssey. (26) It is undeniably evident that this ancient text has

In Book X of the Odyssey, Odysseus gives a tale of his adventure in Circe’s Island. He also tells of his encounter with Circe, (X. 380 - 419). Circe’s equivocation, “Why, Odysseus, dost thou sit thus like one that is dumb, eating thy heart, and dost not touch food or drink? / Dost thou haply forbode some other guile?” (X. 380 - 381), portrays Odysseus sadness and worry for his men. Earlier in this book, he had narrated of how Circe had put a portion in the men’s food that had turned them into swine. He shows great concern for his men, “Circe, what man that is right-minded could bring himself to taste of food or drink, /ere yet he had won freedom for his comrades, and beheld them before his face”, (X. 384 - 385), and proves his determination to free them.

At the beginning of The Odyssey, Homer informs us of the battle Odysseus faces as he strives to return home to his wife and son. Meanwhile, in Ithaca, his wife Penelope is pursued by many suitors trying to marry her and take over his kingdom. Out of her love for Odysseus, Athena appears to Telemachus as Mentor to give him hope that his father will return and also convince him to set sail in search of his father. In book two, following Mentor’s visit, Telemachus gathers all the suitors and confronts them about their actions toward his mother. Antinous then tells Telemachus of how Penelope had led them on. Throughout The Odyssey, Homer emphasizes many important points with his use of symbolism. One of these points regarded Penelope’s loom. He emphasizes her loom as though to illustrate the ideas of faith, faithfulness, trust and betrayal, as well as the idea of karma.

One literary technique that is widely and effectively used in Homer’s Odyssey is the digression. The digression is departure from the main storyline that does not alter the action of the story, but adds a layer of sentimental content to the plot which usually helps underscore themes central to the story. The digressions in the Odyssey are meticulously written with great attention to detail just like the rest of the epic, and they truly help readers grasp the important aspects of the story. The liberal use of digression in the Odyssey helps build a vivid image of the character Odysseus by highlighting his historical feats, providing context to his current situation, and giving allusions to his future and his destiny.

Odysseus and his men get carried by the wind to the Ismarus, which is the city of the Cicones. During their visit, some of Odysseus’s men got greedy, and because of this they get chased off the island by the Cicones. When Odysseus was traveling, Zeus punished him and his crew with a storm that brought them to the land of the Lotus-eaters. Here, some of the sailors ate the lotus and became intoxicated. The lotus made them want to stay on the island, instead of going home. Odysseus had to drag his men back to the ship and lock them up. Afterwards, Odysseus sailed to the land of the Cyclops, and ate some wild goats. When they were walking across the island, they came upon a cave with sheep and crates of milk and cheese. When they were at the cave, the son of Poseidon, Polyphemus, returns. At first, Polyphemus acts caring and hostile, but soon after he eats two of Odysseus’s men and traps the rest for future meals. Odysseus wants to kill Polyphemus, but he knows that Polyphemus is the only one capable of moving the rock, that’s in front of the cave. Later, when Polyphemus goes outside to