Analyzing The Odyssey : An Analysis Of Homer's 'Odyssey'

The Odyssey is a story of Odysseus’s nostos. In the epic poem the reader follows Odysseus on his 20 year long voyage home. In the Odyssey, Odysseus is repeatedly referred to as noble, wise and heroic. Many times those qualities are based on his military escapades and kingly rule. The real personality of Odysseus is that of an arrogant liar and cheat. In terms of social mores, the undesirable traits are used to get Odysseus back home to the wife and kingdom he loves dearly. In his voyage back Odysseus has to face many powerful monsters that can kill him at will, and he has to outwit many of those monsters and seductresses to survive and continue his voyage. Through every new obstacle, Odysseus keeps his reunion with Penelope and his kingdom close to his heart. He tells Kalypso “what I want and all my days I pine for

Throughout literary history, women are portrayed as mere property or tools of men; however, women can also be shown as people who hold power in Homer’s The Odyssey. Women hold a significant amount of authoritative power over men in both their lives and mindsets, and this can be seen through Circe 's powers that are able to manipulate Odysseus and his men, Penelope 's tactics to stall marriage and her caution toward Odysseus when he appears, and Athena 's participation in Odysseus and Telemachus’s life.

Arle 'chia Nisby Professor Parker World Literature Sept 24,2015 Telemachus: Test of maturity In Homer 's heroic poem the Odyssey,Telemachus is an important character because will be the one to become king of Ithaca if his father 's Odysseus does not return home. However during this time he is not only protecting his mother from a suitor 's hand in marriage,but is forced to mature within a year 's time. Telemachus share strong physical characteristics of his father and based of the knowledge of his the people of Ithaca , Odysseus is the best king that they have ever had. Therefore they expect the same from his son Telemachus. Sadly the two did not compare in the beginning of the odyssey, but the story quickly overturned when Telemachus

Throughout the first part of the poem, Odysseus exerts a variety of characteristics that depict who he is. The first characteristic that Odysseus reveals is his loyalty to his family and comrades. In the first story, Odysseus was loyal to his men by fighting to save them and he never faltered or got scared. Another scene where he shows this is in the second story, “Sailing from Troy”, Calypso, the loveliest goddess, tempted Odysseus into staying with her forever. However, Odysseus adamantly refused because he knew that back home was his family. He was more loyal to his family than he was to Calypso, who was beautiful in every way. One common characteristic that is relatable to the readers is Odysseus’s curiosity. However, his curiosity is one that leads him and his men into lethal situations. In the third story, “The Lotus-Eaters”, Odysseus was curious about the Lotus Island and sent out two men to explore it. The men were tempted by the Lotus Eaters to eat what seemed like a harmless lotus flower. They did and suddenly they had the feeling of staying on the island forever with no desire of going back home. Because of Odysseus’s curiosity, two men almost could not return home and complete their purpose of the journey. In the fourth story, however, Odysseus goes with twelve men to fulfill his curiosity. Odysseus was curious about the Cyclops and his cave, so much so that he decided to go explore the cave knowing that it was exceedingly dangerous. This led to many of his men getting killed because of the Cyclops who was angered by Odysseus’s ill-fated words. Odysseus was ignorant about the warning signs and did not learn his lesson from the Lotus-Eaters. Even though Odysseus knew that being curious was extremely treacherous, he still ignored it and tried to gain more knowledge. Lastly, Odysseus shows that he is clever and quick-witted. In the story, “The Cyclops”, Odysseus uses his irresistible liquor to trick the

Tolkien once said, “Living by faith includes the call to something greater than cowardly self-preservation”. In this quote he captures the very essence of heroism. Homer’s epic poem “The Odyssey” follows one man, Odysseus on his hero’s journaey home from the Trojan War. There is no question as to whether or not his quest follows the steps of the hero’s journey monomyth. The hero’s journey monomyth is the universal link in all tales of adventure. It contends that every hero follows a three-stage journey consisting of a departure, fulfillment, and return. Odysseus’ story fits perfectly into these three stages. He departs Calypso’s Island, fulfills his quest of returning to his native land, and returns to his palace to regain his role as leader. The controversy lies in whether the character of Odysseus truly merits the title of hero. Odysseus acts more in the fashion of someone pursuing cowardly self-preservation than a hero pursuing a greater good. He proves himself to be a cruel and sadistic serial killer against the Cyclops and his wife’s unfortunate suitors, selfish and immature in his conduct towards enemies, and the opposite of a hero, a coward when the gods put him to the ultimate test. Odysseus is many things but not a hero.

It is evident that in Homer’s The Odyssey, the role of women consists of relegation to subservient roles. Women are considered mere objects to be taken during times of war and married off at the will of those within the community. However, Homer presents a way to remedy this inequality through the use of the motifs cunning and intellect. They are used by Clytemnestra, Penelope, and Nausicaa. These women utilize their guile and intelligence in order to transcend the patriarchy and play important roles within their homes and societies, thus giving them more power than women were expected to have.

In Homer’s The Odyssey, men acquire all the power, and women live only as aides to men; however, women assert their dominance over men in many occasions where they actually strip men of their dominance. At the end of Book 21, the main character, Odysseus, strings his bow, and shoots it through the row of axes winning Penelope’s competition. By doing this, Odysseus asserts his dominance which he has not had in many years because women stripped him of it.

Through out the poem, Odysseus encounters many obstacles that he could have eluded but he had to make worse by staying at the situations. One of his first instances of this pride problem happened first in the chronological order the poem would happen in. Shortly after the Trojan War, Odysseus was returning home to see his family when he and his men encountered the Cicons. Filled with his own infallibility, from the success at the Trojan war, and his pride, he and his men land to raid their city. They had successful raided the city, but the warriors from the city went to get more troops from surrounding Cicons cities, all while Odysseus' men got drunk from the towns wine. Once the Cicon troops had arrived, they attacked Odysseus' men, killing half of them (92). The whole reason that the troops stopped at the Cicons land was because Odysseus' pride lead him to do so. This pride lead to him risking the life's of his men, just to show off. He wanted to make it known that he could do anything, which ended up working against him. This is not the one time Odysseus risked his men's life for his own pride. He and his men had encountered some difficulties, that eventually lead them to the land of the Cyclopes. The Cyclopes were known for being "lawless and inhumane... {they} neither plant nor sow... have no laws nor assemblies of the people... each is lord and master in his family" (93). The only reasons that the crew needed to land on the island was to land for a short time and to get food. Yet, Odysseus wanted to take some men to explore to find some of the Cyclopes to find out if they were "uncivilized savages or a hospitable and humane race" (94). So he and his men explore the island and find a cave full of cheese and lambs, which the men wanted to take some of and leave, but Odysseus refused to let them leave without "see[ing] th

There are many ways an individual may view The Odyssey with a myriad of variations of the same view. One of these many variations can be the aspect of love and its effects on the characters within Homer’s epic. Love, in Odysseus’ case, governs his will to get back home to his wife, son, and kingdom from his long and tiring journey. During his journey Odysseus undergoes a series of strenuous trials that puts his mental aptitude as well as his physical fortitude to the most extreme test. There are times that Odysseus comes close to being swayed by those around him and those of which he encounters but in the end he fights through it all, as painful as it may be, to get back home to his beloved. Love is a powerful idea that transcends the virtual world of abstraction once it’s being expressed to its fullest extent; that love once exceeding human bounds almost permeates in an awe-inspiring way. One’s devotion to a significant other or interest in another causes them to act in particular ways that if love wasn’t involved they would not have behaved in that way. Due to the strength of love’s effects on people, it can cause a rather sour side effect in the stead of positive outcomes. In the case of Odysseus, as much as he did have love for his kingdom he did not want to go to war. Despite that he had to leave for ten years but this ultimately led him to

The Odyssey is known to be a one of the greatest epic poems written during the 8th century BC Homer’s epic poem contains stories about Odysseus journey of returning home. However, it is not just about Odysseus’s journey back home but, his son Telemachus who finds out that his father is alive and in order for Telemachus to find his father. He must develop himself to become like his father because his father is known for being a man who is cunning, strong, well crafted, and responsible. In book 2 of the Odyssey, Homer illustrates Telemachus coming age by using imagery of violence, change in his diction, and simile portraying how he is maturing and developing himself to become like his father.

Why do you think the Lotus flower made them lose their memories? Why did they take over Ismarus?

Although Odysseus manages to escape a fate of death, he causes the deaths of the rest of his men who survived the Trojan War, however will not survive the trip back home. It’s also quite ironic how Odysseus’s men die among returning to their homeland of Ithaca, rather than dying with their comrades who died in the war. Due to Odysseus’s poor decision making, due to his addiction to fame and glory, casualties make way for the men, who take the heat for Odysseus’s mistakes. In the incident on the island of the Cyclopes, Odysseus simply has to wander into Polyphemus’s dwelling. Among the cave, Polyphemus is the only way that the men are going to get in or out of it. When Polyphemus finally eats four of Odysseus’s men, he factures up a plan to keep the rest alive. With a large wooden stake, Odysseus and the men hurl the weapon into the Cyclopes eye, while he is intoxicated. Then while the Cyclopes opens the rock door, the men and Odysseus wrap themselves under the bellies of Polypehmus’s sheep, with two sheep on the sides of each man. With this escape plan, Odysseus escapes, however the fame once again gets to his head. Odysseus has to call out his name and taunt Polyphemus, the very son of Poseidon. In a rage, Polyphemus aims a rock near Odysseus’s ship, knocking it back to shore. This puts his men in danger, yet luckily, no incidents happened upon leaving Polyphemus. This however left Poseidon with a blind son, and an angry God, that was soon to unleash hell upon Odysseus. The

In every society, there are certain rules and customs that one is required to follow. During the age of the ancient Greeks, these rules and customs were very important, and were the key to being respected in society. Homer, a poet in those times, taught the guidelines of Ancient Greek society in his famous work, The Odyssey. The hero, King Odysseus, is on a journey to both return home to the island kingdom of Ithaca, and to complete his true hero’s quest. He makes multiple stops on his venture home, each one teaching him a valuable lesson on how to follow Greece’s cultural hegemony. He encounters betrayal through his own crew members, reminding him of the Filial relationships one must have to their superiors. Odysseus is also taught about the importance of Xenia, the courtesy a host and a guest must have for one another. He only becomes a traditional hero, however, after he learns the danger of too much Hubris, shown both through himself, and the Cyclops Polyphemus. Odysseus’ quest to become a traditional hero is meant to teach lessons on Greek social norms, such as the importance of keeping Filial relationships, the consequences of not following Xenia, and the downfall of having too much Hubris.

Within the pages of the Greek epic poem known as The Odyssey, the story informs readers of the main character of the plot, Odysseus, who survived after the fight of the Trojan War. After his time in battle, he was faced with various trials and tribulations, as he moved across the vast world. Throughout his 10 years away from his homeland, he longed to return home to Ithaca, ultimately to be reunited with his wife and son. Homer, the author of this epic poem, as well as the preceding book named The Iliad, writes about the many different individuals that are in the plot.

1) Agamemnon - (ag-uh-men-non) In Greek legend, he was the king of Mycenae or Argos. When paris (Alexandros), son of King Priam of Troy, carried off Helen , Agamemnon called on the princes of the country to unite in a war of revenge against the Trojans.