Examples Of Ambition In The Odyssey

Odysseus frequently displays hubris as a result of his tremendous courage and justifiable pride throughout books 9-12 of Homer’s epic poem, The Odyssey, although this flaw reveals that even heroes can have imperfections. For instance, concealing his identity is key to Odysseus defeating the Cyclops, however his arrogance leads him to reveal himself as a “raider of cities” (9.561), demonstrating his desire to be recognized for his destructive power. Furthermore, even though he only flatters himself, Odysseus successfully motivates his men in the face of yet another threat, by boasting that his “tactics saved [them] all” (12.230), as if his actions alone rescued the rest of his crewmates. Odysseus’ crew admires him for his fearlessness, and they

“…When men compete for the hand of a lady, A woman of some worth, a rich man’s daughter. They bring cattle, and fat sheep, To feast the bride’s friends, and they give her Glorious gifts. They do not devour Another’s livelihood without recompense.” She spoke, and Odysseus, the godlike survivor, Smiled inwardly to see how she extracted gifts

The Odyssey: Greed and its Consequences Book 9 of The Odyssey, tells of the beginning of the great wanderings of Odysseus and his comrades as they journeyed back home from Troy. The episode I will be focusing is the Cicones. After reading the first story of the great wanderings, I learn that there is a fatal flaw in Odysseus and his crew. This episode shows how the gluttony ultimately leads to misfortune.

Odysseus is known for being a war hero during the Trojan war. During his treacherous ten-year journey back to Ithaka to regain his crown as King of Ithaka. Although Odysseus is arrogant, he is very witty trying to get his men safely to Ithaca. Odysseus is witty as he outsmarts those trying to keep him from reaching his homeland.

During his interaction with Polyphemus, Odysseus clearly displays an act of hubris in The Odyssey by Homer. The most compelling evidence would be when Odysseus declined his men suggestion in the cave of the Cyclops. His crew advises him to take the caveman cheeses and make a run for it, however, Odysseus “refused” because he wanted to see what the cavemen has to offer( Homer 162 l. 67). Odysseus shows that he is incorrigible, for he made an impulsive decision that leads his devotees to die in the hands of his enemy. Furthermore, when Odysseus and his men were leaving Polyphemus island, he hollered back “ how do you like the beating that we gave you, you damned cannibal”( Homer 171 ll. 340-341). Giving a statement this demonstrates Odysseus

Men who fear nothing are shameless. But men who think about how their actions may affect others and how their legacy will be reflected on by future generations are brimming with arete. The suitors Shameless, and lackadaisical throughout the Odyssey, they continuously display anti-arete. They think that Penelope, a sensible woman, is going to have respect for them as they are tearing her husband's house apart. Later in the Odyssey, in Book 21 page 435, Penelope finally expresses her disdain for the suitor's behavior: “ ‘How can you hope for any public fame at all...

Arrogance is an unheroic quality which often brings harm to others. This quality is evident in Odysseus when he reveals his identity to Polyphemus just when he and his men are about to escape the Cyclops’ island. As Odysseus is about to board the boat, he yells to the Cyclops, “Cyclopes, if ever mortal man inquire how you were put to shame and blinded, tell him Odysseus, raiders of cities, took your eye: Laertes’ son, whose home’s on Ithaca” (Homer 908). Odysseus felt that it was necessary for him to boast to the Cyclops after he had blinded him. This caused him and his men to get into great trouble with Poseidon. Poseidon made sure to make Odysseus’s journey back home as difficult as possible. As a result, Odysseus’s men all ended up dying, and their ship didn’t survive.

Having background information is very important when reading about anything, so here is some information about the topic of this paper. “The Odyssey” is an epic poem told by Homer, a poet from ancient Greece. Homer was blind so “The Odyssey” was most likely written by someone else after he told the poem. “The Odyssey” was originally written in Greek, due to this many parts of the poem may have been lost in translation. It is possible that some parts of the story may have changed or been lost, however the general point of the story likely remains. The hero of “The Odyssey” is Odysseus, the king of Ithaca, whose fatal flaw is hubris. Hubris is excessive pride. This paper is about how Odysseus is affected by hubris. How hubris affects his actions,

Arrogance and pride have caused people to commit regrettable acts such as a variety of evil deeds. However, these acts often bring disaster back on the individual. The Odyssey is an epic, which is a long narrative poem, usually of ancient oral tradition, that begins in media res and usually details the journeys and adventures of a hero or legendary character. This epic describes Odysseus’ ten-year journey from the Trojan War home to Ithaca, where he is the rightful king. Hubris, which is excessive arrogance and pride, is very common. In the Odyssey, the characters that display hubris in the story are eventually doomed and often die because of their behaviors, while those who have less undesirable qualities are favored. Three such characters are Antinous, Melanthius, and Odysseus. Antinous is one of the most hubristic characters in the entire book.

“Hope is facing the ultimate Darkness while having your mind set on seeing the Light again.” -Unknown. You have to go through some hard times to be able to have the good and amazing times. Just like many people say you need a little rain to see a beautiful rainbow.The epic poem, The Odyssey by Homer, is about a young man and his crew going through a long unexpected journey with many surprises along the way.They encounter many different obstacles throughout their passage home. Through the crew’s betrayal the author discusses responsibilities and reveals greed is the leading contributor to setbacks.

They sent Hermes, the messenger god to convince Calypso to let Odysseus get back to his wife and son. His problems were not over yet once he left the island, however, because he had made Zeus an enemy. Zeus sent a terrible storm to rip apart Odysseus 's raft with the intentions that he be lost at sea forever. Gods saved him from this fate, though, when Ino and Athena give him a veil to keep him from drowning and changing the wind to make sure the waves carried Odysseus home. It was very important that Odysseus was so reverent towards the gods; otherwise he never would have made it home from the Trojan War.

Calypso lusts for Odysseus so much that she holds him captive for many years. Odysseus, however, does not feel this lust for her. At this point in the epic, he wants nothing more than to reach his home and his wife, whom he loves very much. Finally, the gods tell Calypso that is time to release Odysseus, and she obeys.

He was tempted by the Goddess, Calypso, even though he knew his actions were inappropriate, which makes him a weak and undeserving man. Odysseus is also careless about his men and even knowingly leads them to their death in some situations. Odysseus is not worthy of assistance because he is too hubristic, he is reckless with the lives of his men and he succumbs

In book five Odysseus is presented with a very great and tempting barrier. Calypso confronts him with this statement, “But if you only knew, down deep, what pains are fated to fill your cup before you reach that shore, you’d stay right here, preside in our house with me and be immortal.” She promised him that he would possess a trait that no other human in the odyssey has, immortality. Even though her offers are very tempting and would be self fulfilling, he promptly rejects because all he wants is to go home and the love of his life, Penelope. This act alone shows that he was willing to give himself and up for a greater cause. He showed great discipline and faithfulness to reject Calypso’s offer and to continue on his journey home. At the beginning of the epic, Odysseus did have one flaw that could have been detrimental to his homecoming journey and that was self-glorification. By the end of the Odyssey, Odysseus overcame his pride and tempered it with patience because at the end of the day he didn’t really know that Penelope would be waiting on him, but he was willing to put in the effort to find out what was at the end of the road.

Hubris is much pride or self-confidence. This deadly sin is displayed much throughout Odysseus’s journey. Multiple characters in The Odyssey distinctly exemplify that excessive hubris leads to consequences. Three characters that illustrate this theme are Odysseus, Irus and Ctesippus. The first character that shows excessive pride is Odysseus.