Examples Of Human Flaws In The Odyssey

An increasing amount of contemporary literature traces its origins back to the early works of Greece. For ages, humans have fascinated themselves with the impossible notion of perfection. Unrealistic expectations placed on those who were thought to be the noblest or most honorable individuals have repeatedly led to disappointment and frustration, either on the part of those particular individuals or those they influence. Classic characters, like Odysseus and Oedipus for instance, exemplify the excess of some positive character trait, like pride or honesty, which ironically leads to their personal misfortune.

In the latter, however, some of his more ignoble traits are revealed: he is a braggart, he almost dishonorably uses poisoned arrows, and he shows conceit in his victory over the Cyclops. It is sometimes difficult to reconcile this man with the one who willingly gives up eternal life for the moral condition and the chance to return to his wife. Largely, the problems with understanding the moral position of Odysseus stem from his immense experience and cleverness, which make him at once mortal and fantastic.

The example of Odysseus’ raid on the city of the Cicones—and the loss of six men from his ships that results from it—shows a starting point in Odysseus’ evolution of humility by showing a a pre-suffering few of Odysseus—that of a man who encourages the sacking of a city—and a post initial dose suffering view of the same man—a man who blames his crew for the aforementioned suffering instead of taking responsibility himself. On his path home from the Trojan War, the fighter Odysseus—still filled with the greed and seeming invincibility of a victor came across a set of bystanders to the war known as the Cicones “There [he] sacked the[ir] city, killed the[ir] men, but as for the[ir]

The Odyssey is filled with emotion and adventure. Homer’s ability to show and give the reader a visual of each and every scene gives the story its unbelievable significance. To all the people who read his work there is something to be captured within every sentence, each one different in its own, unique way. Through tales of courage and defeat, friendship and love this book tells of all the values within the life of a single, solitary man, and his journey to attain what is true and dear to him. And this journey is known to all of us as The Odyssey. The Odyssey is a test of human devotion and trust through the gods, the mortals, and the obstacles through which they venture. No matter where they go or what they do, humans are tested for

When Odysseus and his men behaved in a “reckless” (12. 325) ways, both times they were attacked by those who they had abused and the allies of the abused. The Odyssey, however, doesn’t suggest a theme that says that those who act cruelly to the land and people of the land. When Odysseus raid, rape, and kill the land and the peoples of Thrace, the island of the Cicones, it is portrayed as a positive thing, with no man going without “his fair share of spoils” (9. 49). The Odyssey instead shows a theme that discourages greedy behaviors. It is only when Odysseus and his men stay too long on Thrace and slaughtered too many livestock, and slaughter Helios’s cattle on Thrinacia, instead of just enjoying the rest that the land offered, that Odysseus and his shipmates are sought after and slain. Odysseus knows, too, about the negative repercussions of taking too much and resting too long. He knows the truth that raiding and killing is not bad, but that doing too much of either is shameful and deserves

The eight Greek Evil thoughts were a set of guidlines for the ancient greeks to follow. These guidelines helped the ancient greeks a better life. In The Odyssey, Odyssesus and his crew come to an island of cyclops an they stole food. Polythemus a gaint they met got mad then, ate two of his crew members and then, Odyssesus got him drunk and poked his eye. Odyssesus demonstrates some of the Greek evil thoughts. Philargryia is when someone is greedy or doing whatever it takes to get something, greed leads restlesses because when someone is greedy it’s caused by. Odysseus describes, “We lit a fire, burnt an offering, and took some cheese to eat; then sat in silence around the embers, waiting,” (The Cyclops. [219). This reveals Philargyria which is greed.

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,

Secondly, Homer uses violence as a plot device in The Odyssey to create nuances to his characters. Although some of the atrocities committed in Homer’s epic were executed by the gods, the behaviors that reveal elements of Homer’s characters were most often displayed by mortals. For instance, after Odysseus returns to Ithaca and is seated at the fountain with Eumaeus, Melanthius, a pompous suitor, “[lurches] out with a heel and [kicks

    Most people think of a hero as a strong, superior, good-looking person that could never make a mistake. However, in a story called The Odyssey, a connection to real life reveals imperfections to be common in heroes. Each person has their low points and highlights, regardless of their “rank”. The author and epic poet, Homer, exemplifies our main character, Odysseus, to take on this idea of a hero throughout his writing. The time period took place in Ancient Greece, allowing Greek culture to relate to the poem. Different aspects of such culture and history may have influenced the works and creativity of Homer as well. A major point includes The Trojan War because it focuses in on Odysseus’ journey to bring Helen back home by devising a plan to destroy warriors in the city. Acknowledge this factor when reading The Odyssey, for not only evidence of heroism, but also other major points of archetypes, in which the device reflects the insights of readers in modern time and what is seen from Ancient Greek culture.

Blame can always be placed several different ways, and the accused and accusers of situations battle this all the time in literature. In one text however, several arguments can be made for one side of this ever-present schism. In this particular book, more arguments can be made to assign blame to one side of the argument rather than the other. In Homer’s Odyssey, mortal men cause their own misfortune.

In The Odyssey, greed takes form as Odysseus’ crew and the suitors. With the wind god’s, Aeolus, blessing, Odysseus has caught sight of Ithaca in 9 short days after encountering Polyphemus the Cyclops. Greed, however, has overcome Odysseus’ crew and they disregard their love for their home for the notion that Odysseus must be hiding riches from them in the mysterious bag Aeolus gave him. (Homer Book 10: Circe the Grace of the Witch) The bag is in fact full of all the bad winds in the world, and Odysseus and his crew are blown back into the sea of terror. Greed is a temporary, short-lived satisfaction, and yet, Odysseus is prevented from being home because of it. Odysseus must overcome his men's’ greed by preserving to sail home once more. In spite of Odysseus perseverance and continued valiant efforts to bring his crew home, the crew’s bane remains their greed. Despite the prophet Tiresias’ and Odysseus’s warnings, the crew hunts and eats Helio’s sacred cattle. Consequently, they suffer and die. Because of their greed, Odysseus’s crew will

When Odysseus’s men untied the bag it roared into a story and blew the ship all the way back to Aiolia. The crew’s greed cost them and Odysseus to not make it home in that moment, when they were so close they could see the shores of Ithaca. If the crew was not greedy and didn’t think to question their captain's selfishness they would have made it back home after all the time away. When they get back to Aiolia he sees how his men were greedy and refuses to help him once more and claims his voyage home is cursed. This shows how being greedy is harshly punished.

Hubris in The Odyssey In the epic poem, The Odyssey, by Homer, Odysseus, the main character, was trying to make his journey to Ithaca. Odysseus encounters several of difficult situations where he has to step up and be a leader for his crew. Odysseus is constantly acting as a great hero; however, he also acts upon his excessive pride. As a result he faces several consequences.

communicate well with his men about important issues. One time, he didn’t tell his men

People emphasize their wealth or lack thereof of. In Homer's epic poem, The Odyssey, Telemakhos and company are welcomed into the home of Menelàos, the red-haired king. In this ekphasis, Homer uses detail and imagery to express that Menelàos is living in excess. The first display of this abundance is when the company's horses are “showered” with “bushels of wheat and barley”(43,44). The word showered seems to imply an amount of carelessness due to the large surplus of both grains.