Free Will In Odysseus Of Homer's Odyssey

    Instead of using his guile, Odysseus also has the power to prevent from being beguiled. An example of Odysseus using his power to not be beguiled was when he drank Circe’s potions but nothing happened because of Hermes’ herb. Circe shows her disbelief of Odysseus when she says, "I marvel much that drinking of these drugs you were not charmed. None, no man else, ever withstood these drugs who tasted them, so soon as they had passed the barrier of his teeth; but in your breast there is a mind which cannot be beguiled" (97). Once again Odysseus uses his creative techniques not to be tricked and he turns out safe. By using his guile and other techniques, Odysseus makes it through the gods’ obstacles, which test his destiny.

Free will and fate are both prominent in the Odyssey. In the Odyssey, free will is depicted whenever characters make decisions. In example, Odysseus blinds the Cyclops, Polyphemus. Fate, in the Odyssey, is the consequences that are dealt out due to certain actions. In the case of Odysseus and Polyphemus, the consequence is that when Odysseus is on a ship heading home to reach Ithaca, Poseidon, being the father of Polyphemus, sends a storm at Odysseus being angry that Odysseus blinded his son. In that scenario, Odysseus makes the decision to blind Polyphemus to escape, and in turn, the consequence is that Poseidon attempts to hit him with a storm in the sea. The contrasting themes of

He also chooses to follow her advice because he is a very curious and inquisitive man who wishes to know everything and anything he can. The Siren’s sing “and we know whatever happens on this fruitful earth” (XII, 192). Nugent says, “the encounter with the Sirens reflects….unfulfilled desire for more: more knowledge, more experience, complete and profound fulfillment” (45-54). After placing the wax in his men’s ears, tying himself down to the mast, and hearing the Siren’s sweet song Odysseus “ order[s] [his] men to set [him] free”( Homer XII, 195); this shows how curious Odysseus truly is and how he longs to have great knowledge. Nugent states this is “…surely a characteristic of Odysseus, who always seeks that which lies beyond his grasp” (45-54). By following Circe’s orders Odysseus is able to have his cake and eat it too. He is able to pass the Siren’s without harm so he can return on his journey home, and he is able to listen to their sweet, bewitching song.

Odysseus ship returned to Aiaia,where Circe met them with food and wine.She took Odysseus alone and told him of the dangers that were going to happen.First,they would go through the island of Sirens,who bewitched anyone who listened to there music.Circe told Odysseus to put wax into his men and his ears so that they wouldn’t hear the muic.Next,Odysseus would make the decision on which way he wanted to go.One way would be the Moving Rocks that crished anything that came between them.The other would make Odysseus sail between the two cliffs.The larger cave is where Scylla lived who has been waiting for a ship to pass so she can stick out her six heads out and get six men from the ship.At the base there lived Charybdis.Three times a day,Circe said she sucked in much of the water of the surrounding water,and spat it out.Circe told Odysseus to sail by Scylla’s base because he would only lose six men and not his ship.Circe told him next would be the island of Helios where he kept his cattle and sheep.Which the prophecy stated.Circe

When Odysseus is about to go past the island of sirens, and the sirens are singing a song trying to lure the men into their lair. And Odysseus has his men put wax in their ears so they can’t hear the song and they can focus on rowing the boat past them, while Odysseus has his men tie him up to the sail of the boat and make sure he can’t get loose. While he is tied up he listens to the sirens song so he becomes immune to their song. When the sirens are singing Odysseus shows restraint by not making his men turn the ship around and go to the sirens

Both Odysseus and I have shown self-restraint. In the Odyssey by Homer, Odysseus and his men find themselves stuck in the cave with a massive Cyclops. Seeing the Cyclops as a threat, the men want to kill him, but Odysseus knows they must not. When entering the cave the Cyclops rolls a massive stone in front of the door. If Odysseus and his men would have killed the Cyclops they would have not been able to get out of the cave. Just as Odysseus is about to kill the Cyclops he thinks, “If I (Odysseus) killed him we perished there as well” (903). Odysseus uses self-restraint in this case to keep himself from killing the Cyclopes. Another example of Odysseus showing the trait of self-restraint is when he returns home after 20 years of being away from Ithaca.

Within the epic poem, “The Odyssey”, humans look to omens and the Gods for hope, confidence, and warnings, revealing a need for supernatural guides, and a belief in fate in order to escape the responsibilities of free will, which proves they blame the gods, instead of recognizing their weaknesses. Humans look to omens for hope. When Odysseus finally returns after being gone for many years, he is reunited with a familiar creature. This is old dog argos: “But when he knew heard Odysseus’ voice nearby, he did his best to wag his tail, nose down, with flattened ears, having no strength to move nearer to his master. And the man looked away, wiping a salt tear from his cheek” (book 17, lines 389- 394)

In Homer's story of The Odyssey , Odysseus poses as many people one of which being a poor beggar. Odysseus Went on a mission and has stumbled across an island. On this island Odysseus is pampered like a baby. Odysseus had nothing to worry about , although he has have a mission to continue. Odysseus came across the tough decision on if to stay or to depart and continue his mission. Odysseus chose to continue on his journey.

Albert Einstein once said “Man usually avoids attributing cleverness to somebody else unless it is an enemy.” Odysseus; the main character in homer's epic poem The Odyssey, showed many attributes of skill and cleverness throughout the poem. From how he escaped the clutches of certain monsters and goddesses of magic, to how he dealt with those who weren't loyal to him while he was away. In The Odyssey Odysseus is said to be formidable for gule. First,Odysseus tricked the Cyclops and escaped.

How does one fit a giant into a box? How can one even begin to compress the esteem, the grace, the magnitude and grandeur, of such a man as this into such a small, general account as the one placed before you? I tell you, it is not possible. It is not at all possible for the written word to fathom the true extent of his experience, nor can it truly capture the depths of his sorrow, the summit of his knowledge, the wear in his look. It is not at all possible for you, yourself (nor the author, who could never dream of such things), to walk that fetid trail to the decrepit halls of Nazi horror, to spill blood in a stream overflowing, to wed a survivor and watch her slowly waste away. It is not at all possible for you, my friend (nor your messenger, who is too young in years), to live through these things, to see them, to breathe them. All that strife is silence now. Perhaps now I can communicate with you, however incapable I am, what little I’ve exhumed. He would’ve wanted that. For this, I must surely call upon the muse, for Odysseus was man, and man alone; Herbert Held was Zeus Everlasting.

In difficult times, a person's actions that are misconstrued as logical and cautious can lead to dangerous and unfortunate events for many when their actions are really signs of cowardice and convenience. In, Homer’s The Odyssey, Eurylochus, Odysseus’ second-in-command, is often at odds with Odysseus because he always chooses the more cowardly actions to get the crew home safely instead of the more loyal and brave choice. After witnessing Circe’s ability to turn men into swine and telling Odysseus about it, Eurylochus tries to persuade Odysseus to leave. Eurylochus says: “‘Don’t force me back there, captain, king...

The Odyssey Analytical Essay: Down, Down, into the Underground Death causes souls to be lost forever into the bottomless pits of the unknown, but is that believed to be true? In the epic poem written by Homer, The Odyssey, Odysseus travels to the underworld, given a chance to uncover the past and unlock his true potential where he proves that self-knowledge is the key to success.

The population of mortals have been guided to believe that they possess the ability to construct their own paths on the journey of life -- guided to believe. According to Webster’s dictionary, to guide is to “show or indicate the way to”, however, in reality, it is to be led throughout life. Mortals are constantly overseen by the gods, repeatedly shown the way, continuously led through life, as displayed within the course of the Odyssey. Throughout life, many men have got down on one knee, and turned to the heavens with helplessness, conveying their need for guidance, declaring, “God, give me a sign”. Our submission to the God’s will, even in prayer, illustrates the importance of the idea of fate in our contemporary lives.

Odysseus sends his men to search for food and has to recover them when they eat the lotus flower on the island of the lotus eaters. Odysseus and his men find a Cyclops cave tricked be by his cheese and wine. The Cyclops traps them inside the cave, Odysseus and his men blind the Cyclops and then sneak out under his heard of sheeps. Then they went to The Island of Aeolus the god of wind , gives Odysseus all bad wind so he can safely sail home, Odysseus men went against his orders and open the bag and all the wind escaped. Then off to the island of the Laestrygonians, The Laestrygonians eats the greeks only the men on Odysseus ship and himself survive. Circe turns Odysseus men to swine but Odysseus is protected from her magic with the help of Hermes who gave him a magical herb called Molly. Odysseus ended up staying there for couple of years. Odysseus then went to see the Underworld to ask the prophet Teiresias to ask how can he get home and finds his mother there who has committed suicide in depression. Odysseus and his men passed through The Island of the Sirens, Odysseus filled their ears with beeswax so they do not hear the women singing their luring songs. Odysseus chooses to sail for Scylla, a six-headed sea monster, rather than Charybdis, a giant whirlpool. He did this because he knew

At this point, a brief summary of the events leading to Odysseus' underworld experience is in order. The hero and his crew make landfall on an island ruled by the Sorceress, Circe. According to several traditions, she is daughter to Helios, the sun god. When encountered by an advance party commanded by Eurylokhos, Circe transforms all the men into pigs by means of a powerful drug insinuated into food and drink. Eurylokhos escapes this fate and is able to warn Odysseus. Hermes then descends to instruct Odysseus in how to overcome the witch. It is curious that, instead of displaying his power to nullify Circe's magic, Hermes arms Odysseus with a sprig of a plant called moly. Evidently, the aura of herbalism was such that only more herbalism could compete. Having rendered the sorceress helpless, Odysseus is persuaded by her to remain on the island for a full year. At year's end, Circe advises the hero to journey to Hades in order that he may learn from the shade of the blind prophet, Tiresias, how a