In the Illiad, King Menelaus of Sparta and all of Greece waged a bloody and long war against the city of Troy. Among the Greek, there were many heroes: Achilles, Ajax, Agamemnon, and many more. The one who made it possible for the Greek to win in the end was Odysseus, the King of Ithaca. Homer’s Odyssey, in which the story of Odysseus continued on, described the tormenting years of his journey home. He set sailed from Troy, expecting to be home in a few months. Instead, his ships were blown all across the Mediterranean Sea, facing countless obstacles, and he finally reached his beloved home alone, after ten painstaking years. By the end of his journey, Odysseus the mighty King of Ithaca and glorious hero of the Trojan War, changed from a proud and reckless young man to a humble, travel-weary, wise man from all the hardships and troubles he underwent. At the beginning of his quest, Odysseus was still relatively young and proud, especially since he just won the Trojan War. Many a times on his journey, it was his own pride and curiosity that became his undoing. The most ample example would be his infamous encounter with the Cyclopes, Polyphemus. Odysseus and twelve of his men went to explore the land for its inhabitants, only to find a cave full of food. Not only did Odysseus’ men eat Polyphemus’ food without permission, Odysseus had ungratefully asked for a gift: “It was our luck to come here; here we stand / beholden for your help, or any gifts / you give – as custom is to
Around the 1200 B.C., Odysseus was sailing the Mediterranean Sea for the purpose of reaching home. In his long narrative poem, The Odyssey, Homer conveys how Odysseus desperately wishes to go home to Ithaca. However, he faces brutal treatment and obstacles from several different antagonists, and more obstacles appear when he reaches home. Odysseus came across many external conflicts, which he dealt with intelligence, determination, and loyalty.
Odysseus, King of Ithaca, and the main character in homer’s The Odyssey, was gone for twenty years before finally returning to his family and his homeland. He struggled through many hardships and lost many loyal companions. The King of Ithaca would not have made it home without the assistance of the Greek gods. Despite all of the help and advice that Odysseus receives from the gods, he is a very brave man because his courage and daring in the cave of the Cyclops, his inability to give up and abandon his men on Circe’s island, and his flawless following of the gods instructions are acts of bravery that is uncommon in most men.
The Odyssey by Homer is an epic poem consisting of 24 books that share individual stories. The Odyssey tells a story of Odysseus, son of Laertes, known as a Great hero. Odysseus fought in the Trojan War for ten years and it took another ten years for him to return home to his grieving wife Penelope and son Telemakhos. Throughout the poem, Odysseus and Penelope go through pain, hardships, and sacrifices always showing their heroic qualities of courage and wits.
Odysseus, king of Ithaca, was probably on of the greatest warriors in the history of Ancient Greece. It is said that the poet, Homer, wrote the story of the Odyssey. In this story, Odysseus and his crew are trying to make their voyage back home to Ithaca after they have fought with the Trojans. During the long journey, Odysseus will show some of his character traits which include his bravery, cleverness, and wisdom that will assist him with the situations he encounters on his journey home.
he Odyssey, as written by Homer, intricately and excitingly weaves Colin Renfrew’s Subsystem Theories throughout the entire play. Many of the five subsystem theories can be seen and support understanding of the novel. Of the five systems, trade/communication, social/ political hierarchy and symbolic subsystems will be the focus of analysis in this paper. All of these subsystems come together in The Odyssey to explain the characters and their lives, and also how they fit into the society which they live in. To understand the growth and development of the characters, we must understand the systems theories, “many human actions have a meaning at several different levels, with undertones and overtones… it is the complex interconnectedness of the subsystems which gives human culture its unique potential for growth.” As this paper will demonstrate within The Odyssey, trade and communication, social and political hierarchy and lastly symbolic subsystems create adventure in Odysseus’s harrowing, yet exciting journey back to his kingdom and family. These specific subsystems add depth and excitement because we see how each specific one impacts Odysseus’s journey back home. They help us understand who Odysseus is a man and sympathize with all that he goes through. The communication subsystem helps explain how communication between people (and gods) in different lands aid to the success of his return home. We are able to see from the social subsystem how Odysseus and other men
Odysseus showed his pride multiple times on his journey. “O Cyclops! Would you feast on my companions? Puny, am I, in a caveman’s hands? How do you like the beating that we gave you, you damned cannibal? Eater of guests under your roof! Zeus and the gods have paid you!” (9.390-394) This quote shows Odysseus pride. When he was leaving the cyclops island he decides
Ten years after the fall of Troy, Odysseus a great hero has yet to return to his home in Ithaca. It begins with Athena and Poseidon who helped the Greeks during the Trojan War. Athena turned against the Greeks and convinces Poseidon to do the same. The Greeks are hit by storms on the way home and many ships are destroyed and the fleet is scattered. The war and his distress at sea keep Odysseus away from Ithaca for twenty years.
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.
Homer 's Odyssey chronicles the journey of the great Greek hero Odysseus and the setbacks he encountered on his way home from the Trojan war. Odysseus
Homer’s epic poem The Odyssey takes place in and around ancient Greece near the time of the Trojan War. The protagonist is Odysseus, the guile hero and king of Ithaca. Just after his first son Telemachus was born, Odysseus is called to battle in the ten year long Trojan war. After the war, angry at his and his men’s hubris in battle, the gods made the return journey last ten harsh years. Meanwhile, growing up fatherless, Telemachus has to cautiously take charge of the hold, while staying loyal to Odysseus with their home filled with demanding suitors that woo his mother, Penelope. Although Telemachus acts with more caution and didn’t always have his father by his side, they both display loyalty and bravery as warriors in battle.
In The Odyssey, Odysseus is trying to get home after battling in the Trojan War for ten years. Odysseus is a key character that changes drastically through the course of the epic. From the start to end of the epic Odysseus goes from being cocky and arrogant to becoming a patient and observant man; these changes all help him have a safe journey back home.
The epic poem The Odyssey, written by Homer, centers around the main protagonist Odysseus and his long journey back home. Odysseus, the king of Ithaca, returns home after defeating the Trojans in a ten year war. On his way back, he angers Poseidon, god of the sea, by blinding his son, Polyphemus the Cyclops. Due to Odysseus’ actions, Poseidon refuses to let Odysseus reach home, and Odysseus and his crew are forced to go through a series of obstacles throughout the epic. Through this adversity, Odysseus must show his heroic attributions in order to survive. Homer portrays Odysseus as a hero by giving him characteristics such as: craftiness, loyalty, and bravery.
The Odyssey is an epic poem that showcases the heroic actions contrasted with the grave disasters of Odysseus, a tragic hero on his way home from the war in Troy. The author, Homer, shows through Odysseus’ actions that even a hero such as he, has flaws. Flaws that if not acknowledged and learnt from, can spell grave disaster in the journey yet to come. Many Greeks recognize Odysseus as the most renowned hero of the Trojan war, thanks to his own accounts of his years away from Ithaca. Following the Greek beliefs, many believe that Odysseus couldn’t have kept himself away for so long, for only the gods can do something like this, and Odysseus can’t be the cause of the crew’s deaths, only the gods could be so cruel. While
Throughout vast journeys of many heroes, no other hero had a more complex journey than Odysseus. This journey is called The Odyssey, written by Homer. It is an epic poem or story told of a hero name Odysseus on a 20-year voyage trying to get back home from the Trojan War. The great epic poem known as The Odyssey and attributed to Homer was probably first written down around the eighth century BC, but the origins of the ancient story in myth, legend, and folklore and art appear to be much older. Greek Epic Hero When you think about Greek Epic heroes, Odysseus will most likely come to mind. Odysseus is the main character in Homer's poem "The Odyssey." "The Odyssey" is a narrative poem that describes Odysseus' adventures
Homer's epic tale The Odyssey is a story of the triumphs and downfalls that are in store for one warrior's long pillage home. Odysseus, the hero from the Trojan wars, has led his people of Ithaca and other Achaean soldiers to victory and now wishes to return home to his wife and family of Ithaca. Through his twenty year journey Odysseus is often tested not only of his physical strength, but his wits as well. The many accomplishments he achieved earned him great status and recognition throughout ancient Greece. The mistakes he made caused the deaths of many men. Consequently, we as readers are able to see the many personas that Odysseus carries with him.