Homer's Odyssey

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.

One of Odysseus’s crew members reminds Odysseus, “‘Captain, shake off this trance, and think of home- if home indeed awaits us, if we shall ever see your own well timbered hall on Ithaca.”’ (925)

During, Homer’s, The Odyssey many strengths were tested throughout the entire book. This book was a mythological Greek folk tale that was created between the eleventh and eighth century B.C, therefore it is filled with many exaggerated stories about the Gods and treacherous adventures Odysseus had ventured on. He encounters a cyclops and after battles a six-headed monster. His crew discovers their talent for making mistakes such as being turned into pigs by Circe and letting strong winds out of the bag sending them farther from home. Odysseus experiences battles with his emotional stamina as well. His depression about his travels are shown through his lamentation on Calypsos’ island and his will power to discover the loyalty of his house mates is tested by Odysseus disguising himself as a beggar in his own home. Throughout, Homer’s, The Odyssey perseverance holds significance emotionally, physically, and mentally when enduring the battles and setbacks he experiences.

Is a hero only characterized by their success? If a leader’s last actions carry them to victory, are their flaws unimportant? The Odyssey by Homer narrates the ancient myth of a leader coming home from war in Troy who faces many trials, and despite returning home alone without any of his crew, he is looked upon as a hero for having survived. His ultimately sole success continues to define him, although the bitter truth being that he was the leader of his men when they all perished. As flaws of the all-mighty Odysseus and his crew are presented through their responses to the challenges they experience on their journey, people of the modern world may begin to understand that there exist several flaws that plague all men, whether they live now or lived thousands of years ago, and whether they are leaders or followers. The Odyssey is important in its characters’ responses’ to their trials ability to evoke emotional reactions that cause the reader to ponder their own tendencies by revealing the human nature of pride to be the fuel of the impulsiveness that oscillates fate.

Homer’s “The Odyssey” takes place ten years after the events in “The Iliad”, to which the Odyssey is an indirect sequel, and the fall of Troy; even though the story is believed to have been composed some time during the eight century B.C.E. it is estimated to be set sometime between 1300 and 1000 B.C.E. in Mycenaean Greece during the Bronze age. In this novel all Greek heroes have returned home after the fall of Troy, except for Odysseus who after a three year journey has been held captive by the goddess Calypso, who has fallen in love with him, on her island, Ogygia. After the ten years have passed Odysseus is presumed dead, his wife Penelope is courted, and his estate is auctioned off by the Suitors, the young men of Ithaca who attempt to win Penelope’s favor and hand in marriage.

Thus far in The Odyssey, Homer has introduced several characters. The Gods discussed what they should do about Odysseus’ struggles as he attempts to get home to his wife and son. Athena then appears to Telemachus as Mentor, an old friend of Odysseus’. She convinces him that he should set sail in order to find out if his father is dead or alive and to take back control of his father’s kingdom from his mother, Penelope’s, suitors. Antinous, one of her suitors, then tells Telemachus of Penelope’s deception toward them. After hearing this, they exchanged more words, and then he set sail to find his father. He goes to see King Nester who remembers what it was like during the Trojan War and tells Telemachus to be strong and brave. The Gods met again and discussed Odysseus’ capture by Calypso. Zeus sent his son Hermes, the messenger of the Gods, to tell Calypso that she must release Odysseus. Calypso reacts vividly to this, stating that the gods are unfair in their treatment of gods and goddesses. Calypso then begins to speak to Odysseus. During this conversation in book 5, Homer reveals to us the importance of a person’s wit and the deception of others in order to help yourself, as well as the importance of one’s will power.

Hospitality is a key role shown throughout The Odyssey. It is an essential part to the poem. During the poem, Homer shows how people treated one another. Each island that Odysseus visit there is a different component of hospitality. What a great host would do is welcome their guest, feed them proper food, treat respectfully, let guest leave, don’t question identity, and finally give them a gift. In this essay I will be talking about how hospitality is important in “The Odyssey” and how it hospitality differs between places.

The Odyssey is an epic by the ancient Greek poet Homer that tells the story of Odysseus’s journey to get back to his home on Ithaca after the Trojan War. Odysseus’s main goal is to return home with his crew on their ship. Odysseus loses everything after he couldn't control his crew and himself. Odysseus has to face many challenges to get home. In the story, Odysseus was sometimes at the point where it seemed like all hope was lost and nothing was possible.

A journey home can be as simple as a walk across the street, or what might seem like a lifetime of traveling. Although some come across challenges and obstacles, they find a way to get around it and continue to make their journey home. Odysseus, the main protagonist in the epic poem, The Odyssey, written by Homer, spends twenty years trying to get home. During his journey home he faces many challenges such as, The Lotus Eaters, The Cyclops, The Land of the Dead, The Sirens, Scylla and Charybdis, and finally The Cattle of the Sun God. At each stop Odysseus and his men have to fight off hideous beasts, resist unworldly temptations, and do their best to survive.

The ancient Greek concept of hospitality, Xenia, reoccurs throughout Homer’s The Odyssey. Routinely, hosts offer guests a bath with luxurious oils, a large banquet with a feast, and extravagant gifts. Although these practices were common in Ancient Greece, Athena’s role as Odysseus’ guardian poses important questions about how much of an effect her enchantments play in Odysseus’ successful journey home.

Courtesy. Catering. Helpfulness. These are all examples of the hospitality that is expected of those in ancient Greece. Citizens call for this welcoming behavior, no matter the company. This attitude towards visitors is quintessential, and it is the standard of hosting in this time period, even if the guest is unexpected. In Homer’s The Odyssey, hospitality is glorified, distinct in Greek culture, and similar to the principles demonstrated in the Bible.

Homer’s Odyssey makes use of its epic qualities to narrate the lives of three men. The tale begins with Telemachus, a young prince who leaves his homeland to learn about his father and about himself at the same time. Through the use of this initial event, Homer creates a chronological structure that is further observed through the introduction of the story’s main character, Odysseus, the king of Ithaca and the father of Telemachus. Both father and son long to see each other after a decade of separation, and develop an increasingly complex relationship that bears unique attributes in the Homerian tradition. Similarly, once Odysseus returns home from Troy, he also visits his father, Laertes, and again the author elucidates upon the

There are many ways to interpret The Odyssey as allegory for life’s journey. It can be seen as a long and strenuous hike with many hardships to get to something much

The Odyssey by Homer and the Old Testaments: King James Version are two of the most read and most sophisticated pieces of literature that have transcended through generations. While they share similar qualities; both greatly differ as well, especially when it comes to the women characters. Classical historian and professor of classical studies at Wellesley College, Mary Lefkowitz, makes a significant contrast between these two famous writings. She believes that a major difference between the women of each story differ dramatically when it comes to their personality and actions. “[Although] the notion... that a man should be active and aggressive, a women passive and subjected to the control of the men in her family, are expressed in virtually every Greek myth, even the ones in which the women seek to gain control over their own live.…[so] that it is possible to show that the Greeks at least attributed to women a capacity for understanding that we do not alway find in the other great mythological tradition that has influenced Western thought, namely, the Old and New Testaments." (Women in Greek Myth, Mary Lefkowitz). I completely agree with Lefkowitz statement on these characters, it’s very clear that most of the women in the Old Testament are very flat while the Odyssey is full of well rounded characters especially when it comes to Jacob’s wife Rachel and Odysseus 's wife Penelope.

The Odyssey, an epic poem written by Greek poet Homer, follows the story of Odysseus, a war hero and king of Ithaca, as he went on a journey to return home from Troy ten years after the Trojan War. On his journey, he was confronted by various monsters, including the one-eyed Cyclops, and faced the loss of his men and his ship. Not to mention, when he returned to his land, he also had to defeat the suitors who had overrun his home and were trying to court his wife, Penelope. Homer not only tells us the adventure of brave Odysseus, but through his story, he also tells us the four qualities that a commendable Greek must possess: hospitality, humility or absence of hubris, honor, and heroism. First, hospitality, also known as “xenia,” refers to showing generosity to guests or visitors. By treating every guest with generosity, people in ancient Greece believed they could avoid angering a god if one appeared at their door disguised as a stranger. Not doing so could result in punishment from the gods. Then, hubris refers to extreme, ignorant pride shown by an individual and is punishable by the gods. Homer emphasizes the importance of showing humility and not possessing a sense of superiority over others throughout The Odyssey. Next, honor refers to having a reputation for excellence, and it can be earned through killing others in battle, looting, or even dying. In ancient Greece, battling others was considered the duty of a soldier, and dying in battle was a glorious feat.