How Does Odysseus Make His Journey

In Book Twelve, Odysseus faced a situation when he had to choose between losing six men to Scylla, a six-headed monster, or losing the whole ship and crew to Charybdis, a sea-monster who swallows huge amounts of water and spits the water out three times a day. The path through the cliffs was too narrow, and attempt to avoid one monster would result in facing the other one. Although goddess Circe forecasted the tragedy, she said Odysseus had to decide it himself, and Odysseus chose to pass through Scylla. While crossing, Odysseus armed to fight but failed and stood helplessly watching six of his shipmates being swallowed and digested by Scylla. This part of Odysseus’ journey represents a dilemma when no matter which road Odysseus chose, he would lose something. The only thing Odysseus could work on was to making sure the losses were as negligible as possible, and like Circe said, “Better to mourn six men than lose them all, and the ship, too.”

Odysseus, the main character of The Odyssey, is an amazing example of an ancient hero that went through many different challenges. Heros, to me, are people who do great and help many different people in a lot of different ways. Odysseus is a good example of an ancient hero because he helped his city defeat Troy with his great trickery, courage, and strength. A great example of a modern day hero is Superman. Also known as Clark Kent, Superman is an outstanding hero. He helps out his city whenever they are invaded by evil super villains. He is able to accomplish these challenges with his superpowers, his willingness to protect the citizens. I believe that Odysseus has a lot of similarities with Superman in a hero’s journey.

Odysseus would not be the same hero he was known for without the help of the gods. Odysseus struggled with monsters, himself, and with society. He fought against monsters, forced his men to tie himself up in order to listen to the siren's song of forgetfulness, and had to come home to find multiple suitors for his wife in his own home. Odysseus needed the help from the gods in order to defeat the monsters and make his way home.

Odysseus was a tough and loyal leader; he wanted what was best for his men. When he approached Circe, Circe gave Odysseus different paths to go through. He told Odysseus to go through the easiest path, the one where less men would die. Odysseus however was loyal and chose the path that he thought was best for his men. He chose the path that would encounter the Sirens and Charybdis.

Journey’s have been important throughout the world and in history. Columbus’s journey is an example because if he didn't take the journey and step out of his comfort zone the Americas would not be a place that we call home. People who learn from a powerful experience become intelligent in many ways. In the “Odyssey” by Homer, the author uses Odysseus to show that people can overcome obstacles in their way to get to an important destination. With in the “Journey” by Mary Oliver, the author conveys that if people are struck with negativity and go outside their comfort zone, they use strength to gain more self positivity and strength.

Then, Circe told him he has to enter the Land of Dead to get informations from the Prophet about his future. So Odysseus and his crewmen crossed the river to the Land of Dead, everyone became scared as they went into the Land of Dead. But for Odysseus, he knew he has to do it for him and his crewmen. When Odysseus got off the ship and told the crewmen he will be back. So that is how Odysseus doesn’t know if he could survive. As he walked through the cave to find the Prophet. Suddenly, he felt scared as the cave went darker and darker. When Odysseus found the Prophet and asked him for the knowledge. So the Prophet told him to sail to the Thrinican Island and do certain things before he can return home. Also, he told Odysseus that while he wants a sweet smooth journey home, a god will make it hard for him. The god was Poseidon, he was angry that Odysseus and his crewmen blinded his son. When he encountered the spirit of his mother and she told him that she died of grief, longing for him to return home while he was at the

During that time, they dock on the island of Aeaea and Odysseus sends three of his men to investigate their surroundings. It is in an unfortunate event that they consumed some toxic lotus plants, and they failed to return as they were expected. One seeing their delayed return, Odysseus gets worried and decides to get his men himself. However, Eurylochus warns him of the potential danger of his plan of going to retrieve his men. He felt that there was a plan to trap Odysseus and so, he would be wise not oblige the enemy. Eurylochus insists and warns, “You will never return yourself, I swear, you’ll never bring back a single man alive. Quick, cut and run with the rest of us here- we can still escape the fatal day!” (10. 252-255). He goes against the warning given by Eurylochus and disembarks to retrieve his soldiers. However, on his way, he confirms Eurylochus’ fears as they encounter real danger and certain death. He is highly motivated to safely secure and save the livelihood of his soldiers. As a hero, Odysseus is courageous by facing eminent danger in the light of a warning. If he was not a hero, he would have cowardly held back and avoided the risk. He demonstrates that he is a good leader as he does not condone leaving any of his men behind in an area of potential

Another one of the challenges Odysseus encounters on his journey is losing his men. Odysseus remembers what Circe tells him and warns his men to not feed on Helios’ cattle. However, all the men are starving and they ignore his warning. Helios, the sun god, is angry at the men for taking his cattle and threatens to no longer shine if they do not pay for their actions. To please Helios, “Zeus sends down a thunderbolt to sink Odysseus ship” (529) and all the men are meant to die however, “Odysseus alone survives” (529).

During his visit to the underworld, Odysseus was informed of one of his most formidable enemies: desire. Teiresias plainly told him that “if [he could] contain [his] own desire, and contain [his] companions… [they] might all make [their] way back to Ithaca” (Homer 171). When they finally saw the island, Odysseus did feel the desire to stop at the island, but tried to heed the warnings he received. His men however did not feel the same way he did. His me pestered him until he felt they had “[forced him] to it” but in reality he was just making an excuse to give in to his desires” (Homer 193). After indulging in his (and his crew’s) desires, he thought they would soon proceed off the island, however this was not the case. While exploring the island, his food deprived crew came upon the cattle of Helios, and being starving, began to cook and eat them, even sacrificing a part to the gods. Odysseus was walking back to their camp on his own when “the pleasant savor of cooking meat came drifting around [him], and [he] cried out [his] grief aloud to the gods immortal (Homer 194). Once he smelled the meat he knew that the horrific actions that were predicted would come true. All these things happened because Odysseus’ crew did not follow the instruction of their leader and instead followed their desires, but an even worse fate comes true when they disobey the gods themselves.

Odysseus called upon the souls in order that the blind prophet Tiresias could provide knowledge on how he could get home, and Aeneas was instructed by his father, Anchises, to meet him at the Underworld after his death. During the trial, both heroes met with souls that actually helped them whether it was to accept their past or to help them renew their motivation. With meeting Elpenor, Odysseus realized his duty as a leader and also his mistakes. He was rash

Teirêsias tells Odysseus to not eat the livestock and that his crew should not eat the livestock or terrible things will happen. Odysseus crew did not listen to Odysseus and they ate the livestock. None of Odysseus men survived the journey. Teirêsias also tells Odysseus that when he returns to Ithaka there will be rude and disrespectful men courting Penelope and eating his food. He said that these suitors would need to be killed in the open.

Throughout The Odyssey, Odysseus is warned many times of the perils and difficulty of his journey. All through these times it seems that Odysseus will never get home, but he never loses hope. In Book 11, Odysseus ventures into hell to meet with the great prophet, Teiresias. Teiresias prophesizes, 'But anguish lies

There are a couple places where Odysseus gets stuck on a island where other people live. The first one is the Phaeacians land, when he first gets stuck there, a bunch of women were going down to the river to clean their clothes and that happens to be where Odysseus is. When the women were washing their clothes and letting them dry they were playing ball and when Odysseus finally he woke up he asked them for some assistance and they all got startled and ran besides one. The one girl who was there to help him and brush all of the sand off him was the princess of the Phaeacians. Athena made him really handsome for that she would fall in love with him. They finally get up and headed to the palace. To avoid making a big scene Nausicaa the princess

As stated by Elpenor in the underworld, “...O my lord, remember me, I pray, do not abandon me unwept, unburied, to tempt the gods’ wrath, while you sail for home; but fire my corpse…” (187). Even after death, Elpenor is still pleading with Odysseys to give him the proper burial procedures. This shows that the planes of existence for the underworld and the overworld are so connected that your actions in one place will follow you to the other. Due to his lack of burial procedures, Elpenor will constantly roam the halls of hades as a disturbed spirit, unable to fix his own problems because death is an eternal disease. As a result, Elpenor must rely on Odysseus and his crew, his only lifeline, to help resolve his sins for him. Additional evidence comes from when Tiresias claims that “But anguish lies ahead; the god who thunders on land prepares it, not to be shaken from your track…” (188). Odysseus is not safe from death either, as it follows his crew closely. Thusly, because of the prophecy given to him by Tiresias, Odysseus knows how to avoid this death, but lack of informing his crew will result in this issue following him back to the overworld where Poseidon wreaks havoc on his ship. What this shows Odysseys is that death is constantly looming over every man’s head, not just his own. In the end, the meaning of

During Odysseus’ journey back home to Ithaca, him and his crew encountered many evils and troubles. Almost every one of these took at least one of his men. Scylla is an example of this. This monster took six of Odysseus’ men while on the journey home. Nearly ever was it Odysseus’ fault. His men caused most of the problems that haunted them back to Ithaca.