Human Themes Of Homer 's The Odyssey

Throughout the Odyssey, Odysseus has the tendency to be a narcissistic, selfish and inconsiderate leader towards his men. When Odysseus and his men finally escaped certain death from the giant cyclops, Polyphemus, the not-so-heroic king of Ithaca shouted a taunt above the pleas of his aghast crew, towards the blinded cyclops. He yelled to the enraged cyclops,”If any man on the face of the earth should ask you who blinded you, shame you so--say Odysseus(Homer IV. 558-560).” With this reproachful act of arrogance, Polyphemus, son of the wrathful Poseidon, cried out to his father, praying that Odysseus' travels be cursed and that he would return home a “broken man” and with “all shipmates lost(IV. 593).” This event shows how he is too unworthy

Odysseus uses intelligence to guide him on his tricky journey home to Ithaca establishing that he is a hero. When Odysseus and his crew land on the land of the Cyclops, they get trapped in a cave with a human-eating Cyclops named Polyphemus. Polyphemus turns hostile and becomes a serious threat to Odysseus and his crews’ chance of returning home. Odysseus uses his intelligence to get out of the disastrous situation by getting the Cyclops drunk and then blinding Polyphemus by using a “stake with its fiery tip” (Homer 9.443) and thrusting it into the single eye on the Cyclops. Odysseus’ keen sense of intelligence allows him to predict that Polyphemus would try to get help from his Cyclops neighbors so he plans ahead telling Polyphemus, “Nobody--that’s my name. Nobody so my mother and father call me, all my friends” (Homer 9.410-411). Odysseus, although physically strong, understands that outthinking an opponent often leads to victory and in the incident with the cyclops this theory held true. Odysseus predicted that once he burned the eye, Polyphemus would scream out in pain notifying his neighbors that something was wrong.

“Cyclops- if any man on the face of the Earth should ask you who blinded you, shamed you so- say Odysseus, raider of cities, he gouged out your eye, Laertes’ son who makes his home in Ithaca!” (Homer, 227). This act puts him and his crew in danger because the Cyclops is the son of the god Poseidon. Polyphemus then offers a prayer to his father to take revenge on Odysseus. “Hear me, Poseidon who circle the earth, dark-haired. If truly I am your son, and you acknowledge

This arrogance is an example of how Odysseus is there to create and maintain an image for himself. Odysseus says, “Cyclops,/ if any man on the face of the earth should ask you/ who blinded you, shamed you so – say Odysseus,/ raider of cities, he gouged out your eye,” (9.558-561). This shows how Odysseus wants the whole world to know his name, even though this is a cocky move and puts himself and his army at an even greater risk. Odysseus is so concerned with how he looks to everyone else that he takes no precautions for the sake of himself or his army. Another example of Odysseus’ egotism is when he is talking to the suitors dressed up as a homeless man for the first time. Homer writes, “If only two of us could go/ Man-to-man in the labors of the field…/ We’d test our strength for work,/ Fasting right till dusk with lots of hay to mow,” (18.414-19). As the homeless man, Odysseus approaches the suitors with such an ego that they could have been moved to kill or beat him. This is an example of how his ego is a negative characteristic, showing how he overuses his esteem when his odds are against him. In both this instance and in the case of the Cyclops, he risks his life in the most arrogant of ways. If Odysseus were less cocky and had a less powerful ego, he would have a greater chance of being considered a good hero, because he would not have provoked unwanted

Thanks to some quick thinking from Odysseus, he manages to blind the cyclops so he and his remaining crew can escape. After getting away from the cyclops, he turns back to the cyclops and tells him who he is. He said that his name was Odysseus and that he lives in Ithaca. After hearing this, the cyclops prays to Poseidon, the father of all cyclops, to get revenge on Odysseus for blinding him. Though there are no immediate effects, this causes trouble for Odysseus later on. He gained

Later Odysseus' ship stops at an island inhabited by Cyclopes. One of the Cyclopes, Polyphemus, captures Odysseus' and his men. To escape, Odysseus stabs Polyphemus' eye. As Odysseus is sailing away he shouts out, " `Cyclops, if any mortal man should ask about the shameful blinding of your eye, then tell him that the man who gouged you was Odysseus, ravager of cities: one who lives in Ithaca--Laertes' son' " (185). Odysseus is being prideful, ignorant, and asking for trouble. Polyphemus now knows Odysseus name and where he lives; Polyphemus can now easily have revenge whenever he wants.

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.

For example, as Odysseus was leaving the island, he yelled, “Cyclops, if ever mortal man inquire how you were put to shame and blinded, tell him Odysseus, raiders of cities, took your eye: Laetres’ son, whose home’s on Ithaca” (9. 424-428). This shows that Odysseus is bragging about his achievements of being clever enough to trick the Cyclops, and blind him in his sleep. This also shows that by shouting his own name, Poseidon then knew it was Odysseus, and punished him with more challenges, keeping him away from Ithaca. In addition, when the

When leaving the beast’s lair, he escapes to his ship, and he yells to the giant shouting “I say, cyclops! If ever anyone asks you who put out your eye, tell him your blinder was Odysseus, the conqueror of Troy, son of Laertes, whose address is in Ithaca”(111). Even in victory, Odysseus puts him and his crew in danger when he takes credit for his brilliance, regardless of the consequences he may face. This nearly fatal mistake teaches him a lesson, to remain humble until the time is right. Odysseus later applies this knowledge when he returns home, disguised as a humble peasant, waiting patiently for an opportunity. One of the more arrogant suiters that took over his home in his absence, Antinoos, takes offence at once of Odysseus minor insults and throws a chair at him, “But Odysseus stood firm as a rack: the blow did not move him, he only threw back his head silently, and brooded over his vengeance” (200). Due to the repercussions he faced from lashing out at the cyclops, Odysseus gained the patience to endure severe aggravation. This completes the return to the ordinary world stage of his journey, applying his newfound knowledge to his situation to improve

“The Intelligence, but Foolish Overconfidence, of Odysseus” Odysseus, the heroic protagonist in Homer’s epic The Odyssey, struggles for 10 years to get back to his homeland of Ithaca and to his faithful wife, Penelope. While Odysseus passes through foreign lands, he earns the respect of some gods and the wrath of others, loses crew members and friends, faces many difficult decisions and literally journeys to hell and back. However, the particular challenge that Odysseus faces with a Cyclops, Polyphemus, illustrates one of his best qualities and quickly contrasts it with one of his worst qualities; his superior intelligence with his overconfidence and demanding need for glory. Odysseus comes into contact with Polyphemus after his crew unknowingly

During the story of The Odyssey by Homer, the protagonist Odysseus got stuck in a lot of sticky situations on his journey of delivering his men back home. Odysseus was able to escape many life-threatening events, which makes him a leader to his people. One of the many foes that was encountered was the cyclops, in which Odysseus risked his life by lying to it. “My ship? Poseidon Lord, who sets the earth a-tremble broke it up on the rocks at your lands end (Homer, 959).” Although a small number of men were lost to the hungry stomach of the beast, Odysseus used his intelligence to outwit the cyclops and rescue him and his stranded people. To wait for the perfect time to strike at the cyclops took a lot of patience, and shows how dedicated he

Odysseus must be confident because if the plan doesn’t work, he and his crew will be killed. As Odysseus leaves the island of the Cyclopes, Odysseus says, ‘“Cyclops, if ever mortal man inquire how you were put to shame and blinded, tell him Odysseus, raider of cities, took your eye: Laertes’ son, whose home’s on Ithaca!”’ (Homer 384). Odysseus yells out to the wounded Cyclops, telling him his name, family, and home. Odysseus is confident by saying this as he is sure the Cyclops will not seek revenge as he is already

Along his journey, a Cyclops confines Odysseus's crew, and Odysseus must figure out a way to escape. Odysseus patiently tricks the Cyclops; he calls himself “nobody” so the Cyclops, Polyphemus, cannot call out for his friends to save him from going blind. However, right before they escape, Odysseus boasts, “If ever mortal man inquire how you were put to shame and blinded, tell him, Odysseus, raider of cities, took your eye” (160). He continues to taunt the Cyclops even when the Cyclops throws a hilltop at them. Subsequently, their actions anger Poseidon and creates further challenge for Odysseus’s journey to Ithaka. Rather than revealing his true identity, which may anger the Cyclops and prevent the crew’s escape, Odysseus faces humility to carry out his plan of trickery. He and the readers learn that high expectations, or overconfidence, create harmful impulses, since the Greek custom of receiving gifts as guests lead them to carelessly help themselves in the Cyclops’s cave. As a result, the Cyclops gets angry and traps them. On the other hand, he forgets modesty while close to escaping due to overconfidence. The Cyclops’s reaction and their subsequent misfortunes from the Gods teach Odysseus the lesson to never underestimate the effects of your actions, despite being close to safety. To add on Aeolus, the

During The Odyssey Odysseus and his men jabbed the Cyclops's eye out with an olive branch because they need to escape from the cave the Cyclops, Polyphemus, locked them in. Once Odysseus and his men got out the cave Odysseus found out that Poseidon was Polyphemus's father, and to eventually be lead on a deadly journey by Poseidon as a punishment for what they have done. In the

Odysseus tricked the cyclops into drinking the wine then while he was defenseless and weak, Odysseus took action and he got his men help him and tie him up until he got to the cyclops head. He then stuck the sword in the eye of the cyclopes. The cyclopes then screamed and back up with fear. He then shouted out for the other cyclops that are in the caves near him some of them came out. They said that if nobody ruined him