Iliad and Odyssey

All odysseys tell the story of a great adventure; in-fact the word odyssey literally defines as a heroic adventure filled with notable events and hardships. Likewise in the epic poem The Odyssey by Homer, Odysseus is not permitted to arrive home until he overcomes his biggest challenge, fixing his prideful attitude. The purpose of the passage found in Book V lines 65-102, is to reinforce Odysseus’ image as an epic hero and his loyalty to his family and homeland, in spite of challenges that arise that attempt to deter him from returning home. The structure and language utilised by Homer builds up the meaning of the passage; creating a contrast from the lush and enchanting feel of the goddess Calypso’s estate, to the grief of Odysseus being away from his homeland Ithaca and his family, including his loyal wife Penelope.

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.

Odysseus is told in the ìOdyssey,î ìSquare in your shipís path are the Sirens, crying beauty to bewitch men coasting by.î (p 421) Both Ulysses and Odysseus use wax to avoid the Sirens. Ulysses hair smelling of wax, (hair wax) and Odysseus instructing his men to put wax in their ears is enough to avoid the Sirens seductive song in each story. Avoiding the Sirens allows both Ulysses and Odysseus to continue on their purpose of journey, to get home. Another striking similarity is the witch goddess of Circe. In the ìOdyssey,î Circe turns one of Odysseus men into a pig. Parallel to the Homeric epic, one of Ulysses men was supposedly turned into a frog. These two strong parallels sum up an obvious influence of Homeric work in ìO Brother, Where Art Thou?î

During the course of history, the world has seen many fine works of literature like Homer’s epic, Odyssey. This book is a standard against which to compare all literary novels. The symbolism permeates the pages drawing the reader into the intriguing plot that includes twists within the central theme. Also, the author intelligently uses imagery and diction painting dramatic images in the reader's mind - building upon major the themes.

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.

Many people blame God for their misfortunes. They see him as the reason for all of their problems. They would have a better life if God would stop getting in their way. This is not a new thought; however, even the Greeks before Christ felt this way. In Homer’s Odyssey, many of the characters express the troubles that the gods have caused them, and the gods argue the exact opposite. The gods claim, “Mortals! They are always blaming the gods for their troubles when their own witlessness causes them more than they were destined for.” The Odyssey demonstrates that humans and not the gods are responsible for their own strife.

During The Iliad we see the warrior ethos as being the main ethos, but as we transfer to The Odyssey we see the transformation from warrior ethos to domestic ethos. Furthermore, the novel is based on domestic ethos and how home affects the warrior. Throughout The Odyssey we see Odysseus trying to make his way home after the Trojan War. On his adventure home he goes through trials and challenges before he actually makes it home. He has to outsmart people to be able to get where he wants to with out dying. This task is not easy but eventually he makes it. Moreover, we realize that warrior ethos is not the major ethos represented in the novel. It is domestic ethos. Odysseus learns how to use the domestic ethos to his

In the Hebrew Bible and The Odyssey there are heroic figures that play an important role through out each of the books. These heroic figures from the Bible and The Odyssey have many similarities and differences that reflect the different cultures they are from. These heroes are called upon by greater beings, such as gods, to complete difficult journeys and or tasks that the god has made them destined to complete. Each of these legendary heroes demonstrates a particular culture’s needs. Through these journeys and or tasks they are forced to overcome challenging obstacles and make sacrifices.

Hospitality has been around and important to cultures for almost forever. In the epic poem The Odyssey by Homer, there are many themes, but the theme of hospitality reoccurs throughout the entire epic. This epic takes place in Ancient Greece after the Trojan War. The main character, Odysseus, is on a journey back home to Ithaca after being away for ten years. Along the way, he must make stops and stays in the homes of the different people during his journey. The individuals that are hosting the stranger are expected to act a certain way to show their hospitality. This is called xenia. Xenia is the relationship between the host and the guest. Rules are supposed to be followed and the hosts are supposed to provide certain resources to their guests. It is also important to the culture of the Ancient Greece to show good hospitality to the strangers that wish to stay in their home. Odysseus has stayed in the homes of many along his journey home. He has experienced both good xenia and bad xenia from the people who has stayed with.

Homer’s two tales, the Iliad and the Odyssey, are both incredibly well known and widely taught across the world and at many different levels of education. Some call Homer the “greatest poet to ever live” and although this can be disputed his works truly speak for themselves and have braved the test of time quite well. This paper will cover who/whom Homer is as a person, or persons, and the time period of his writings, the truths versus the dramatizations of the Iliad and Odyssey, how the author’s perspective and writings portray ancient Greek culture, along with how the two of them interact with our culture today.

In the epic poem, “The Odyssey” by Homer, it starts with Odysseus on the island of Calypso twenty years after he left for the Trojan War. The gods are were discussing what to do with Odysseus. Athena wanted to let Odysseus return home safely, while Poseidon didn’t. Athena disguised as Mentor, a family friend of Telemachus, visited him at a party. Telemachus talked to Athena, and she told him the procedures on how to find out if Odysseus is alive or dead. Telemachus followed Athena’s advice and gets ready for his quest to find his father, but Antinous, one of Penelope’s suitors, did not want to leave without knowing who would be Penelope’s husband. The other suitors did not care if Penelope chose or not, so Telemachus decided to go on

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.

Virgil was Rome’s unwilling epic poet, he gave the Roman people a cohesive narrative that tied them to the past and propelled them towards the future. This narrative, The Aeneid, had its basis in local lore as well as ties to the older Greek epics of Homer. The Aeneid almost functions as an extension of The Iliad and Odyssey, with its protagonist, Aeneas, being a minor figure in the earlier poems, and the work itself academically divided into “Odyssean” and “Iliadic” parts. In this relationship Virgil owes a creative debt to Homer, and there is a resemblance that can be seen with striking clarity when the experiences of Homers’ Odysseus and Virgil’s Aeneas are examined side by side. Odysseus and Aeneas are both honour bound to reach the destinations of their respective journeys, Odysseus to rule Ithaca and Aeneas to found Rome, and while ones journey often mirrors the others, there are significant differences between the two. The major differences that can be observed lie in their characters and forms of heroism and these variations shape the course of their narratives, yet the similarities of their internal journeys and ultimate fates remain intact.

This short essay will identify five traditional epic characteristics that are evident in both the Iliad and the Odyssey.