Odysseus In Homer's Odyssey

On the island of the Cicones, after a fierce battle, Odysseus instructs the crew ( formerly a small army squadron) to round up slaves, food and other materials and board the ship to row back home. The crew says no and wants to feast on the comfy beach. A few survivors of the battle run inland to the main city to warn the main army. In the end, Odysseus and his men escape, leaving many dead. Now, it is right that this time, their deaths were not entirely his fault and Odysseus did care about his crew over here, trying to convince them to get on the ship and go home. But Odysseus couldn’t have done anything to change their minds. It was him against many who wanted to just stay on the beach. This time, it was the crew’s fault that so many were slain. But at the Cyclops, they were making a getaway, and Odysseus taunted the Cyclops and brought Poseidon’s wrath upon himself, making him at the fault for his crew’s deaths from that point on. So, to sum it all up, Odysseus is responsible for the deaths of his crew. If he hadn’t neglected them, brought a powerful god’s wrath upon them and expected them to follow him blindly, they would have made it back to Ithaca. Odysseus is a good example of what a leader shouldn’t be like. That is what Homer may have been trying to hint at when Odysseus had all his men killed; that a great leader shouldn’t be reckless and think about their own needs, but rather

    In order for Odysseus to encounter and pursue his destiny, he must be tried and tested by obstacles put forth by gods or their offspring, such as Poseidon, the Sirens, and Polyphemus. One instance of this occurring was when Poseidon sent a storm in an attempt to capsize Odysseus’ boat. Poseidon shows his hate for Odysseus when he says, "I hope to plunge him into sufficient trouble" (50). Poseidon sets forth an obstacle to test Odysseus by making a huge storm in the seas to capsize and break up his boat. Without these obstacles put forth by the gods, Odysseus would have made it home without any trouble. The epithet, "Long-tried

Odysseus describes this incident himself “I called back with another burst of anger, ‘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 is a clear representation about how his overconfidence in himself has gotten the better of him. This causes Polyphemus to bellow out what Odysseus did to his father, Poseidon, “Hear me -- Poseidon, god of the sea-blue mane who rocks the earth! If I really am your son and you claim to be my father-- come, grant that Odysseus, raider of cities, Laertes’ son who makes his home in Ithaca never reaches home. Or if he’s fated to see his people once again and reach his well-built house and his own native country, let him come home late and come a broken man-- all shipmates lose, alone in a stranger’s ship-- and let him find a world of pain at home!”(Homer 228). This is the reason that Odysseus came home late, the reason why he was alone, and the reason why he had such a rough, terrible, journey back to his homeland

Odysseus thinks that his reasoning are final and his activities are constantly just and right, although he frequently allows his ego control his rational thinking, resulting harm to his group and messing with the gods’s plans. His men could have went back home Securely for it is the desire of Athena and the other heavenly gods who surround to her in Mount Olympus, however Odysseus takes it to himself to outrage and blind Polyphemus, the monstrous son of Poseidon, adored by his dad yet abhorred by the people, In this way distrusting their whole arrangement . Subsequent to being blinded by the heroine, Polyphemus tosses huge pieces of rocks at Odysseus's ship, nearly obliterating them at the same time. But instead of retreating for safety, Odysseus keeps on provoking Polyphemus and “[calls] out to the cyclopes again, with [his] men hanging all over [him] begging him not to”(Book 9, 491-492). His feeling of pride and presumption influences to disregard the requests of his people even in these critical circumstances . He will fulfill his own feeling of interest and pleasure without thinking of the result it would have on his crew. Despite the fact that he is bound to get away from all passings and assaults, his group isn’t so blessed. Their lives are in mortal peril since Odysseus considers them as child sheeps who should forfeit their lives for him when the circumstances comes, much the same as how mortals make conciliatory offerings of sheeps for the heavenly gods. He is willing to fulfill his own feeling of interest without thinking of his groups lives or their suppositions and is regularly infuriated when they negate his request. If they hurt his sense of pride and self-importance and pomposity , Odysseus will be overcome with outrage and

All Poseidon along with Polyphemus wishes is revenge. The number one rule is to never anger a god. Thankfully for Odysseus the other gods are on his side. Odysseus is human, so he too was battling pride. This pride Odysseus is battling is when you have the urge to be in people's faces and be superior. Odysseus and his men knew they were going to be in Siren territory. His men put wax in their ear. Odysseus on the other hand was tied up with no wax in his ear so he could hear the sirens. He wanted to be the only person that has heard them and not died. “ The San Andreas is considered “the ‘master’ fault of an intricate fault network,” the Geological Survey said”(Yan and Berlinger 3). Odysseus is seen as an amazing fighter. People have very high expectations. You could call him a master just like the San Andreas which is considered the “master fault”. Although Odysseus is a master of many strengths, his pride gets the best of him. No matter how strong and powerful you are, pride will always be there. You may think this wouldn’t be a problem for him, but it is. Odysseus is still human and has weaknesses as well. Just like us Odysseus struggles with

They sent Hermes, the messenger god to convince Calypso to let Odysseus get back to his wife and son. His problems were not over yet once he left the island, however, because he had made Zeus an enemy. Zeus sent a terrible storm to rip apart Odysseus 's raft with the intentions that he be lost at sea forever. Gods saved him from this fate, though, when Ino and Athena give him a veil to keep him from drowning and changing the wind to make sure the waves carried Odysseus home. It was very important that Odysseus was so reverent towards the gods; otherwise he never would have made it home from the Trojan War.

Odysseus's pride also prevents him from showing respect towards his men, by not heeding their advice and by not properly mourning their untimely deaths. At Alcinous' court, Odysseus recounts his experience with the Cyclops. The whole trouble with this one eyed monster begins when Odysseus decides to linger in the Cyclops's cave after eating his food, to see "what gifts he would give" (9.258). Instead of welcoming the Achaeans, the monster decides to eat the men who had rudely eaten his food. In sudden shock and horror, Odysseus and his men "wept and cried aloud" (9.331). Eventually, through a clever plan by Odysseus, he and his men escape, but almost die again because of his pride. Taunting back to the Cyclops, Odysseus reveals who he is, which allows the monster to almost collapse their ships, and also to issue a complaint to Poseidon that he should not let Odysseus return home. Poseidon hears this, and as a result, Odysseus and his crew are from then on beset by problem after problem. Had Odysseus listened to his crew who begged him to leave the cave before the Cyclops returned and also to not brag his identity to the monster, the men would have made it safely home. Even after witnessing the cannibalism of some of his crew, Odysseus is only "glad to escape our death / yet sick at heart for the comrades we had lost" (9.630). He does not appear to be too devastated by everything that has just happened to him, curse and all. Perhaps it is because he is surrounded by

The king was so impressed with his skill he sent Odysseus home with a new crew to replace all the men he lost to Poseidon's sea monsters, along with treasure to take home. Poseidon is enraged at the fact that his own people help such a man, he punishes the Phaeacians for helping Odysseus. Poseidon claimed to the Phaeacians “...thou god of the dark clouds, but I ever dread and avoid the wrath. But now I am minded to smite the fairship of the Phaeacians as she come back his convoy on the misty deep, that hereafter they may desist and to fling a great mountain about their city.” (Book 13-14)

In order for one to become a hero, one not only must have strength and bravery, but care and love for others. In The Odyssey by Homer, Odysseus shows a sense of genuine emotion rather than his usual courageous voice. Odysseus unexpectedly faces the ghost of his mother and breaks down, while learning that putting out a sense of care and emotion is a significant trait to becoming a true heroic man. First starting his journey, Odysseus’s only traits are bravery and courage. Before entering the Land of the Dead, the hero takes more than needed pride in himself when he shouts, “‘Hear me- / Poseidon, god of the sea-blue mane who rocks the earth! /

The definition of trait is “a distinguishing quality, as of personal character” according to Merriam-Webster. On Ithaca, the protagonist of the Odyssey, Odysseus, was the King who served alongside his wife, Penelope, and his son, Telemachus. Then, a herald came and told him that he had been drafted for the Trojan War which lasted ten years between the Achaeans(Greeks) and Spartans. The hero, Odysseus, went on an epic journey, stemming from the Trojan war and then getting home to Ithaca. On his journey from Troy, Odysseus and his men faced many trials in which he and his men show many moments of loyalty and strength that help them continue.

Homer's epic poem The Odyssey was written after his Iliad which told the tales of the Trojan War. This Odyssey told of the wanderings of a prominent warrior and ruler, Odysseus. Odysseus fought in the Trojan War and, after the Greeks claimed their victory at Troy, began his prolonged journey home. During his travels Odysseus faced many obstacles which he had to overcome. Through his wanderings, Odysseus had to prove his valor, intellect, and determination. Incorporated into The Odyssey are many current-day characteristics of man including a constant dependence on others, the presence of a greater vision, or lack there of, and the essence of a sensitive side behind courage and pride.

Once they have successfully blinded the Cyclops, they ride out on the goats bellies to safety. It is here that Odysseus truly angers the Cyclops, by taunting him from safety on the deck of his ship; this causes the Cyclops to fire rocks at the ship, missing every time. When the Cyclops reaches his breaking point, he raises his arms up to the sky and prays to his father “Hear me Poseidon … if I really am your son and you claim to be my father grant that Odysseus, raider of cities, Laertes son who makes his home in Ithaca, never reaches home.” (Homer 228). Charles Segal states, “The spoken word of the prayer, the invisible and distant fulfillment, proves, after all, the more effective instrument of revenge.”(504). This highlights the fact that, with the wrath of the Poseidon placed upon him, Odysseus will have much more to overcome than just plain brute force of the Cyclops himself. Stavros Frangoulidis infers that it is this prayer that, “Marks the beginning of Odysseus’s troublesome journey back home and, therefore, his odyssey.” (45).

Polyphemus cried out to his father, “Hear me, Poseidon Earthholder Seabluehair! If I am truly thy son, and thou art indeed my father, grant that Odysseus the conqueror of Troy the son of Laertes- whose address is in Ithaca, may never reach his home!” (118). After Odysseus blinded the cyclops and out of his hubris told him his name, The Earthshakers’ son prayed aloud in anger to make Odysseus’ journey home his worst nightmare. Poseidon was furious, he would not stop till he got revenge, and from then on would ruin his passage home.

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.

The story of Odyssey is all about the gods and goddesses who has been a part of Odysseus’ journey for twenty years. The first ten years have been spent fighting in the Trojan War, and the next ten years spent on his continuous journey back to his kingdom. Every journey has an adventure that makes the exploration more exciting. But the journey of Odysseus is different.