Odysseus Self-Restraint In Homer's The Odyssey

Constantly throughout the book, Odysseus shows great courage in any and every situation he is put in. We see this glimpse of courage when he fights the suitors, or when he saves his whole crew from the Cyclops. In book 9 as Odysseus and his crew are journeying through the cave of a Cyclops, Odysseus decides to make a very bold decision and blinds the Cyclops. “Hoisting high that olive stake with its stabbing point, straight ingo the monsters eye they rammed it hard.” (page 223, line 427-428) In this scene Odysseus drives a stake into his eye, in result blinding him. This was a very courageous decision because of the fact that he and his men are up against a Cyclops. At the same time, Cyclops’s are very strong and big, and Odysseus could have easily been killed . It turns out that the Cyclops is a offspring of Poseidon which put him and his crew into a lot of trouble and danger later in their journey, and if Odysseus knew that or not it was still a brave thing to do in order to save him and his crew at that moment.

Odysseus, king of Ithaca, was probably on of the greatest warriors in the history of Ancient Greece. It is said that the poet, Homer, wrote the story of the Odyssey. In this story, Odysseus and his crew are trying to make their voyage back home to Ithaca after they have fought with the Trojans. During the long journey, Odysseus will show some of his character traits which include his bravery, cleverness, and wisdom that will assist him with the situations he encounters on his journey home.

In the beginning while Odysseus is on his journey, he is full of pride for himself and his accomplishments. On his way home from winning the battle in Troy, him and his men stopped to attack the Cicones in Ismarus and collect more war treasure. When Odysseus and his crew arrived to the Cicones’ land he “destroyed the city there, killed the men, seized their wives, and captured lots of treasure…”(9.40) Instead of leaving right away, they “drank too much wine and on the shoreline slaughtered many sheep, as well as shambling cows with twisted horns.”(9.62) While they were relaxing, the Cicones collected all of their neighbors and tribesmen to help fight. In the morning, the Cicones around them were “thick as leaves or flowers growing in season.

The term “dynamic” is often used in literature to describe a character who changes drastically from one point in the story to another. When reading “The Odyssey” an epic poem by Homer, we see that our protagonist, Odysseus, changes throughout the course of the novel. This essay will argue how he changes, and also what changes him, such as his travels, his relationships, and how fate and the Greek gods affect and change him.

In The Odyssey- Part II, Odysseus with the help of his son and loyal servants. They slaughtered all the suitors and maids for the following: they tried to take advantage of his goods, they tried to marry his wife continuously, and destroyed his house. The slaughter of many of the suitors may have been brutal, but it was necessary.

Pride is a good thing and a bad thing. Odysseus’s greatest problem was pride. When Odysseus tried to return home, there was an island, therefore they stopped looking for food. This island was the home of Cyclops's. Odysseus along with his men infuriated a Cyclops named Polyphemus. Odysseus along with his men ran back to the ship, it was then he had let pride immerse him. Polyphemus ended up asking his father Poseidon for revenge.“The rate of major earthquakes--those with a magnitude higher than 7.0-- more than doubled in the first quarter of 2014 compared with the average since 1979”(Yan and Berlinger 2). Just alike the earthquakes doubling in the amount, Odysseus will encounter more storms than usual. Odysseus was extremely smart at first

For generations, heroes have always fascinated people and people have strived to achieve certain qualities of their heroes. In Homer’s The Odyssey, Odysseus is considered the hero of the story. While Odysseus does demonstrate some qualities that are not heroic, he is still defined as a hero because of his better, more heroic qualities in which he is far superior in than any other man. The qualities in which define Odysseus as a hero are courage, intelligence, and leadership.

A true hero will go through immeasurable lengths to benefit not him or herself, but the people around them. Heroes are neither selfish nor uncaring. They seek every opportunity they get to help those in need. One must have also gone through the entire hero’s journey to be deemed a hero. He must start off naïve and inept and through his challenges, transform into someone worth calling a hero. Most importantly, a hero is not perfect. He must listen to other’s ideas and utilize them. However, in The Odyssey by Homer, Odysseus disrespects his crew men and the gods’ advice, lets hubris interfere with his men’s lives, and is unfaithful to his wife Penelope.

Odysseus is the main character in an epic poem called the Odyssey. In the poem Odysseus has had some bad luck getting home, with some of the gods helping him and some hindering him; his journey towards home is a constant struggle. In this poem we see a man being broke and rebuilt, through constant irony his faith was damaged and without the help of Athena he probably would have given up on his journey. Through his hard work and wise spirit he finally does achieve his goal.

After the Trojan war all of the Greek warriors had made it home, except for Odysseus and his men. For them the journey home had many twists and turns that caused them to be away from home for more than 10 years after the war. Their delay was caused because of their inability to follow direct orders and resist the temptation of disobedience. It was for this same reason why none of them made it home, except for Odysseus; although he was the main culprit for heeding to temptation.

In the Odyssey of Homer, Odysseus is displayed as an adventurous character. His curiosity is shown through out the book, on his voyage home as well as when he arrives home to Ithaka. His curiosity itself is not an issue, rather selfish curiosity causes Odysseus to be reckless in his actions. His reckless decisions lead to extremes: many of his companions are killed, sorrow and grief is shown throughout his journey. Even Poseidon, a god remains “relentlessly angry with godlike Odysseus, until his return to his own country” (27. 20), because of his recklessness. Odysseus’ curiosity causes him to be reckless in his actions.

Along the journey home, Odysseus and his men are presented with many situations that act as tests of their personal character and self-control. Whether it be the temptation of revelry, the ability to escape their worries, or gluttony, the men must choose between their own selfish desires or resistance for the communal good. Throughout Homer’s Odyssey, the failure of Odysseus’s men to recognize their lack of self-control due to foolishness results in them bringing misfortune upon themselves and ultimately their community. In contrast, their king and commander, Odysseus, successfully displays how to avoid this lack of self-control by possessing tremendous amounts of self-discipline and prudence.

Both Odysseus and I have shown self-restraint. In the Odyssey by Homer, Odysseus and his men find themselves stuck in the cave with a massive Cyclops. Seeing the Cyclops as a threat, the men want to kill him, but Odysseus knows they must not. When entering the cave the Cyclops rolls a massive stone in front of the door. If Odysseus and his men would have killed the Cyclops they would have not been able to get out of the cave. Just as Odysseus is about to kill the Cyclops he thinks, “If I (Odysseus) killed him we perished there as well” (903). Odysseus uses self-restraint in this case to keep himself from killing the Cyclopes. Another example of Odysseus showing the trait of self-restraint is when he returns home after 20 years of being away from Ithaca.

In the Odyssey, the war hero Odysseus shows many heroic traits, the most important one being restraint.

“ Sing in me, Muse, and through me tell the story of that man skilled in all ways of contending, the wanderer, harried for years on end, after he plundered the stronghold on the proud height of Troy.” (Homer page 751 lines: 0-4) That was an opening prayer from The Odyssey. The Odyssey is about a 20 year-long travel of a man named Odysseus. He traveled to Troy facing the dangers on many mythical creatures and many fictional creatures. This king of Ithaca, left his beloved wife, Penelope, and his son, Telemachus, that he has not seen since his son was a young child. Odysseus expresses his traits, that helps him survive the obstacles he faces. Odysseus’ traits are bravery, curiosity, and intelligence.