Odysseus 's Feminine Cunning : Odysseus And Athena

He also chooses to follow her advice because he is a very curious and inquisitive man who wishes to know everything and anything he can. The Siren’s sing “and we know whatever happens on this fruitful earth” (XII, 192). Nugent says, “the encounter with the Sirens reflects….unfulfilled desire for more: more knowledge, more experience, complete and profound fulfillment” (45-54). After placing the wax in his men’s ears, tying himself down to the mast, and hearing the Siren’s sweet song Odysseus “ order[s] [his] men to set [him] free”( Homer XII, 195); this shows how curious Odysseus truly is and how he longs to have great knowledge. Nugent states this is “…surely a characteristic of Odysseus, who always seeks that which lies beyond his grasp” (45-54). By following Circe’s orders Odysseus is able to have his cake and eat it too. He is able to pass the Siren’s without harm so he can return on his journey home, and he is able to listen to their sweet, bewitching song.

One great example to show just how cunning Odysseus is, is the story about the cyclops, who had planned to eat Odysseus and his shipmates. One of the ideas that Odysseus had to get rid of the cyclops was to have him drink so much wine that he wouldn’t be able to focus and so he could be knocked out. Tricking the cyclops gave Odysseus and his shipmates another chance to get away from the cyclops. A piece of evidence from the cyclops story that shows Odysseus’s cunning trait is a quote from the story, it says “My moment was at hand, and I went forward holding an ivy bowl of my dark drink,” this quote shows Odysseus’s idea of giving the cyclops the wine so he would be knocked out and so Odysseus could have a better chance at killing him and getting away.

Odysseus tends to use strategy over strength to be a hero when it comes to challenges. Instead of beginning with fighting the Cyclops, he takes his time and sets up a plan. Everytime he enters a new island, he does not start telling everyone that he is Odysseus, king of Ithaca. Instead, he charms the people he meets and uses his wise words that cause them to help and pity him. Odysseus represents what being a hero is actually all about. Throughout the novel The Odyssey by Homer, Odysseus continuously shows his personality of being an admirable hero to everyone by using strategy instead of strength.

Spider-Man is your average modern day hero, he is a citizen who was bitten by an unusual and peculiar spider which gave him powers and abilities such as being able to shoot webs out of his hands and climb walls without the need of any equipment. And Odysseus is a Greek hero who was strong, heavily favored by the gods, and could take down any and all challenges he´d ever have to face. And if you ever compared the two you would see that both characters are extremely different. Why you would see this is because we know that Spider-Man is a modern day hero, but can we consider Odysseus as one. My answer to this would be NO. Society today would not consider Odysseus as a modern day hero because of many reasons. One would be that he doesn´t show

“Circe – how could any man in his right mind endure the taste of food and drink before he’d freed his comrades-in-arms and looked them in the eyes? If you, you really want me to eat and drink, set them free, all my beloved comrades – let me feast my eyes.”- Odysseus (P. 242, L. 421.) He proved to Circe the goddess, that he was a noble and selfless (at this moment) and by convincing her to let his men be released displayed shrewdness. He displays patience while he makes his plans, therefore making his move at the right time. “ Here Cyclops, try this wine- to top off the banquet of human flesh you’ve bolted down! Judge for your self what stock our ship had stored…”- Odysseus (P. 222, L. 388) Odysseus is planning to get the Cyclops drunk so he will stop eating all of his men. His quick thinking saved all of his companions from cretin death. Odysseus is the type of leader who maintains loyalty to his men, when they are in danger his careful planning and cunning end up saving them from destruction. Even though by the end of the book there are no men left to return there are many examples of Odysseus’ cleverness which preserved the lives of the men for another day of the journey.

In The Odyssey, Circe's character traits of intelligence and dominance over a situation change Odysseus’ way of thinking and the way he views his future adventures and endeavours. Interestingly, Circe, attempting to help Odysseus survive his future, advises him on how to proceed: “...there is a choice of two courses, and I will not lay down for you which to take; use your own judgement” (Homer 150). The reader sees Circe use her wisdom and begins to understand the overall instincts of Circe. This results in the changing of the way Odysseus acts in the future and alters the way the reader feels about the novel as Circe does not tell Odysseus which choice to make. In addition Circe,

While Penelope is pursued vigorously by some of Ithaca’s most powerful men, this lust is shown to give Penelope some leverage of her own. The Suitors themselves say “, (Telemachus) it’s your own dear mother, the matchless queen of cunning. Look here. For three years now, getting on to four, she’s played it fast and loose with all our hearts, building each man’s hopes(96).” While Penelope remained heartbroken, awaiting Odysseus’ return, she was able to tug on the hearts of her suitors to postpone her forced marriage for years. Circe doesn’t just seduce men for her own protection, she seduces men to

Circe is smarter than people would expect, and uses her role as a female to her advantage, since she is typically underestimated. When Odysseus and his men came to her house, they didn’t expect her to be so tricky, but she surprises them. “She opened her gleaming doors at once and stepped forward, inviting them all in, and in they went, all in a sense. Only Eurylochus stayed behind – he sensed a trap.” (237) In this quote, Circe has good hospitality and invite the visitors in, and they expected her to be nice and comforting, like a

Both Odysseus and Rainsford go through life or death experiences and come out alive, but how did they both do it? In The Odyssey, Odysseus faces many obstacles that he has to overcome in order to make it back home to his friends and family stationed in his homeland, Ithaca. In “The Most Dangerous Game” by Richard Connell, Sanger Rainsford is hunted by General Zaroff and has to use whatever means possible to win the game. Odysseus and Rainsford come out alive in the end because they share similar traits. For example, they show great self-discipline and they know how to use their wits.

Cleverness is not something that men were necessarily know for back in the 12th century B.C., it was more about who could kill the most men in battle. In our culture cleverness can help us in battle like it did for Odysseus, but it can also keep us from getting into unneeded conflicts. It ultimately leads to better decisions in our lives and helping each other out. Throughout the book Odysseus displayed his witty and cunning ways by consistently fooling people and getting out of tough situations. The way he out wits people is out of this world, so outstanding that the gods are even impressed with him. In a flashback to the Trojan War, Menelaos tells a story of when they were in the Trojan horse and Helen came knocking, disgusting her voice to sound like the wives of the men. Odysseus is smart enough to keep them from giving themselves away and saving

In literature, mankind is often seen as imperfect and flawed. From sacred texts like the Bible to classic books such as The Odyssey we can see the true flaws of humans. Specifically book twelve of The Odyssey shows the flawed nature of mankind and how it leads to mankind's downfall. Circe, the goddess that Odysseus encounters during his initially half hearted journey home, gives advice to Odysseus about the dangers ahead and what he should do in order to get past them. Despite the advice given to him by a goddess, Odysseus "cleared [his] mind of Circe's orders..." because they were "cramping [his] style..."

The second woman who was responsible for problems that Odysseus faced was Circe. Firstly she turned all but one of Odysseus’ men into pigs and delayed Odysseus’ progress. “Now they had pig’s heads and bristles and they grunted like pigs; but their minds were as human as they had been before,” (Page 131) this quote depicts Circe’s cruelness towards Odysseus’ men. Secondly Circe again stalls Odysseus from completing his journey back to Ithaca. “You are worn out and dispirited, always brooding on the hardships of your travels. Your sufferings have been so continuous that you have lost all pleasure in living.” (Page 136) This quote shows how Circe convinced Odysseus and his men to spend more time on the island. Thirdly Circe made Odysseus and his men take a different route, via the prophet Teiresias, rather than going straight back to Ithaca. “But Circe has marked out a very different route- to the Halls of Hades and the dreaded Persephone.” (Page 139) This makes the rest of Odysseus’ crew very upset. “When I told them they were heart-broken. They sat down where they were and tore their hair out.” (Page 139)

At first it appears as though the only reason Odysseus sleeps with Circe is to regain his companions, but she easily persuades them to stay. And what’s even worse is the fact that Odysseus isn’t even the first one ready to go. His men are the ones who urge him to leave: "What ails you now? It is time to think about our own country". So though at a glance it appears that Odysseus is merely succumbing to Circe’s schemes for reasons related to their health and well-being, if we read between the lines, we soon begin to realize that Odysseus is weak in the voracious hands of lust.

By looking at the epic The Odyssey by Homer, there are a lot of contacts between human and immoral, the relationship between Athena and Odysseus, which make me interesting, also this is important for the story. The relationship between Athena and Odysseus is the key for the story, because Odysseus had received a lot of help from Athena, their relationship is the reason to explain why would an immortal Athena who never interesting or attracted by any male either mortal or immortal, but only a human male, Odysseus, and helps Odysseus in either direct and indirect ways to get back home and take average to all the suitor in order for Odysseus to get back his family and his land.

Circe, a powerful sorceress, shows her strength by being in control. Whenever Circe turns Odysseus’s men into pigs she shows her strength by overpowering them. Odysseus’s men underestimate Circe for the powerful sorceress she is because she is a woman. Because they do so, they are turned into pigs.