Odyssey Death and Rebirth in the Odyssey

Homer’s great literary classic, The Odyssey, represents and illustrates many emotional and mental values. All of these values can be classified under three different main themes that are constant throughout the epic tale. These themes are: A boy’s struggle to be a man, a king’s struggle to reclaim his kingdom, and a man’s struggle to return home. As one reads this book it will become more and more evident to them that a man’s struggle to get home is the most important theme throughout Homer’s adventure.

Circe gives him a life of ease and self-indulgence on an enchanted island. In Phaecia, Odysseus is offered the love of a young princess and her hand in marriage. The Sirens tempt him to live in the memory of the glorious past. Calypso, the goddess with whom he spends seven years, offers him the greatest temptation of all: immortality. In refusing, Odysseus chooses the human condition, with all its struggle, its disappointments, and its inevitable end. And the end, death, is ever-present. But he hangs on tenaciously and, in the midst of his ordeals, he is sent living to the world of the dead to see for himself what death means.” (Lawall,

Chapter 1- Ten years after the Trojan War, everyone reached home except for Odysseus. He remained a hostage at Ogygia by Calypso. Meanwhile, Telemachus (Odysseus’s son) is told by Athena, disguised as Mentes, that his father will return home and tells him to dispel the suitors who keep devouring his father’s estate.

The Odyssey of Homer is filled with various adventures, sought-after revenge, and harmful temptations. The war hero, Odysseus, traveled for three years, always trying to achieve his homecoming. In Odysseus’ fourth year, Zeus destroyed his ship, as well as his companions, while they were out at sea. After these losses, Odysseus alone was washed up onto the island of a nymph, Kalypso. She took him into her palace and came to love him. After time, she desired to make Odysseus her husband, offering to make him immortal as well. Yet, Odysseus declines her offer of immortality. After years of fighting in battle, then years of suffering following the war, his noble rejection seems remarkable. Homer’s readers are forced to wonder, why does

Focus on the descriptions of the palaces of Nestor and Menelaus. Find quotations that describe their virtues:

A motif is a repeating symbol that takes on a figurative meaning. A motif can be an object, a color, the weather, or even an idea or a concept. Motifs are usually used to establish a certain mood or a theme, and they have a symbolic meaning. For example, in a fairy tale, some motifs would be: the handsome prince, the wicked witch, talking animals, and magic fairies. Another example would be the song “Beasts of England” in Animal Farm by George Orwell, and it is a motif that mainly serves as propaganda to the animals. In Macbeth by William Shakespeare, motifs are seen all throughout the book, like the motif of blood and how it represents guilt. The motifs of blood, sleep, and birds affect the character development and relationship of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth.

As October is the month of remembrance, one can only make sure to make a personal connection by first knowing what the word means. Remembrance means to account what happened in the past as well as embracing the past for it shapes their lives in present. As connections start to be made, people only know that most ancient, classical books are filled with that theme of remembrance. As one spends their time reading one of the most ancient and best epic poems of all time titled The Odyssey by Homer, the theme of remembrance not only recounts the lives of the Ancient Greeks, but also the history of Ancient Greece as a whole. The Odyssey mostly centers on the protagonist, Odysseus, and his journey home after the Trojan War, while facing many obstacles,

The underworld is a large religious aspect of multiple cultures throughout the world, Greeks are portrayed in Greek society, its belief of the misery of life and afterlife in the Odyssey and Enkidu's dream it’s portrayed their fear of death and struggle. Let me compare the underworld experience in both poems and take into consideration what they learn from their journey. In the Odyssey the description of the underworld was more detailed than in Enkidu’s Dream, his dreams refer to all the action he took were not righteous. “It was I who cut down the cedar, I who leveled the forest, I who slew Humbaba and now see what has become of me.”

Odysseus travels to the underworld, where he pours libations and performs sacrifices to attract the souls of the dead. The first soul to appear to Odysseus is Elpenor, who was a crewman who broke his neck by falling off a roof, begging Odysseus to go back and give him a proper burial. Odysseus then speaks to Tiresias, who tells him that Poseidon is punishing him for what he did to Polyphemus. Odysseus speaks with his mother, which touched him the most, he was sadden with grief of his mother’s death, and she says that she died from grief waiting for his return home. Odysseus speaks to many heroe’ like Achilles who asks about one of his family member, and how Ajax refused to speak with him. He meets talks with Agamemnon, who tells Odysseus

    Fate seems to defy humanity at every turn.  A man may have his life planned out to the last second, but then some random force intervenes and he dies the second after he has completed his life plan.  Some believe in fate, believing that our lives are predetermined from the moment we are born.  Other people believe that everything is random, the result of some god rolling the dice in a universal poker game.  Still other people believe that each and every person is in total control of his or her destiny, every step of the way.  Who is to say which viewpoint is false?  Every culture has a unique perception of the role of fate in our lives, and no group has the "right answer," simply a

Sing I me, Muse, and through me tell the story of the lady nymph goddess Calypso. Oh so beautiful and immortal who lives in the sea- hollowed caves on the island Ogygia. She craved the hero of Troy, king of Ithaka, son of Laertes, a mortal and took him as her own. Nine long years they spent on the island together.

Throughout vast journeys of many heroes, no other hero had a more complex journey than Odysseus. This journey is called The Odyssey, written by Homer. It is an epic poem or story told of a hero name Odysseus on a 20-year voyage trying to get back home from the Trojan War. The great epic poem known as The Odyssey and attributed to Homer was probably first written down around the eighth century BC, but the origins of the ancient story in myth, legend, and folklore and art appear to be much older. Greek Epic Hero When you think about Greek Epic heroes, Odysseus will most likely come to mind. Odysseus is the main character in Homer's poem "The Odyssey." "The Odyssey" is a narrative poem that describes Odysseus' adventures

The definition for a motif is essentially an important idea or subject that is repeated throughout a book (Merriam-Webster). A motif of fire and ice was present in this novel through a binary of love and hate. In Jane Eyre, written by Charlotte Bronte, binaries were created using different elements within the novel, symbolism, imagery, etc. While profoundly reading Jane Eyre, I tracked the image/motif of fire and ice. The fire and ice are used throughout the story to thoroughly develop a binary between love and hate.

The next motif: human creation of organic materials. There were many myths that had gods creating humans out of many different things. The Inca used stone, yet they were pitiful and did not know anything, including how to survive. The Inuit’s humans came from a pea-pod, yet the god Raven did not know how. The Yoruba used clay, as well as the Chinese did. The Yoruba shaped the humans out of clay, then breathed life into them. The Chinese formed the humans out of clay, but made it to where they had legs instead of tails. The Enuma Elish used bones and flesh, after the war that took place, using the bones and the making of the flesh. The Mayan used corn paste, after many attempts of making humans. The Norse used trees, that had fallen over. The reason why I think this motif has repeated in so many myths is because even without them knowing, humans are now created from organic materials. Another reason could be that they wanted to create humans to help work and take care of the Earth.

Odyssey a long series of wanderings filled with notable experience and hardships, or in other words the journey of life. Homer's The Odyssey is an epic poem telling of one man's journey. Odysseus, the chosen traveler of this Odyssey, represents the will and perseverance of all humanity. Odysseus' journey symbolizes the true toils of mankind's development through, agility, doubt, and faith.