Responsibility In The Odyssey

The Odyssey written by Homer highlights the character development of Odysseus, the epic hero, in his journey of self-discovery. Odysseus is accredited with many strong traits including his nobility, smarts, and bravery. Having one tragic flaw, being his arrogance, was put to the test throughout his heroic journey. Homer stripped the protagonist of his arrogance as the story goes on, by giving him many challenges, giving dire consequences for his mistakes, and allowing him to continue to overcome obstacles. The main purpose of Odysseus’ journey was to reach his home as a humbled man. The hero’s journey can be used as a way to look at life’s morals. The reader is able to see the protagonist continue to make mistakes, because of his arrogance and continue to be punished by the gods. Once he overcame this, he is greatly awarded with the security of his home. This essay will analyze the arrogance of Odysseus along with his extraordinary traits, the molding of his identity, and his new found lesson of humility.

Odysseus, King of Ithaca, and the main character in homer’s The Odyssey, was gone for twenty years before finally returning to his family and his homeland. He struggled through many hardships and lost many loyal companions. The King of Ithaca would not have made it home without the assistance of the Greek gods. Despite all of the help and advice that Odysseus receives from the gods, he is a very brave man because his courage and daring in the cave of the Cyclops, his inability to give up and abandon his men on Circe’s island, and his flawless following of the gods instructions are acts of bravery that is uncommon in most men.

Heroes, as shown in literature, often undertake the most difficult tasks and place themselves in mortal danger in order to bring back, for themselves and their societies, both knowledge and treasure. Their stories follow “Hero Journey.” The Odyssey, as the epic story of the hero Odysseus, follows closely the complete cycle of a Hero Journey, both as a physical and as a psychological undertaking. The Hero Journey, used as a framework for both Odysseus’ physical and mental journeys, serves to bind the two together. Each of Odysseus’s physical difficulties can be viewed as a metaphor for a psychological hardship that he must overcome, and by overcoming these hardships, Odysseus matures—achieving a more complete understanding of himself and

Bravery was probably one of the traits Odysseus was known for best. Without his bravery, the story most-likely wouldn't have been as exciting and suspenseful as it was. One of the situations that displayed this trait was when they landed on the

In the Greek literature of mythology, we have examined Odysseus. Students and scholars alike debate whether Odysseus was a true hero, as read in The Odyssey. There is much supporting evidence to prove all sides of the debate and opinions held of Odysseus. It is of my opinion that Odysseus is a hero in his homeland, his family, the Greek people, and for us to learn from to this day. Odysseus had encompassed three many qualities that I believe made him a hero. He embodied, mental strength, physical strength, and spiritual strength. I would like to advocate for why Odysseus was a hero.

Within The Odyssey the concept of morals is very important, both to the plot of the epic but also to the structure of the Ancient Greek society. When the suitors ask Telemachus to send his mother, Penelope, back to her father he replies with; “It is quite impossible for me to cast out, against her will, the mother who bore me and brought me up”. This illuminates the importance of family within the society, and in turn morals. Whilst Telemachus then goes on to comment upon the monetary cost sending Penelope away, it is important to remember that his first instinct was to keep her in Ithaca due to their mother-son relationship. Furthermore, the importance of morals within The Odyssey’s is illuminated with the concept of xenia. Hospitality was

In Homer’s The Odyssey, Odysseus endures an arduous voyage filled with countless dangers. Although he is praised by comrades and countrymen as a wise, heroic king, Odysseus does not actually live up to his name as he begins this trip back to Ithaka. Through his journey though, Odysseus corrects his reckless, undisciplined, and arrogant actions, learning responsibility, restraint, and humility in the process.

For centuries in literature, philosophers studied the idea of virtue to demonstrate the uphold of moral excellence and righteousness within characters. Eventually becoming a staple in Western literature, virtue can be described as the balance and imbalance of qualities specified by the philosopher Plato. He thought much of virtue, and eventually defined it according to the four criteria: courage, prudence, temperance, and justice. Plato portrayed courage as the showing of bravery in the midst of danger, prudence is one’s ability to show good judgment and to put other’s needs before their own; temperance is a person’s knowledge of when to show restraint and justice is when one gives to others what is owed to them. These characteristics not

A. Yes, Eurylochus and the rest of Odysseus’s men tend to typically act in a more selfish manner than gravitate towards the notion of justice.

    Most people think of a hero as a strong, superior, good-looking person that could never make a mistake. However, in a story called The Odyssey, a connection to real life reveals imperfections to be common in heroes. Each person has their low points and highlights, regardless of their “rank”. The author and epic poet, Homer, exemplifies our main character, Odysseus, to take on this idea of a hero throughout his writing. The time period took place in Ancient Greece, allowing Greek culture to relate to the poem. Different aspects of such culture and history may have influenced the works and creativity of Homer as well. A major point includes The Trojan War because it focuses in on Odysseus’ journey to bring Helen back home by devising a plan to destroy warriors in the city. Acknowledge this factor when reading The Odyssey, for not only evidence of heroism, but also other major points of archetypes, in which the device reflects the insights of readers in modern time and what is seen from Ancient Greek culture.

Blame can always be placed several different ways, and the accused and accusers of situations battle this all the time in literature. In one text however, several arguments can be made for one side of this ever-present schism. In this particular book, more arguments can be made to assign blame to one side of the argument rather than the other. In Homer’s Odyssey, mortal men cause their own misfortune.

The gods play an important part in Odysseus’ journey home, bringing him closer and farther from his homeland. They constantly intervene in the lives of the many characters in The Odyssey. Though Odysseus is a hero, the gods control his life. It is as if he were the main character in a video game and the gods are fighting over who controls his life. Personal responsibility is overshadowed by the gods’ eagerness to grab the controller.

While earlier books in The Odyssey describe Odysseus’ fear in his own words, Book 22 is the first incident in which his fear is physically both described and displayed. This display of fear is further expressed when Athena as Mentor asks Odysseus, “Where’s it gone, Odysseus-your power, your fighting heart?” (22.236) This question not only represents the great fear circulating through the hero in the moment, but also symbolizes his hitting bottom. Athena, once greatly praising the courage of Odysseus, “hit new heights of rage” (22.234) when he became overcome with fear as more suitors and enemies gathered in the hall, waiting to kill him. Athena then goes as far as to mock the fear that overcame Odysseus when she states “now you’ve returned to your own house, your own wealth- / bewail the loss of your combat strength in a war with suitors?” (22.242-243) This emphasis on suitors shows both their inner weakness and the disgust Athena has towards them, giving Odysseus the advantage in the slaughter. This advantage is demonstrated when six of the suitors attempt to attack Odysseus and his comrades with spears, “but Athena sent the whole salvo wide of the mark” (22.269). Immediately after, Odysseus and his comrades return the attack and successfully kill four of the opposing men. After another round of slaughtering success, Odysseus begins to overcome the fear of the Supreme Ordeal. This fear is not lost; however, for it is turned around and placed on the remaining suitors by Athena when she terrifies “the suitors out of their minds, and down the hall they panicked- / wild, like herds stampeding, driven mad as the darting gadfly / strikes in the late spring when the ling days come round” (22.313-315). As the suitors coward in fear, the rush

Since piety creates a binding relationship between Gods and mortals in addition to Gods inherently favoring those who are pious and known to be glorious in society, Gods must be held more morally responsible for the actions of pious mortals. The Gods are the source of much of the conflict and anguish that the mortals endure. Mortals are aware of their lack of control of their fate: Odysseus understands that he is blocked from his homecoming because he has “angered one of the… Gods” and that there is no other force equal to the power the Gods have over his fate (Homer 2006: 148). Although some may claim that mortals ultimately decide whether to be pious or not, it does not exempt the role the Gods have in significantly impacting the choices

“Many ways Homer's portrayal was insightful and way ahead of his time in terms of how he explores the themes of war and heroism. At the beginning of the play, Odysseus appears to fit the traditional image of a war hero -- brave and strong. We also see him full of his own importance -- announcing himself as 'Odysseus, the slayer of cities. But, as the play progresses and he begins his long journey home, Odysseus is confronted with the lasting impact of the war both on himself and those at home. There many layers to his character and how the war and the themes of the play affect him. We gradually see Odysseus become completely broken by his experiences”(Sawyerr).