Role Of Sacrifice In The Odyssey

This shows that Odysseus will look out for his men because he knows they aren't in their right mind. Since his men consumed the Lotuses, which intoxicates the mind

Even though many of his men seemed wary of their journey, Odysseus was always determined to make it back to Ithica. When Odysseus’ ship washed up on the island of the Lotus Eaters, all of Odysseus’ men ate the Lotus flowers to escape from the hardships of life, but Odysseus refused. “I drove them, all three wailing, to the ships, tied them down under their rowing benches, and called the rest”(Homer 211-213). Instead, Odysseus tied up his men and dragged them back to the ship so they could get back on their journey home. Even though it would take 20 years to get home, Odysseus always showed great

In The Odyssey, the hero Odysseus shows many heroic traits, the one I think is most important is loyalty.

In The Odyssey Odysseus stands up for his men who are traveling to war with him when Athena accuses them of not displaying much talent. It would be difficult for Odysseus to stand up for his men while talking to a goddess. However, he handles himself very wisely explaining to Athena the positive qualities in each of his men. In The Odyssey after Poseidon grows angry with Odysseus telling him he will suffer, it only makes Odysseus determination in himself increase. A hero is one who never gives up, so one major character traits they should obtain is determination Although Odysseus is beaten down by the god of the sea it does not decrease his determination. During the journey back from the war in The Odyssey after Poseidon has warned Odysseus that he will not make it home Odysseus not only works well with his men, but also is very self reliant. Self reliance is a huge part of becoming a hero because you have to be prepared at all times if something was to happen to your acquaintances, you need to have the confidence to fulfil your goal.

Throughout the Odyssey, the Greek hero Odysseus show bravery, which, I think, is the most important trait for a hero to exhibit.

He sent out two men in the jungle of the lotus eaters, and when Odysseus found them wandering around, their journey had completely changed; they had no desire to keep treading to get home. This was a huge problem for Odysseus especially, so he had to face the temptation of eating the sweet and precious lotus, along with also keeping his soldiers in line as well. Then, after losing a few men to that, they ran into the Cyclops, where Odysseus then found out that he could remain calm under extreme pressure, and that's how they were able to escape. After that, all the other obstacles that occurred resulted in all of his men dying, and just leaving his stranded alone. When this occurs, Odysseus also realizes that he is less dependent on people.

On that level the lotus eaters were trying to rob the men of their memories. What do you have left without memories? Are you still a human being without your memories? Memories are what shapes a person and without them you're just a shell, a shadow of what you were. Odysseus responds to these tests as he knows best, with brute force, dragging his men back to the ship and lashing them down. They immediately depart the island so no others can be tempted by the lotus eaters. If by some chance fate he had gone first and tried the lotus flower, our hero's voyage would have been over before it started and he would have not even put up a fight. However, he does learn to be more wary of the people he encounters along his journey.

Odysseus’ encounter with the monstrous Scylla showed how all journeys eventually require sacrifice. The hero allows six of his men to be devoured by Scylla for the sake of the others. Could he have avoided this? Certainly not, as his other choice was to go straight through Charybdis, the “dire gorge of the sea,” who would have destroyed him and all his men (682 ll. 804-805) Circe herself says that it is “better to mourn six men than to lose them all….” (679 ll. 705-706) Odysseus had to think of his men as a whole, rather than pity a few, in order to guarantee success, and so he once again followed Circe’s advice, and allowed those six men to perish for the sake of the majority. A similar decision was once made by former prime minister, Winston Churchill,

When Odysseus left for Troy his servants remained loyal and life at home carried on as normal, but as time progressed and their master and king had still not returned home, many began to turn their backs on their queen and her son. One servant in particular is the goatherd, Melanthius. When Melanthius was speaking with the swineherd, Eumeaus, he demonstrates his true disloyalty and hatred towards Odysseus and Telemachus, “‘One of these days I’ll pack him off from Ithaca in a black ship and sell him for a fortune. As for Telemachus, may Apollo with his silver bow shoot him down in the palace this very day, or the Suitors crush him, as surely as Odysseus’ chance of returning home from abroad has gone forever’” (Homer 229). Melanthius shows no respect for his master and his master’s son. He

Any ordinary human being would not be willing to have themselves tied up to a mast, but Odysseus insisted on doing this, for the sake of him and his crew. Since the whole crew counted on him, had he not done this, his death would go in vain, because his crew wouldn’t know what to do after he dies, because they rely on him and whatever he does, they will follow like sheep. Additionally, when his crew nears the Lotus Eaters Island, he discovers there are people called the Lotus Eaters, which eat the Lotus, which makes those who eat it lose all desire to return home, and three members of his crew eat the Lotus, and Odysseus “drove them, all three wailing, to the ships, tied them down under their rowing benches, and called the rest”(Homer 373). Odysseus demonstrates selflessness, because he cares about his crew, and ties down three of the members down to the ship, in order to save them from the Lotus Flower effects of forgetting home. Odysseus would have lost 3 of his crew members if he had not shown selflessness by tying them down to the ships to prevent them from eating the Lotus.

Odysseus has been helping his crew to sail across the nation with him. He also had help from the Gods. Helping others, can be heroic in odysseus point of view by keeping his crew safe. I can argue that Odysseus has done a great job of keeping his crew safe. But his crew didn’t want to listen to him at the end. So they got punished with death, from a god on the Islands.

In life, you can’t always do everything on your own. Sometimes you need someone else to help you achieve a goal. In The Odyssey there is a continuous idea throughout the story that there is this need to be with family and loved ones. This idea is portrayed through Penelope and Odysseus, and all the sacrifices they make to eventually be with each other again. Without Penelope’s efforts, she and Odysseus may not have been together in the end.

In The Odyssey, the Greek hero Odysseus shows bravery, he shows many heroic traits but I think bravery, is the most important trait for a hero like Odysseus to exhibit. In The Odyssey, our hero Odysseus shows bravery during the episode of the Cyclopes because, it was his idea to be the last one to get out of the cave, so if anyone would be caught by the Cyclopes it would be him and not his men. Odysseus was also brave during this episode because he was the one to have the Cyclopes drink the wine, so he would become drunk, then he stabbed him in his eye, so that was when all of the men tied themselves to the bottom of the sheep and escape first while he stayed back until everyone was out safe.

He takes things into his own hands and brings “them back, back to the hollow ships, and streaming tears” (Od.9.110-1). The lotus has such a stupefying effect on the men that they would rather stay with the Lotus-eaters, wasting their life away, than go back to their families back in Ithaca. Odysseus also recognizes the consequences of forgetting. A person’s memory defines who they are. After eating the lotus, the subsequent memory loss robs the person of their being.

In book five Odysseus is presented with a very great and tempting barrier. Calypso confronts him with this statement, “But if you only knew, down deep, what pains are fated to fill your cup before you reach that shore, you’d stay right here, preside in our house with me and be immortal.” She promised him that he would possess a trait that no other human in the odyssey has, immortality. Even though her offers are very tempting and would be self fulfilling, he promptly rejects because all he wants is to go home and the love of his life, Penelope. This act alone shows that he was willing to give himself and up for a greater cause. He showed great discipline and faithfulness to reject Calypso’s offer and to continue on his journey home. At the beginning of the epic, Odysseus did have one flaw that could have been detrimental to his homecoming journey and that was self-glorification. By the end of the Odyssey, Odysseus overcame his pride and tempered it with patience because at the end of the day he didn’t really know that Penelope would be waiting on him, but he was willing to put in the effort to find out what was at the end of the road.