The Cruelty Of Poseidon In Homer's The Odyssey

Poseidon, god of the sea, believes Odysseus should suffer throughout his journey because of his hubris, also known as, excessive pride. In the beginning of The Odyssey, Odysseus claims he conquers Troy by himself and he does not need the gods anymore. This makes Poseidon furious, knowing he is the one who answers Odysseus’ request for help during the Trojan War. He curses Odysseus, letting him know he is nothing without the gods. In “The Cyclops” episode, Polyphemus cries to Poseidon, “ ‘O hear me, lord … grant that Odysseus, raider of cities,

A point volatile to understanding revenge in The Odyssey is to know what qualifies a person for the act of revenge and if there

A key event that delays Odysseus immensely on his journey home is Poseidon’s revenge. While sailing home, Odysseus and his men come to encounter Polyphemus, Poseidon’s Cyclops son. Odysseus and his men try to steal food from Polyphemus while he is away tending to his flock (Homer 362). When Polyphemus returns to his cave, he finds Odysseus and his men, and traps them in his cave. While trapped in the cave, Polyphemus eats many of Odysseus’

The Odyssey is filled with emotion and adventure. Homer’s ability to show and give the reader a visual of each and every scene gives the story its unbelievable significance. To all the people who read his work there is something to be captured within every sentence, each one different in its own, unique way. Through tales of courage and defeat, friendship and love this book tells of all the values within the life of a single, solitary man, and his journey to attain what is true and dear to him. And this journey is known to all of us as The Odyssey. The Odyssey is a test of human devotion and trust through the gods, the mortals, and the obstacles through which they venture. No matter where they go or what they do, humans are tested for

Odysseus describes this incident himself “I called back with another burst of anger, ‘Cyclops--if any man on the face of the earth should ask you who blinded you, shamed you so--say Odysseus, raider of cities, he gouged out your eye, Laertes’ son who makes his home in Ithaca!” (Homer 227). This is a clear representation about how his overconfidence in himself has gotten the better of him. This causes Polyphemus to bellow out what Odysseus did to his father, Poseidon, “Hear me -- Poseidon, god of the sea-blue mane who rocks the earth! If I really am your son and you claim to be my father-- come, grant that Odysseus, raider of cities, Laertes’ son who makes his home in Ithaca never reaches home. Or if he’s fated to see his people once again and reach his well-built house and his own native country, let him come home late and come a broken man-- all shipmates lose, alone in a stranger’s ship-- and let him find a world of pain at home!”(Homer 228). This is the reason that Odysseus came home late, the reason why he was alone, and the reason why he had such a rough, terrible, journey back to his homeland

We know that Odysseus has had problems with the god of the sea Poseidon, as with his son the Cyclops. When Polyphemus eats two of Odysseus’s men, “He knocked them dead like pups.” (Page 220, Homer) the crew knows that he is trouble. Odysseus gets the giant drunk, and when the cyclops asks Odysseus what his name is, he says that he is “Nobody”. The men shove a sharpened stick into the Cyclops’s lone eye and escape. This Cyclops, being Poseidon’s son, was not someone that Odysseus should have crossed. We also see Athena, daughter of Zeus, take pity on Odysseus, and helps him and Telemachus many times, though disguising herself as mentor when talking to

All Poseidon along with Polyphemus wishes is revenge. The number one rule is to never anger a god. Thankfully for Odysseus the other gods are on his side. Odysseus is human, so he too was battling pride. This pride Odysseus is battling is when you have the urge to be in people's faces and be superior. Odysseus and his men knew they were going to be in Siren territory. His men put wax in their ear. Odysseus on the other hand was tied up with no wax in his ear so he could hear the sirens. He wanted to be the only person that has heard them and not died. “ The San Andreas is considered “the ‘master’ fault of an intricate fault network,” the Geological Survey said”(Yan and Berlinger 3). Odysseus is seen as an amazing fighter. People have very high expectations. You could call him a master just like the San Andreas which is considered the “master fault”. Although Odysseus is a master of many strengths, his pride gets the best of him. No matter how strong and powerful you are, pride will always be there. You may think this wouldn’t be a problem for him, but it is. Odysseus is still human and has weaknesses as well. Just like us Odysseus struggles with

The Odyssey by Homer is a literary classic that presents many themes about the natures of both man and god. Although the characters of the book display characteristics relatable to those of the people today, one of the most prevalent differences between the two eras and their people is the intense violence that takes place throughout the entirety of the epic. This violence serves several functions in the work as a whole. The violence that is enacted upon the characters of The Odyssey serve as a device to convey the Greek cultural value of reverence of the gods and as a method for the author to create nuances to his characters.

To some, revenge may not seem like the outcome outweighs the process. To others, revenge makes the world go ‘round. The Odyssey, by Homer and later translated by Robert Fitzgerald, tells the story of Odysseus’ return home after the war in Troy. While he was away, a group of men, referred to as suitors, took over his estate and tried winning over his wife, Penelope. Through this epic, Homer uses precise word choice and specialized literary effects to suggest Odysseus’ actions and the actions of others fuel their fire from revenge. Revenge becomes an evident theme and factor in their lifestyles when actions of the suitors and Odysseus’ loyal men take place due to the actions of someone else.

    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.

One of the many themes that Homer Iliad expresses in The Odyssey is that of sacrifice. The word sacrifice gets thrown about a lot. It’s been said for years and years, “if you love me let me go” a phrase very commonly said when speaking about relationships or maybe children leaving home for college or another life adventure. In The Odyssey the terms is more often used in terms of literal sacrifice, like, of living human beings being sacrificed for the greater good of the team.Sacrifice is the ability to protect others for their sake, not yours. It has flaws if it is thought of selfishly.

Poseidon hated Odysseus because he showed too much pride into himself and sadly Polyphemus was Poseidon's son. To begin, the way he showed how he was heroic was when Polyphemus was asleep, he made up a plan to get them out of Polyphemus's home because they were trapped. Third, Odysseus showed his heroic acts by blinding Polyphemus because he would open the door and shout for help and during that time Odysseus and his men made a swift escape from beneath him. Finally, Odysseus put his life endangered knowing that he will be blinding a god's

The Odyssey is the epic that has been read time and time again, by varying ages, digging its way into our hearts, becoming an instant classic. Odysseus and the adventures of his homecoming create a much different tale than Homer’s other work, the Iliad, provided. The epic is not about bloodthirsty men trying to get their hands on kleos anymore; it is about the homecoming of a man who uses his wits, not his weapon. In the Odyssey, the characters balance – Homer provides contrasting characters to show the readers the traits that Odysseus holds and how it builds his character development and even those who are foils to him. Odysseus’ own son, Trojan War

Throughout the Odyssey, the struggles of Odysseus are revealed to the reader through the well written epic. His journey is very difficult and he is haunted with the loss of his entire crew and seemingly impossible task of getting home to his family. While journeying homewards, Odysseus makes the mistake of harming the Cyclops, who happens to be Poseidon's son. Poseidon is so angry at Odysseus for the harm he inflicted on the Cyclops, that through the influence of all powerful Zeus, he punishes Odysseus along with his other children, the Phaeacians, who can be seen to parallel as well as contrast with the Cyclops.

Regardless of the time frame, Virgil’s Aeneid and Homer’s epic the Iliad share both a copious amount of similarities and differences. For example, many common themes such as heroism, fate, and destiny are apparent in both works. Within the Aeneid and the Iliad, it is seen that the wars going on during that time were glorious that is why the role of gods were significant in leading both Aeneas and Achilles and influencing fate. In both texts, it is clear from the beginning that the role of the gods is to make Aeneas and Achilles fulfill their journey The Iliad focuses on the end of the Trojan War and the damaging power, while the Aeneid is focused during the aftermath of the war and underlies the foundation for the new civilization. This paper will address and argue the comparison of the role of gods and how each of the authors representation of the gods have influence on the lives of mortals.