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The Importance Of Odysseus In Homer's 'The Odyssey'

Decent Essays

“There is a charm about the forbidden that makes it unspeakably desirable.” These words said by Mark Twain, an American author, have an unmistakable significance when compared to the journey of Odysseus in Homer’s poem The Odyssey. This collection of Odysseus’s adventures offers an account of his life and his pursuit of fame after the Trojan War. In his epic The Odyssey, Homer uses the motifs of sexual temptation and the temptation to rebel in pursuit of kleos to comment on the desires that drive Odysseus further and further away from home, therefore commenting on the desires inside of everyone that ultimately keeps them from accomplishing their goals. Homer uses sexual temptation as a motif throughout Odysseus’ journey to comment on the desires that will inevitably threaten one’s well-being. After Odysseus and his crew sail to Circe’s island, Odysseus “mount[s] Circe’s gorgeous bed” and he continues to sleep with her “day in, day out, till a year had run its course” (10:396, 10:516). Unable to resist the urge to sleep with Circe, he makes her swear that she will free his shipmates afterward. In this, he places a great importance on his shipmates and a temporary pleasure than on his wife and son, prolonging his journey by another year. Also, when Odysseus “mount[s] Circe’s gorgeous bed,” (10:386), leaving the impression that Circe is above Odysseus, enchanting and controlling him through their sexual relationship. Another of the many examples where sexual temptation

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