The Odyssey

Intro: There are a wide variety of themes present throughout the Odyssey, written by Homer. Be it hospitality, perseverance, vengeance or power of the Gods, loyalty is truly the theme that brings the whole book together. Being 10 years after the Trojan War, many have forgotten about Odysseus and his men as they constantly brave what the gods throw their way. This essay will be talking about Odysseus and Penelope’s mutual loyalty to one another, the loyal relationships between Gods and men and finally, the loyalty Odysseus’ men show for him until death. This essay with prove to us that without loyalty, Odysseus’ legendary journey would have been put to an end near where they started. The general theme of loyalty is what kept Odysseus

On his journey home, Odysseus encounters many obstacles which he attempts to overcome swiftly so that he may arrive home as soon as possible; however, it can be argued that nostos is not his only motive throughout his journey, though it may be the most significant.

Why do you think Odysseus told his crew that they would be fine, But in reality they would possibly die. He was scared that they would leave him and he would die alone. So basically, he wanted his men to die and him not die. The only real problem is that he didn't want to die at all so his men would die for him. Who does that to people that have a wife a kid and a family, a real idiot that’s who. The only person who could just sit there and do nothing but watch someone get killed right in front of them is Odysseus.

Calypso being the temptress that she is kept Odysseus on her island, Ogygia, for seven years. Eventually, after Zeus talked to Athena, Zeus told Calypso that she must set Odysseus free. Even with Zeus’ orders she did not want to let Odysseus go so Odysseus had to escape her dreadful island and return home on his own. Then after he left the island of Calypso, he ran in to Circe. Circe started to mess with all of Odysseus’ men and made it harder to get home. Both Calypso and Circe, made Odysseus’ journey home so much harder than it needed to be. Since Calypso trapped him on the island for seven years, his family and everybody at home was starting to believe he was dead. They had no hope that they would ever see him again. So they started to push themselves on Penelope. Also if Circe would have just left him alone and did not mess with any of his men and stayed out of the way, he could have made it home faster. Since both of the Goddess wanted him for their selves they both interfered with his journey in many different ways. Some ways was the same like giving him the gift of immortality and persuading with other stuff. Some ways was different like trapping him in a cage for seven years and turning his men into pigs so he could not leave as

As Odysseus drew his sword about (pretending) to strike Circe, these were her words, “Who are you? From what family? What city? You drank my drugs, but you were not entranced. No other man has ever passed that test; for once that potion’s passed their teeth, the rest have fallen prey: you have within your chest a heart that can defeat my sorcery. You surely are the man of many wiles, Odysseus, he whom I was warned against by Hermes of the golden wand: he said that you would come from Troy in a black ship. But now put back your blade within that sheath and let us lie together on my bed: in loving,

In the second part of the Epic Poem The Odyssey Odysseus starts maturing very slowly. Odysseus starts thinking about his men while with Circe and he is concerned about them.

Like a true hero, Odysseus continuously emerges victorious from the dire situations he faces. In order to emerge victorious, one would need a well rounded plan to get them through their hardships. Odysseus shows that intelligence can be an effective application of strength used to gain an advantage over his opponents. Quick thinking is what saves his crew and permits Odysseus to prevail over challenges he faces, thus, being a hero. As the story continues, the traits of a hero being loyal carry throughout book ten. After the crew sails to Aeaea, home to the goddess Circe, Eurylochus’ group decides to enter Circe’s palace. Goddess Circe throws them a large feast causing the men to lose desire to return to their fatherland. As they continue to feast, the men become heavily drunk by Circe’s magic wine, turning them into pigs. Eurylochus witnesses this and runs to tell Odysseus and his group what happened. Odysseus reacts by rushing to Circe’s palace to save his crew. “Armed with the moly and Herme’s warning, Odysseus arrives at Circe’s palace. Circe gives Odysseus a magic drink, but it does not affect him and he threatens to kill her with his sword” (Homer,

Odysseus brings Tiresias, a prophet, back from the dead all alone. Odysseus used his courage to venture into the land of the dead to get very useful information that

3. How many years was Odysseus held prisoner on the island by Calypso before letting him go? Who Persuades her to let him go? C2

Next was island of Aeolus, the Keeper of the Winds. With stories of Troy, Aeolus helped blow Odysseus and his crew home with a steady breeze. He also, gave him extra winds to use later in the journey. The lesson is it’s always nice to make friends with people because they can help you out. War and killing is not always the answer.

2. In Book 14 who does Odysseus go to first when he returns home? Eumaeus

Odysseus recurrently uses his bravery, cunning, and wit to weasel out of tricky situations, yet he does not have much control over what happens when his crew sails past the Sirens. Why is it that he chooses to put himself at the mercy of the Sirens in order to gain the knowledge they supposedly grant, saved in the end only by his loyal men? It is important to examine the importance of wisdom and knowledge to the Greeks and why Odysseus was so eager to be the first man to live to tell the tale of the Sirens’ deathly song. Odysseus has all the facts; the “queenly goddess” Circe tells him exactly what to do to get past the Sirens, and provides him vivid imagery to emphasize the fact that he, a mere mortal, needs her knowledge to survive (12.40). As his crew approaches the island, the behavior of Odysseus suggests that he is ready for a battle, though more of a mental one than a physical.

During the course of this trial, we will be speaking to a number of witnesses. We will speak to Hermes, the messenger god. The one who helped Odysseus throughout his journey, on account of Zeus. We will speak to King Alcinous about why he gave Odysseus a ship, and why he trusted him and in the first place. We will speak to Eurylochus about how he felt with Odysseus as a leader, and why he didn’t want to go into Kirke’s house. Also, we will go deeper into Polites’ mind, and see how safe he actually felt under Odysseus’ leadership. We will hear all the opinions of Helios, asking him about his precious cattle. We will get to hear from the Kyklops himself, Polyphemus. How did he feel when Odysseus stabbed him in the eye? How much did it hurt? Both

returns to Aeaea, where he buries Elpenor and spends one last night with Circe. She describes the obstacles that he will face on his voyage home and tells him how to negotiate them. As he sets sail, Odysseus passes Circe’s counsel on to his men. They approach the island of the lovely Sirens, and Odysseus, as instructed by Circe, plugs his men’s ears with beeswax and has them bind him to the mast of the ship. He alone hears their song flowing forth from the island, promising to reveal the future. The Sirens’ song is so seductive that Odysseus begs to be released from his fetters, but his faithful men only bind him tighter.

To be a hero- Hello this is news 11 and today we have news right here right now. Today right now Odysseus himself has been planning and here he comes right now and he is looking good as always! Hi Odysseus how is you? Oh hello I am rather fine. So how was it in the battle with all those monsters? Well to be honest it was tough and I thought I might not make it be with Athena here to help me it was very swift and I got the job done. Tell us when you were walking off to get on the ship what were your thoughts? Well I was thinking I can do this! So I did and look where I am now. That’s nice. And how did you come up with the brilliant idea to stab the Cyclops? All I did was use what I knew about those darn foul creatures and that was all it