Essay about The Odyssey, by Homer

The Odyssey , is the second epic written by Homer. It talks about Odysseus being ripped away from his homeland, Ithaca, and trying to return back home after the Trojan War. He is known as a heroic figure, the King of Ithaca and an epic hero. When he was torn away from Ithaca, he had to leave behind his people including his family to fight in the Trojan War. On his way home he encountered many obstacles, monsters and other creatures. He finally returns home from his long journey home 20 years later; to find suitors were trying to take his home and wife. Most people will say that Penelope had it rough being by herself for 20 years never knowing if Odysseus would ever return, but Odysseus never knew if he would make it to live through the next day. Odysseus had suffered more than Penelope when Odysseus was dragged to Troy to fight in the Trojan war.

A hero isn’t shaped by his strengths but by the values he possesses. Homer’s epic, The Odyssey, reveals the moral and ethical constitution of the ancient Greeks. Over time, certain cultures have grown to value a number of human characteristics. Those who acquire such values become respected heroes. After the fall of Troy, the protagonist of the epic, Odysseus, set sail for his home, Ithaca, where his faithful wife and son were waiting for him. Over the course of his journey, Odysseus faced some of the most ferocious opponents known to the Greeks. Even through this formidable journey, Odysseus and his family have stayed true to the diverse aspects of the ancient Greeks. The Odyssey exemplifies the human ideals of hospitality, loyalty and

he Odyssey, as written by Homer, intricately and excitingly weaves Colin Renfrew’s Subsystem Theories throughout the entire play. Many of the five subsystem theories can be seen and support understanding of the novel. Of the five systems, trade/communication, social/ political hierarchy and symbolic subsystems will be the focus of analysis in this paper. All of these subsystems come together in The Odyssey to explain the characters and their lives, and also how they fit into the society which they live in. To understand the growth and development of the characters, we must understand the systems theories, “many human actions have a meaning at several different levels, with undertones and overtones… it is the complex interconnectedness of the subsystems which gives human culture its unique potential for growth.” As this paper will demonstrate within The Odyssey, trade and communication, social and political hierarchy and lastly symbolic subsystems create adventure in Odysseus’s harrowing, yet exciting journey back to his kingdom and family. These specific subsystems add depth and excitement because we see how each specific one impacts Odysseus’s journey back home. They help us understand who Odysseus is a man and sympathize with all that he goes through. The communication subsystem helps explain how communication between people (and gods) in different lands aid to the success of his return home. We are able to see from the social subsystem how Odysseus and other men

Focus on the descriptions of the palaces of Nestor and Menelaus. Find quotations that describe their virtues:

This passage is told as a flashback, as Odysseus sits in the palace of the Phaeacians telling the story of his wanderings. Odysseus reluctantly tells his story after King Alcinou notices his weeping during a minstrel, which was about the fall of Troy. So in answer to the King, Odysseus reveals his identity, background and adventures: from Troy, the winds sweep him and his men to Ismarus, city of the Cicones. The men plunder the land and, carried away by greed, refuses to leave until the Cicones turn on them and attack. Odysseus and his crew finally escape, having lost six men per ship.

When they pass through the great monster whose name is Scylla and eats men off ships, and pass through the treacherous whirlpool of Charybdis, a man who is called by the name of Eurylochus, persuades Odysseus’ men to go butcher and eat the Cattle of the Sun God even though Odysseus told them that, “the cattle here are not for our provision, / or we pay dearly for it” (12. 855-56). Odysseus did not tell them that they were going to die as their consequence so when they disobeyed his command, Zeus kills every single one of them. Furthermore, when Odysseus, “sent out two picked men and a runner / to learn what race of men that land sustained” (9. 202-03), they came back lazy and without

The Hero’s Journey is never an easy one. This particular journey, as detailed in Homer’s The Odyssey, is one of struggle, loss, heartache, pain, growth and triumph. It is comprised of many steps that Odysseus has to overcome and battle through in order to achieve his final goal of reaching his home and his loved ones. From the Call to Adventure to the Freedom or Gift of living, Odysseus conquered them all. The story begins in the middle of the story, as many of the oral Greek traditions did, with the Journey of Telemachus to find his father. Although Telemachus has not yet met his father, it is almost as if they are journeying together, where the end of both of their journeys results in being reunited. Telemachus journeys from being a

On a ten-year voyage across cold and choppy seas with nothing but the bitter wind at one’s back, physical strength is a necessity. The chances of successfully trekking home with weak limbs are not great. In Homer’s The Odyssey, Odysseus is the epitome of power. His brawny physique undoubtedly grants him the strength to swim, climb, run and even kill his way back to his wife. But Odysseus cannot return home on physical force alone, as many of the obstacles he faces are mental. Perhaps the greatest of these obstacles is temptation. The "battle-weary" man’s odyssey is brimming with temptations of the mind, body and soul that he must not only grow out of, but conquer, in order to return home and stake his glory.

One faces enormous challenges throughout life. In the famous saying, “Life isn’t about how many times an individual falls, but rather how he picks himself up,” its obvious obstacles make up his character. This applies to Odyssey who follows a hero’s journey. Several times he fails and goes through rough patches. But, in the end he is able to return to his home above all. Odysseus works through challenges to become a hero earning this status by his perseverance, humility, and cleverness.

leave Ithaca cannot be simply based on a whim: he is a young king with

It is an unspoken truth in Homer’s Odyssey that “home“ is something good. All that Odysseus seems to want throughout the poem is to come home again, but that is one thing he is not granted from the god Poseidon for nearly ten years time. On the first page of the Odyssey we learn that all his friends-in-arms had the fortune of returning home “while he alone still hungered for home and wife.“ (The Odyssey by Homer, translated by Robert Fitzgerald; Book I, line 21-22). The original intention of this paper is the question: What is home? What is it that Odysseus yearns for so long? But reading through the Odyssey again it came to mind, that this question might go beyond the constraints of this essay, considering that Homer describes not just Odysseus’ home, but also shows the reader (or listener) glimpses of the homes of Meneláos, Nestor and Alkínoös. Throughout the Odyssey one of the most central themes of this poem is the topic of “homecoming“ illustrated through Odysseus’ struggle to get home again. Odysseus desire for his home is so overwhelmingly strong “that he longs to die“ just for the sight of seeing “the hearth smoke leaping upward from his own island“ (I., l. 78-80). And yet after years and years, after his long and troublesome passage home “trials and danger, even so, attended him even in Ithaka, near those he loves“ (I., l. 26-30). This hints right at the beginning of the Odyssey at something essential in it: even after a voyage full of doubt and fear, a peaceful

Throughout vast journeys of many heroes, no other hero had a more complex journey than Odysseus. This journey is called The Odyssey, written by Homer. It is an epic poem or story told of a hero name Odysseus on a 20-year voyage trying to get back home from the Trojan War. The great epic poem known as The Odyssey and attributed to Homer was probably first written down around the eighth century BC, but the origins of the ancient story in myth, legend, and folklore and art appear to be much older. Greek Epic Hero When you think about Greek Epic heroes, Odysseus will most likely come to mind. Odysseus is the main character in Homer's poem "The Odyssey." "The Odyssey" is a narrative poem that describes Odysseus' adventures

The Odyssey is a celebrated epic filled with many different themes, motifs, styles, and characters that could be examined in vast detail, but the theme of hospitality is a reoccurring one throughout the entire narrative. Homer writes about examples of both great hospitality and very inhospitable characters in his epic poem. Hospitality in The Odyssey creates definition of how individuals are either punished or rewarded by the gods.

Odyssey a long series of wanderings filled with notable experience and hardships, or in other words the journey of life. Homer's The Odyssey is an epic poem telling of one man's journey. Odysseus, the chosen traveler of this Odyssey, represents the will and perseverance of all humanity. Odysseus' journey symbolizes the true toils of mankind's development through, agility, doubt, and faith.

Throughout this class we have studied multiple types of heroes starting with Gilgamesh, then Odysseus, and then Aeneas. All of whom were individuals that exemplified strength, loyalty, and courage no matter the obstacles in their way. Additionally, they shared common skills such as being exemplarily military leaders, as well as being the leaders of their own houses. These characters, with the exception of Gilgamesh, were so heroic that they even traveled to the depths of hell in order to face death and show demonstrate their immense heroism. However, none of these heroes have influenced me as much as the philosophers that tackled the questions of morality and what it means to live the good life. “The difficult thing is not to escape death, I think, but to escape wickedness” (Apology, 528).