Essay about Travelers or Assassins?

As Athena guides him to the palace, she warns him about what he must avoid in order to be safe in that neighborhood. She also slips in some advice that he may use in his future endeavors to get home, asserting that "a cheerful man does best in every enterprise-even a stranger." The reader is again reminded of the incredible relationship between Athena and Odysseus in book VIII when Odysseus is speaking with Demodokos about the battle of Troy and Odysseus asks him to "shift [his] theme, and sing that wooden horse Epeios built, inspired by Athena." As the minstrel recalls "how Odysseus came like Ares to the door of Deiphobos, with Menolaos, and bred the desperate fight there- conquering once more by Athena's power" the victory at Troy is again attributed to Athena's role in facilitating Odysseus in the victory.

Odysseus’s men are not loyal. They are good people that stuck with him, but they still went behind his back. And thanks to them not being faithful, the outcome for them is pretty bad. The first example is when they got a bag of winds that would have them sail smoothly all the way home. Odysseus told them not to open the bag, and they opened the bag because they thought there was gold in there.

Odysseus thinks that his reasoning are final and his activities are constantly just and right, although he frequently allows his ego control his rational thinking, resulting harm to his group and messing with the gods’s plans. His men could have went back home Securely for it is the desire of Athena and the other heavenly gods who surround to her in Mount Olympus, however Odysseus takes it to himself to outrage and blind Polyphemus, the monstrous son of Poseidon, adored by his dad yet abhorred by the people, In this way distrusting their whole arrangement . Subsequent to being blinded by the heroine, Polyphemus tosses huge pieces of rocks at Odysseus's ship, nearly obliterating them at the same time. But instead of retreating for safety, Odysseus keeps on provoking Polyphemus and “[calls] out to the cyclopes again, with [his] men hanging all over [him] begging him not to”(Book 9, 491-492). His feeling of pride and presumption influences to disregard the requests of his people even in these critical circumstances . He will fulfill his own feeling of interest and pleasure without thinking of the result it would have on his crew. Despite the fact that he is bound to get away from all passings and assaults, his group isn’t so blessed. Their lives are in mortal peril since Odysseus considers them as child sheeps who should forfeit their lives for him when the circumstances comes, much the same as how mortals make conciliatory offerings of sheeps for the heavenly gods. He is willing to fulfill his own feeling of interest without thinking of his groups lives or their suppositions and is regularly infuriated when they negate his request. If they hurt his sense of pride and self-importance and pomposity , Odysseus will be overcome with outrage and

Odysseus’ support to his crew through every situation and hardship, throughout The Odyssey, is one main sign that the Ancient Greeks valued loyalty. In the Lotus Eaters, Odysseus, “...drove them, all three wailing, to the ships, / tied them down under their rowing benches / and called the rest…”(9.48-50). Through this difficult situation, Odysseus is shown supporting his crew as their leader and keeping them on the right path by taking control of those who were possessed by the magic of Lotus plants. When his crew members struggled to stay on course, Odysseus was able to take responsibility by supporting and guiding them. Another event that showed this is Odysseus and his crew’s encounter with the sirens. According to the text, "Going forward / I carried wax along the line, and laid it / thick on their ears." (12.115-17). Here, Odysseus shows his support to his crew by contributing to protecting them from being hypnotized by the tempting sounds of the sirens by preparing wax to plug their ears with. Again, Odysseus and his crew know they will face the challenge of staying on course, and Odysseus takes these actions to support them and secure their safety. Odysseus’ support in both situations that put him and his crew in danger, reveal the Greeks’ value of

Odysseus puts his men in danger due to hubris and stupidity. When the men said “ Why not take these cheeses, get them stowed, come back, throw open all the pens, and make a run for it? We’ll drive the kids and lambs aboard. We say put out again on the good salt water!” Odysseus then responded “Ah, how sound that was! Yet i refused. I wished to see

Six of Odysseus’ men are eaten because of his foolishness. Again, Odysseus’ arrogance came into play when Odysseus and his men escape from the cyclops, Polyphemus. He taunts the monster, despite the fact that his men tell him stop. He exclaims, “If ever mortal man inquire how you were put to shame and blinded, tell him Odysseus, raider of cities, took your eye: Laertes’ son, whose home is Ithaca” (Fitzgerald 908). If Odysseus did not provoke Polyphemus, the curse laid up on his ship and crew would have never happened. If he did not mock the cyclops, his odyssey would have been non existent. Odysseus always wanted to be remembered as the grandest hero of Greece. This is object when his ship rolls past the Sirens and Odysseus demands that he listens to their song. His overly extensive hubris clouds his mind and wants the fame of being able to survived the Sirens’ song. He never once considers what might have happened if he had

His pride in himself not only hurt him, but his men as well. It is part of a hero’s job to protect and save others, but what Odysseus does is the antithesis of a hero’s description. Odysseus along with his men raided Ismaros for their own enjoyment. Although the people of Ismaros have done nothing wrong, Odysseus had the sense that he was superior to them. He enslaved women, ate their food, and drank their wine. Because of his reckless behavior due to his hubris, Zeus punished his men. During his encounter with Skylla and Charibdys, Odysseus truly believed that Skylla was the right path to take. He did not give anyone a say on the decision. Odysseus’s hubris is the reason why six of his men have died.

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.

During that time, they dock on the island of Aeaea and Odysseus sends three of his men to investigate their surroundings. It is in an unfortunate event that they consumed some toxic lotus plants, and they failed to return as they were expected. One seeing their delayed return, Odysseus gets worried and decides to get his men himself. However, Eurylochus warns him of the potential danger of his plan of going to retrieve his men. He felt that there was a plan to trap Odysseus and so, he would be wise not oblige the enemy. Eurylochus insists and warns, “You will never return yourself, I swear, you’ll never bring back a single man alive. Quick, cut and run with the rest of us here- we can still escape the fatal day!” (10. 252-255). He goes against the warning given by Eurylochus and disembarks to retrieve his soldiers. However, on his way, he confirms Eurylochus’ fears as they encounter real danger and certain death. He is highly motivated to safely secure and save the livelihood of his soldiers. As a hero, Odysseus is courageous by facing eminent danger in the light of a warning. If he was not a hero, he would have cowardly held back and avoided the risk. He demonstrates that he is a good leader as he does not condone leaving any of his men behind in an area of potential

Odysseus is the leader of his men and it is his job to return them home safely. They look up to Odysseus and follow him, whether they believe he has made the right or wrong decision. When Odysseus and his men are stuck with the cyclops it is Odysseus that comes up with the plan to save them. Odysseus is smart and is favored by Athena and as such, Athena helps him devise a plan. One time when Odysseus’ men do not seek his advice they make a mistake and it costs them on their journey. “While Odysseus is sleeping the men open the bag, thinking it contains gold and silver. The bad winds thus escape and blow the ships back to Aeolus’ island.” “Book Ten, Page 916.” The quote shows that the men need Odysseus there to help them and that without him Odysseus men make stupid decisions. Because the men opened the bag Aeolus did not help them again, he believed that their voyage was cursed.

            Odysseus was a man of honor, a man who had fought in a war and won.  For such a courageous man to return home to find it full, idly standing by would not be considered virtuous.  In order to prove that his status of King remained a strong title, Odysseus had to purge his home of rogues, and fancy women who had dishonored his lady.  Such was acceptable at his time, and therefore considered common.  Odysseus’s sense of honor was vital in his role as an adventurer and a monarch of Ithaka. 

along the left side of it. Right on queue, the car drove over the nail

Once he was on top of the building it was time to wait again. It was

Ten years after the fall of Troy, the victorious Greek hero Odysseus has still not returned to his native land Ithaca. A band of rowdy suitors, believing Odysseus to be dead, has overrun his palace, courting his faithful—though weakening—wife Penelope, and going through his stock for food. With permission from Zeus, the goddess Athena, Odysseus' greatest immortal ally, appears in disguise and urges Odysseus' son Telemachus to seek news of his father at Pylos and Sparta. However, the suitors, led by Antinous, plan to ambush him upon return.

Annabeth had figured Polyphemus would still have a grudge about that name, and she was right” (212). Annabeth confronts the cyclops on her own to distract him and uses her wits to think of a way to throw the cyclops off balance. Annabeth rightly believes that using the name Nobody will bring out Polyphemus’s hatred and cloud his mind, thus putting him mentally off balance. The bravery and ingenuity displayed by Odysseus and Annabeth are highlighted as positive traits to have in both Ancient Greece and modern times. The authors want their readers to develop these characteristics as part of their personality, thus they show the positive consequences these traits had for both Odysseus and Annabeth.