Trojan Horse Odyssey

“… he [Heinrich Schliemann] found layers of ruins … and two bore unmistakable signs of violent destruction. One of these layers, the seventh according to more recent excavators, was no doubt the city of Priam and Hector. The historicity of the Homeric tale had been demonstrated archaeologically.” - M.I. Finley, the World of Odysseus

It’s dangerous work yes, but it’s vital, and it does come with perks. Education can mean life or death in such an unpredictable world, and Father says that when everyone in the church is educated in such things as reading and counting, let alone the full breadth of a messenger’s training, then the church is better for it.

In Greek Mythology, women were either very fierce or very weak. Women were usually defined by wits, beauty, or bad deeds. In The Odyssey women were not in the background. On the contrary, women were powerful. They charmed and controlled men, provided wisdom, and took care of them. The Odyssey appears to be strongly female based.

Heroes, as shown in literature, often undertake the most difficult tasks and place themselves in mortal danger in order to bring back, for themselves and their societies, both knowledge and treasure. Their stories follow “Hero Journey.” The Odyssey, as the epic story of the hero Odysseus, follows closely the complete cycle of a Hero Journey, both as a physical and as a psychological undertaking. The Hero Journey, used as a framework for both Odysseus’ physical and mental journeys, serves to bind the two together. Each of Odysseus’s physical difficulties can be viewed as a metaphor for a psychological hardship that he must overcome, and by overcoming these hardships, Odysseus matures—achieving a more complete understanding of himself and

The Greek forces won the Trojan War. The story of the war is a cornerstone of Greek legend, and pervaded Greek literature and culture. Though the evidence for the Trojan War as historical fact is scarce, it was a formative event in Greek cultural memory, producing some of the classical world’s most famous heroes and narratives. The War was won, Helen was retrieved from Paris, whose violation of ξενία was redressed, the heroes attained the κλέος that many of them fought for – and yet the positive outcomes of the Trojan War are difficult to grasp. For the victims of the Trojan War, the tragedy is obvious; the War ended in genocide and total cultural destruction. But such a war, burnt into legend, should have left the victors far better off; and yet, the Greek heroes only suffer because of it. They die tragic, dishonourable deaths; their households are left in ruin; their families are torn apart. From both modern and classical perspectives, the Trojan War is a tragedy, a “harrowing destruction of life” (Euripides, Andromache, 291). The victory is pyrrhic, the loss of life is horrific, the reparations non-existent.

Over the past years a lot of archaeological and literary evidence has helped us gain a better understanding of the history of Troy. Much hard work has gone into the excavations there by many archaeologists, and many interesting artefacts have been found. The story of the Ancient City of Troy is a great one, however many people believed it didn’t exist and that Homers Iliad, the story of the Trojan War was just some story. This has since been proved untrue as the city of Troy was discovered, and the pieces of this amazing puzzle have fallen together. Homer described Troy as an exceptionally large city with large high powerful walls, wide streets, twisting paths and large houses. Some of the archaeologists that have contributed to the

The Odyssey, one of the most well known epic stories Introduces Odysseus, the King of Ithaca. This story demonstrates Odysseus’s physical and intellectual strength. Striving to return home after 20 years of his treacherous journey, he uses strength, skill, and superior ability to overcome his troubles. Although he faced numerous obstacles and fought many battles, he made it appoint to get home to his kingdom through his physical ability, intellectual insight, and overcoming his epic flaw.

A Question of Pride From his heroic deeds to his prowess in war, there is no doubt that Odysseus is an epic hero. Though his actions also led to another characteristic, those similar to Macbeth. In the epic “The Odyssey” by Homer, we follow Odysseus in his reluctant voyage to Troy, and more importantly his long and arduous journey back home. During which he faces the gods’ wrath and witnesses the death of all his crew along with it, before finally returning back to Ithaca to see his family and low Odysseus in his reluctant voyage to Troy, and importantly his long and arduous journey back home. Through Odysseus’ pride, the consequences of his actions, and his enlightenment the reader can see Odysseus as a tragic hero.

The Odyssey Rough Draft When reading an Epic, it's important to know that most stories are about a hero’s journey. A hero’s journey is a story of how a hero becomes the hero, the Odyssey is a great example of this. At first, Odysseus is a selfish and cold-hearted brute but as time goes on, Odysseus learns from his mistakes and becomes a better hero. So let's explore Odysseus’ adventure to be a hero.

The Odyssey is an epic tale of strength, courage, nobility, knowledge, and confidence reflected in a numerous amount of characters. The poem is centered on the most obvious candidate for a hero, Odysseus. However, many argue that he is, in fact, not a hero. He does not do things for other people out of the goodness of his heart, he does not consider other people’s values and needs, and he is self-centered and arrogant. There is also a difference between Odysseus having the characteristics of a hero and not using them, and his wife Penelope having them and silently being a hero. Although Homer portrays Odysseus as the hero of the epic, he does not act on the qualities given to him causing him to seem less of a hero than is expected of him. However, Penelope is seen as a hero because of her strength, optimism, knowledge, and ability to overcome obstacles.

The Greeks define nobility as a person who would go and fight for their country, a person who has values of bravery, intelligence, strength and keen judgment. He must also be a person who the gods respect. In Homer’s epic poem, The Odyssey, Odysseus is portrayed as noble according to mythology legend. The American Heritage dictionary defines noble as a man often of divine ancestry, a man who is endowed with great courage and strength who is celebrated for his bold exploits and favored by the gods. (American Heritage dictionary) Odysseus was a noble man if he was being described by the Greeks, but in today’s society there probably would be some debate as to whether or not he was truly noble. Although, Odysseus did possess some of these

The myths of Achilles are well known, and are mentioned in modern society. But, they have been morphed to society’s desires. This is demonstrated in the movie Troy, where the stories have been changed for modern audience. The director condensed the story, and changed the story to show some romanticism and love. This is shown from the absence of the greek gods, significance of certain characters, inaccurate information, the morphed traits of certain characters, and the falsehood of romantic presence. In greek society the gods played a great role in the Trojan war, which was not mentioned in the movie.

The Trojan War is described as one of histories most legendary battles. This battle is told to have lasted ten years, resulting in the eventual collapse of Troy, under the siege of Greek forces. Modern knowledge of the Trojan War has survived mainly through the account given in Homer’s Illiad, and while having proved to be a rich source of inspiration for other writers, artists, and even filmmakers in recent history, much speculation still exists surrounding his account. I will analyze modern interpretations of the Trojan War and examine both speculation and support for Homer’s account. Concluding with sufficient evidence that has been collected surrounding this epic battle, proving Homer’s account of a massive battle between these two powerful city states to not be just a tale of myth and legend, but actual history.

It is important to keep reading, “The Odyssey.” Even though it is 2800, years old, students still need to learn about it. It is important to continue studying “The Odyssey” because is it a moral story, the historical significance is important, and it is essential to study other culture’s mythology.

One last lesson Odysseus and I have both learned is how tricks can sometimes be successful, yet sometimes they can fail. When sly, cunning Odysseus built the wooden horse to send to Troy as a “surrendering” gift, the Greek who said it was an offering to Troy was convincing enough to bribe the soldiers into bringing the horse inside the walls of Troy. Then, Odysseus and his men snuck out of the horse in the night, defeated the Trojan army, and were finally