What Is The Destructive Behavior In Homer's Odyssey

In the Epic, “The Odyssey", spoken by Homer, conveys a heroic tale of an epic hero named, Odysseus, who faces many challenges as he sails to get home. One of the tasks Odysseus faces is, "The Sirens", who challenge Odysseus 's will power. Another challenge Odysseus encounters is, “The Cyclops", who torments and slaughters some of Odysseus 's men due to his curiosity. One of the hardest threats he had to confront was, “The Land of Dead" which tested his self-restraint, and revealed his human weaknesses of sorrow. The Epic Hero, Odysseus, struggles with many challenges such as, the taunting Sirens, the brutish and cruel Cyclops, and one of the arduous territories Odysseus has ever crossed, The Land of the Dead.

The Odyssey by Homer is a great text that manipulates the skill of storytelling bringing out the meaning of being human, the spiritual and physical homecoming. It is an archetypal epic expedition essential for understanding ourselves and other modern texts following the same pattern. The text brings out the ancient Greek beliefs and customs that are essential in studying Western Literature through the evaluation of different characters, and the themes manifested are essential in establishing a good foundation for any literature student. The themes therein such as leadership skills, folly, retaliation, mythology, death, ogres, temptation seduction, deceit, and warfare make the text an essential student companion in the quest of comprehending literature.

The sum of all human traits is defined as human nature, meaning the excuse for our vices, and the flaws of mortal life. In Homer's The Odyssey, the main character Odysseus demonstrates these flaws throughout his journey, constantly struggling through the eternal fight for realization of life and death, and is weighed down by the never ending power struggle of nature versus mankind.

Homer’s The Odyssey is not just a tale of a man’s struggle on his journey home from the Trojan War, but of his struggle from the consequences of revenge. The Odyssey weaves in different characters’ tales of revenge from the gods and what impact revenge actually had on those characters. Revenge is an important underlying theme in The Odyssey because, in essence, it explains why Odysseus’ journey was so prolonged and treacherous. A few examples of revenge in the poem include Orestes’ revenge on Aegisthus, Zeus’ revenge on Odysseus and his men, and Poseidon’s revenge on Odysseus. These different examples of revenge in The Odyssey show the importance of the gods’ revenge in the epic journey of Odysseus.

The eight Greek Evil thoughts were a set of guidlines for the ancient greeks to follow. These guidelines helped the ancient greeks a better life. In The Odyssey, Odyssesus and his crew come to an island of cyclops an they stole food. Polythemus a gaint they met got mad then, ate two of his crew members and then, Odyssesus got him drunk and poked his eye. Odyssesus demonstrates some of the Greek evil thoughts. Philargryia is when someone is greedy or doing whatever it takes to get something, greed leads restlesses because when someone is greedy it’s caused by. Odysseus describes, “We lit a fire, burnt an offering, and took some cheese to eat; then sat in silence around the embers, waiting,” (The Cyclops. [219). This reveals Philargyria which is greed.

In the “Odyssey”, Odysseus goes through obstacles throughout the book that a normal man couldn’t subside. One example is in book 9, his main obstacle that he is trying to face is to escape from being held hostage in a cave by a Cyclops better known as Polyphemus. Odysseus is a archetypal hero, he is also a role model, with an ambition to get to his homeland Ithaca. He goes through resisting temptation and using his intellect and physical strength to get him there, no matter the obstacle nor the negative flaws that he faces. Odysseus put himself and his men in that situation by being curious and wanting to know what kind of land his ship and the winds led him to. This was selfish of him because it cost him some of his men, but a leader and hero has to play that role and some lives will be dealt with on the way. Odysseus says, “The rest of you will stay here while I go with my ship and crew on reconnaissance. I want to find out what those men are like, Wild savages with no sense of right or wrong Or hospitable folk who fear the gods” (Homer 429). Saying this quote alone makes Odysseus a humble man due to the fact that not even a piece of land is going to slow him down on his journey back home.

The Odyssey by Homer is a literary classic that presents many themes about the natures of both man and god. Although the characters of the book display characteristics relatable to those of the people today, one of the most prevalent differences between the two eras and their people is the intense violence that takes place throughout the entirety of the epic. This violence serves several functions in the work as a whole. The violence that is enacted upon the characters of The Odyssey serve as a device to convey the Greek cultural value of reverence of the gods and as a method for the author to create nuances to his characters.

“Sing to me of the man, Muse, the man of twists and turns ... start from where you will—sing for our time too” (I, 1, 12). From the very beginning, Homer shows his intention for themes of The Odyssey to be applicable in the modern age and essentially “sing for our time” (I, 12). Homer’s epic provides the ideal reflection upon the very definition of heroism because it details the strenuous journey of Odysseus, a crafty hero whose key priority is to return home to his family. As one of the most prominent themes, The Odyssey carries forth the idea of heroism through the portrayal of Odysseus, and establishes a connection with the real world through the expression of life lessons. Consequently, Odysseus is characterized to serve as a role model for the successful hero because, after all, the poem is essentially centered on his very name. However, The Odyssey simultaneously conveys that an entirely perfect hero may be impossible, but a means for improvement is always present. The attributes for success that are revealed in The Odyssey can be examined under interconnected ideas of passion, perseverance, and prowess. Thus, heroism is the most compelling theme of The Odyssey because it exemplifies the attributes for success while also demonstrating that heroes are not without mortal flaws.

In the beginning humans ate from the tree of knowledge and were expelled from paradise. Thus all humans were damned, jesus the son of God who is innocent comes and dies for you through his death we are to be saved.

The 8 Greek Evil Thoughts were known as morals in Greek time to illustrate the characteristics people showed. The greek believed that evil was any practice that took a person away from communication at the highest level. During the episode “The Cyclops” Odysseus and his men are in the Cyclops cage after they tell him that Poseidon crashed their ship, the Cyclops knowing that Poseidon would not just crash anyone’s ship traps them and begins to feast on some of them. Odysseus then comes up with a plan to escape by hurting the Cyclops and the stealing his sheep. Through Odysseus’s actions and words he shows three evil thoughts Hyperephania ( pride “narcissism”), Orge (anger), Kenodoxia ( boasting). Odysseus shows detriment from the first evil

As I began to read Homer’s The Odyssey, I must admit that I was searching for acts of chaos in the most general form. I was looking for Homer to express his views of chaos vividly and distinctly. However, Homer does something different. He imbeds his imagery of chaos in the journey of Odysseus’s son (Telemachus) to avenge his father by getting rid of his mother’s suitors, and by bringing word of his father’s return back to Ithaca. One chaotic point that stood out to me in Homer’s The odyssey was when Telemachus was expressing his fear of living in his own home because he was afraid his mother’s suitors would kill him “ They are eating us out of house and home, and will kill me someday (184).” This was a chaotic point because during the time

Some of the most famous Greek heroes, including Herakles, Perseus, and Theseus have all restored order in times of chaos. This reoccurring theme of chaos to calm is particularly evident in Homer’s Odyssey. The Odyssey retells a series of events where Odysseus encounters and overcomes chaos, before he finally returns home and restores order to Ithaka. By using the chaos created from the suitors, the monsters and the internal dilemma on whether he should continue his quest for nostos or to abandon it, Homer emphasizes the need for Odysseus to instill peace where there is chaos.

Homer’s The Odyssey, is an epic poem. It includes many of the typical elements of an epic poem, such as a hero of legendary proportions, supernatural involvement, and superhuman qualities. A fair amount of the epic is driven by violent fights and in fact, the story starts and ends with intense fights. Homer’s

Homer’s epic poem The Odyssey follows Odysseus on his long journey home. The Epic also includes the stories of Odysseus’ family left behind: the travels of his son, Telemachus, and how plenty, of what we would now call “home wreckers”, suitors pressured his wife, Penelope, into marrying one of them. The characters are beautifully crafted and the story is truly epic. All the elements presented can bring in any reader from any century, the Cyclops, the Gods, the trickery of Penelope, and the disguises of Odysseus, are all legendary literary hooks . There are many things to learn—about writing, about the world around us, the world ahead of us, and the past behind us—from The Odyssey. (26) It is undeniably evident that this ancient text has

What does it really mean to get back at somebody?In the Odyssey, vengeance is an important theme that makes the plot very interesting. In a story there needs to be conflict in order to make a good plot. In case of the Odyssey, there is vengeance between one of the Gods and Odysseus. There is also vengeance when when Odysseus reclaims his land. The points of vengeance all have a purpose and it enfolds throughout the story.