One of the oldest, yet most famous works in literature is the esteemed myth called The Odyssey. This epic, or long, narrative poem, was written by Homer, a blind poet, around 650 B.C. and has truly withstood the test of time. The story focuses around a Greek named Odysseus and his troubles after the long war that took place between the Greeks and Trojans, known as the Trojan War which lasted ten years. The tale is written in three distinctive parts, part one being about Odysseus’ wife and son back home, part two centering around Odysseus’ travels that occurred in the ten years it took him to reach Ithaca, his homeland, and part three, concentrating on Odysseus after he gets home and dealing with the changes that have happened in the twenty years he was gone. Religion was a huge factor in ancient Greeks’ lives and shapes much of the poem through the influence of the Greek Gods. In particular, four gods named Poseidon, Athena, Helios, and Zeus had an extremely dramatic impact on the years of …show more content…
Helios is the sun god and has an island full of cattle that he is extremely protective of and does not want his cattle harmed. Odysseus’ men eat his cattle after they had been warned not to and Helios becomes enraged. He forces Zeus to destroy Odysseus’ ship and kill all his men along with it, leaving Odysseus stranded at sea. The anger Helios has can be observed in this quote when he yells ¨And the Lord Helios burst into angry speech amid the immortals: O Father Zeus and gods in bliss, forever punish Odysseus’ men!”(Homer, 1013) Odysseus also speaks of Helios and his intense love for his cattle when he says ¨Fierce the god is who cherishes these heifers and these sheep: Helios;¨ (Homer, 1011) The god Helios stays for a minimal time, but keeps Odysseus from reaching his home soon by seeing his ship and men were destroyed, making Odysseus lost at
Odysseus was weary about it, but he was outnumbered, so, he agreed to stop at the island with only one rule they had to obey. They were not allowed to kill or touch the cattle on the island. The stay at the island was longer than Odysseus had planned, there were strong winds sent by Zeus that didn’t let them go bad out to sea, and forced them to stay in the island for a long time. One night Odysseus fell asleep. His men were starving, overcome by their hunger, they killed the cattle to eat. Once Odysseus found out, he cried out to the gods, “ O Father Zeus and gods in bliss forever, you made me sleep away this day of mischief! O cruel drowsing in the evil hour! Here they sat and a great work they contrived” (Homer 842). Odysseus failed at keeping his men from eating the cattle. The failure broke him down, but he still kept on going with his job, that later soon will led to his success. Odysseus succeeded many times along his journey, but there is always room to grow stronger. Odysseus failed once again at Helios’s Island. Once the winds, that were sent by Zeus, came to a stop, the men were able to carry on with the journey. But soon later, “with a
Homer’s epic poem The Odyssey translated by Robert Fagles completely illustrate Odysseus’s journey home after The Trojan War. Separated into twenty-four different books, the poem describes the hardships Odysseus faces and how he overcomes obstacles. Though this poem is composed for listeners and may seem incomprehensible, Homer includes a plethora of literary devices to help audiences better understand, follow, and enjoy the context of The Odyssey. Throughout this poem instances of epic simile, foreshadowing, epithet, and xenia are included to help the poem flow.
Homer’s The Odyssey, is an epic poem of mythology which includes twenty-four books. The ancient writings focused its topics of discussions on the Trojan War, a hero named Odysseus, and the challenges he faced
The Odyssey by Homer is an epic poem consisting of 24 books that share individual stories. The Odyssey tells a story of Odysseus, son of Laertes, known as a Great hero. Odysseus fought in the Trojan War for ten years and it took another ten years for him to return home to his grieving wife Penelope and son Telemakhos. Throughout the poem, Odysseus and Penelope go through pain, hardships, and sacrifices always showing their heroic qualities of courage and wits.
The Odyssey is one of the oldest well known stories to date, and it is believed to be written around 2000 years ago. Its age is not the most fascinating fact though, the epic poem is comprised of 12,000 lines of death-defying, adventurous tales that are separated into different episodes. The Character traits of the might Odysseus, the structure of The Odyssey, the diction within the epic poem will be explained in this essay.
Homer’s epic poem The Odyssey takes place in and around ancient Greece near the time of the Trojan War. The protagonist is Odysseus, the guile hero and king of Ithaca. Just after his first son Telemachus was born, Odysseus is called to battle in the ten year long Trojan war. After the war, angry at his and his men’s hubris in battle, the gods made the return journey last ten harsh years. Meanwhile, growing up fatherless, Telemachus has to cautiously take charge of the hold, while staying loyal to Odysseus with their home filled with demanding suitors that woo his mother, Penelope. Although Telemachus acts with more caution and didn’t always have his father by his side, they both display loyalty and bravery as warriors in battle.
The crew tries to survive on the provisions on the ship, but when they run out hunger drives the crew to slaughter Helios’s cattle of the Sun. Odysseus had warned them not to kill the cattle, and now he knows they will die. After six days the storm stopped and they set out again, but another storm came from
To support this statement, Helio’s exclaimes,”O Father Zeus and gods in bliss forever, punish Odysseus’ men! So overweening, now they have killed my peaceful kine, my joy at morning when I climb the sky of stars, and evening, when I bore westward from heaven” (Homer 924). Therefore, Odysseus’ men portray disloyalty when they eat Helios’ cattle, and go against their
Brenden Molina Pd. 5 5/24/16 The odyssey How does the gods and monsters affect odysseus voyage? There are many monsters and gods in the book The Odyssey. Whether they are good or bad they always pose a challenge to anyone. They can pose problems to you or they can help pass those problems. The story “The Odyssey” is about a man named Odysseus, who has just won a 10 year trojan war and has to get back home but is faced with many conflicts or challenges. Most of them are the monsters and gods that are in his way of going home also how they pose different life or death decisions that can devastate his troops. It is up to his characteristics to see if he really cared about the safety of his crew or only himself. One example of the monsters being a big problem by effecting Odysseus and his voyage is the Cyclops.
Odysseus faces many gods, frightening sea creatures, and mythical beasts. Odysseus’ first obstacle is Calypso. She loves him and wants to hold him captive on her island forever, but with the help of Hermes, the messenger god, Odysseus and his men are able to leave. While they are sailing, Odysseus and his men find an island and they proceed to raid it for food and other things. After a little while, they meet the cyclops, Polyphemus, who eats many men and poses as a big threat to Odysseus’ journey home.
In ancient Greece, tales of epic heroes spread like wildfire, telling the journeys and quests of warriors with incredible strength, intelligence and bravery. One such writer of these tales was Homer; he was believed to be a blind poet who wrote the Iliad and the Odyssey. The Odyssey follows the journey of a king named Odysseus who is trying to return home after fighting in the Trojan War for ten years. On his journey, he angers a god, Poseidon, and is thrust into an unimaginably difficult quest to get home. He makes some mistakes along the way, and his journey is prolonged by many years through his tests.
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
The Odyssey is an epic poem that showcases the heroic actions contrasted with the grave disasters of Odysseus, a tragic hero on his way home from the war in Troy. The author, Homer, shows through Odysseus’ actions that even a hero such as he, has flaws. Flaws that if not acknowledged and learnt from, can spell grave disaster in the journey yet to come. Many Greeks recognize Odysseus as the most renowned hero of the Trojan war, thanks to his own accounts of his years away from Ithaca. Following the Greek beliefs, many believe that Odysseus couldn’t have kept himself away for so long, for only the gods can do something like this, and Odysseus can’t be the cause of the crew’s deaths, only the gods could be so cruel. While
If it was written nearly 3,000 years ago, it couldn’t be relevant today, could it? The Odyssey, an epic poem, created by Homer is a whirlwind tale of monsters, deadly battles, and heroism, but it also served as a lessons for young Greek boys who needed to learn a thing or two. At nearly 3 centuries old, The Odyssey’s teachings of respect for the higher powers of the world and religion, the dangers of arrogance, and the importance of loyalty, are still applicable to this day
Homer's epic tale The Odyssey is a story of the triumphs and downfalls that are in store for one warrior's long pillage home. Odysseus, the hero from the Trojan wars, has led his people of Ithaca and other Achaean soldiers to victory and now wishes to return home to his wife and family of Ithaca. Through his twenty year journey Odysseus is often tested not only of his physical strength, but his wits as well. The many accomplishments he achieved earned him great status and recognition throughout ancient Greece. The mistakes he made caused the deaths of many men. Consequently, we as readers are able to see the many personas that Odysseus carries with him.