Who Was Responsible For Odysseus's Downfall

In The Odyssey, Odysseus allows all of his men to be killed. Some men were killed by the Cyclops, a huge monster with one eye. Odysseus says, ”Then he tore them apart and gobbled them up like a lion in the wilderness.” All of Odysseus’s men are killed by the end of the book. In another place in the book, six of Odysseus’s best men are killed by the six headed beast Scylla. Odysseus didn’t tell his crew members that he knew people would be killed by the beast.

Resulting in angering Polyphemus’ father, Poseidon, who has curse Odysseus to never return home with years of bad luck. Indicating that Odysseus cockiness has lead Odysseus to try too hard to be heroic in unnecessary situation. Though, a point could be made that the Polyphemus does do bad things to people on the island, but nobody really ask for help from Odysseus. He kind of just take self liberty to bring justice to the people by defeating the Polyphemus. Not to mention, that the Polyphemus offer him a chance to forget all about the incident and be friend, but instead of accepting that offer, Odysseus provoke him even more by saying, “If I could take your life I would and take your time away, and hurl you down to hell!” (line 480, pg. 997). To put in simpler term, Odysseus indicate that he will never befriend the Cyclops for he is horrible creature that should be annihilated. Showing the reader how rashly Odysseus made his decision, as he could have make friend with Polyphemus, and continue on to his voyage home instead of putting himself in a bad position by insulting the Cyclop. Lastly, another quality that is bad about Odysseus is that he is selfish. For once, when he has come across an island on his way from Troy, he had decided to raid the village and take women as hostages for sexual pleasure. Showing how he is only doing this for his own need and not caring about the people that live in that village. He

First of all, Odysseus was very selfish during their journey back to Ithaca. For example,“We lit a fire, burnt an offering, and we took some cheese to eat; then sat in silence around the embers, waiting”(Homer 219-222). If Odysseus took the cheese and left, his men would not have had to dealt with Polyphemus. He put himself before his men because he wanted a gift from the cave owner. Odysseus was also selfish when he sailed near the lands of Sirens.“Steer wide; keep well to seaward; plug your oarsmen’s ears with beeswax kneaded soft”(Homer 669-671). Although Circe told Odysseus to steer clear of the area, Odysseus wanted to be known as the man who survived a Siren’s song. He put his own men in danger just because he wanted to become famous. Odysseus was also very arrogant to think that he could get past the Sirens.

When people think of a hero, they think of a tall, handsome, loyal, brave, and a type of man that could do no wrong. The “hero” that is portrayed in the Odyssey is a man named Odysseus. This “hero” may be tall and handsome, but he is often arrogant, disrespectful, conceited, and rude. Odysseus consists of positive and negative characteristics that is shown in the text by Homer. These characteristics impact the characters day to day, or in the book’s case, the quests. In the Odyssey, Homer values the characteristics hospitality and cunning, but he objects bad leadership.

Odysseus describes this incident himself “I called back with another burst of anger, ‘Cyclops--if any man on the face of the earth should ask you who blinded you, shamed you so--say Odysseus, raider of cities, he gouged out your eye, Laertes’ son who makes his home in Ithaca!” (Homer 227). This is a clear representation about how his overconfidence in himself has gotten the better of him. This causes Polyphemus to bellow out what Odysseus did to his father, Poseidon, “Hear me -- Poseidon, god of the sea-blue mane who rocks the earth! If I really am your son and you claim to be my father-- come, grant that Odysseus, raider of cities, Laertes’ son who makes his home in Ithaca never reaches home. Or if he’s fated to see his people once again and reach his well-built house and his own native country, let him come home late and come a broken man-- all shipmates lose, alone in a stranger’s ship-- and let him find a world of pain at home!”(Homer 228). This is the reason that Odysseus came home late, the reason why he was alone, and the reason why he had such a rough, terrible, journey back to his homeland

In the Odyssey, Odysseus is quite the legend known to people, whether you are high up in the sky with Zeus, or deep in the ocean with Poseidon, everyone knows Odysseus. In the epic poem, the Odyssey told by the one and only Homer, the brave, the godlike human, Odysseus is finding his way home after the big battle victory against the Trojans. This story is about his travels home and how he got caught up in other business. Let’s just say he stabbed Poseidon’s son, had his crew turned into pigs, faced a six-headed monster and whirlpool, and that is to say the least. He may as well be on America’s most wanted list with all the trouble he was causing. Even though Odysseus is a troublemaker, he has multiple great characteristics of a leader. Odysseus, when it comes to his crew and family, is confident, compassionate, wise, and always knows a way to get out of any problem.

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.

When they were involved with the Cyclops, Odysseus was a very brave, smart, and caring man (although he did do some bad things as a leader too). He came up with a very clever plan to hurt the Cyclops, which he did do. Then he told the Cyclops his name was “Nobody” so he

Odysseus' crew is loyal to Odysseus by following his every command and having the same goal: to return to Ithaca. As mentioned, “Odysseus' crew was loyal to him throughout his journey, up until the point where they were killed” (Charley). An instance of loyalty shown by Odysseus’ crew is against the Cyclops. The crew puts their faith in Odysseus and follows Odysseus’ exact orders in order to survive. Like when Odysseus told his crew to help him stab the Cyclops, they did without hesitation.“When morning comes, Odysseus and his men escape from the cave, unseen by the blind Polyphemus, by clinging to the bellies of the monster’s sheep as they go out to graze” (“Sparknotes” 9). The men trusted Odysseus, followed his leadership, and were able to survive. On the other hand, Odysseus’ crew shows disloyalty towards him multiple times throughout the book. An excellent example of the crew’s disloyalty is on the island of the sun god, Helios. When on the island of Helios, Odysseus tells his men not to eat Helios’ sun cattle in order make in back to Ithaca safely. However, they disobey Odysseus. “...A storm keeps them beached for a month, and at first the crew is content to survive on its provisions in the ship. When these run out, however, Eurylochus persuades the other crew members to disobey Odysseus and slaughter the cattle of the Sun. They do so one afternoon as Odysseus sleeps…” (“Sparknotes” 12-14). Thus, because

Odysseus is spoken to by Eurylochus when the ship is nearing an island and still does not realize what he has done to his crew even when Eurylochus says “‘your crew’s half-dead with labor, starved for sleep’” (12.305). Eurylochus’ words go straight through Odysseus, as he only responds with a plea that would put him on good terms with the gods, not what would keep his crew safe and sound. Odysseus does not realize what he has done to so many valuable lives, he only continues to think about himself. Next, Eurylochus continues to step on Odysseus, telling him how inconsiderate it is for him to keep them cooped up on the ship and not letting them off to rest on land (12.306). Still, Odysseus is absolutely clueless on what he has done wrong. The men are fighting against him, yet he stands there and takes it as he does not think what they are saying is correct. After Odysseus finally step onto the island, having already enforced to the crew that the cattle should be left unharmed, he comfortably sits back as they “slaughtered and skinned the cattle” (12.386). If he really worried about the consequences, he would have supervised his crew while on the island. Instead, he fell asleep and left his crew to do exactly what they were not supposed to. Though, when he woke up and saw what the crew had done, he was quick to pray

Odysseus frequently displays hubris as a result of his tremendous courage and justifiable pride throughout books 9-12 of Homer’s epic poem, The Odyssey, although this flaw reveals that even heroes can have imperfections. For instance, concealing his identity is key to Odysseus defeating the Cyclops, however his arrogance leads him to reveal himself as a “raider of cities” (9.561), demonstrating his desire to be recognized for his destructive power. Furthermore, even though he only flatters himself, Odysseus successfully motivates his men in the face of yet another threat, by boasting that his “tactics saved [them] all” (12.230), as if his actions alone rescued the rest of his crewmates. Odysseus’ crew admires him for his fearlessness, and they

At the end of The Cyclops, Odysseus and his men escape the Cyclops cave and they are so close to making it back to the ship, but then Odysseus shouts, “Cyclops if ever mortal man inquire how you were put to shame and blinded, tell him Odysseus, raider of cities, took your eye.” (Homer 996). Odysseus and his men almost make it out without the Cyclops knowing who they are and Odysseus ruins it all because he wants to be noticed. Although Odysseus makes it out of the cave, he loses all of his men during the process. Odysseus’s pride is what causes the downfall of his men. This proves he is a lousy leader because he does not think of the danger he put himself or his men in by saying this so he just made a high risk and endangers his men. “Leaders also use social influence to inspire others to achieve a common goal.” (Comstock). Odysseus has a negative social influence on the situation with the Cyclops because he tells the Cyclops his name which then puts him and his men all in danger, just because he wants credit. This clearly proves Odysseus is a terrible leader. As a result, Odysseus appears to be an awful leader because he causes problems and only thinks about

Odysseus is a walking conflict machine. Wherever he goes, something is bound to go wrong, which is turns out alright for him, because he is lucky, and helped by the Gods, but his men...not so much. When Odysseus demands a gift from Polyphemus, saying “...here we stand, beholden for your help, or any gifts you give--as custom to honor strangers.” (11). By saying this, Odysseus creates a big conflict that ends up killing many of his men. Odysseus, of course, is spared, but a lot of his men are eaten alive. They did more than Odysseus in trying to avoid this situation, but he refused, and they paid the price for it, all because they happened to be less lucky than Odysseus. Odysseus being favored by the Gods is always a huge stroke of luck when conflict rolls around, no matter the conflict. They can’t even punish him correctly. When he disobeyed their direct orders about eating Helios’s cows, the still protected him right after punishing him. When Odysseus is on the verge of death because of their punishment, and at ready to be eaten by Scylla, Homer writes, “ Never could I have passed her had not the father of gods and men, this time, kept me from her eyes.”(23). Another example of this is when Odysseus and his crew mates land on Circe’s island, he sends his men first to investigate. When before he can catch up to them, a God stops him, and warns him of a

Throughout history, tales of great heros, gruesome monsters, beautiful enchantresses, and mighty gods have been told. One such tale that is very important to the greeks is the Odyssey. The main character, “Odysseus, was very important to the greeks because he was relatable to the greeks because he was a mortal man who relied not on superhuman strength, but the power of his own mind” (Mr. Carroll). Although clever, Odysseus has many flaws, and because he was greedy, arrogant, and he lets his crew die, Odysseus is not a hero.

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