Comparing The Odyssey and Modern Day Soldiers The Odyssey is a tale that starts off with a man (Odysseus) who went off to fight in a war and was not able to come back until 20 years later. He left behind a beautiful wife, a son, and a dog. Many modern day soldiers have to leave their families for long periods of time. Both the Odyssey and modern day soldiers have hardships and obstacles they face when they are returning home or if they are still in combat. Many soldiers develop a disorder called post traumatic stress disorder or in other words PTSD. PTSD is very common after coming back from combat or any type of battle. Statistics show that every 6 out of 10 men (60%) and every 5 out 10 women (50%) develop PTSD after returning home from combat. Odysseus faces many troubles and must work through them and face his many challenges. …show more content…
The sea served as an object that could stop Odysseus from getting where he needed to be. Modern day soldiers have many obstacles that they must overcome. These obstacles can be many things such as drug or alcohol use if they are offered some, and they must overcome the fear they face if they see someone in their unit be killed. The men being killed can also relate with Odysseus when his some of his men were eaten by the cyclops Polyphemus when they entered his home (a cave). Later Odysseus and what was left of his man took a wooden stake and drove it into the eye of Polyphemus to be able to escape from his cave. Little did they know that Poseidon (god of the sea) was the father of Polyphemus, he told his father of the terrible thing Odysseus had done and Poseidon caused Odysseus to have a rough journey
The first bad decision that Odysseus made was poking Polyphemus’ eye out. Even though it was necessary to escape, poking the sea god’s son’s eye out is never a good idea. To make matters worse, Odysseus bragged about his accomplishment later to the cyclops. The only reason why it took Odysseus ten extra years to get home was because Poseidon was angry at him for severely injuring his son. Also, if Odysseus would not have revealed his name to the cyclops, Polyphemus would never have known who poked his eye out. In return, Polyphemus would never had told his father, Poseidon, that Odysseus injured him and that he should give him a hard time on his journey home. So, if Odysse...
The Greeks had many fears. The fear that seems perplexed is of the sea. One might think because they are geographically surrounded by sea they would have learned how to cope and master skills of the sea. They did not; it is proven in the odyssey that ancient Greeks feared the ocean. They feared the violence that the ocean can bring upon them. They thought ocean was an endless trap to death. Laodamas the son of king Phoenicia explained that there is “Nothing worse than the sea, I always say, to crush a man, the strongest man alive.” (Odyssey. P. 195). He could have seen what the sea had done to Odysseus. Odysseus, the greatest hero in the odyssey, was beaten and sabotage by the ocean. If the sea had done that to him, it might have killed and ordinary person in Odysseus position. The ancient Greeks recognize the destruction the ocean can bring upon them. That is the reason the sea was considered to be one of the most frightening things. The reason the...
Odysseus and some of his men went to investigate to see what these Cyclops were like. Unfortunately, they stumbled upon a Cyclops that had no intention of being nice. His name was Polyphemus who was the son of Poseidon. He took Odysseus’s men and ate them every night and would keep Odysseus and his men hostage. Odysseus made a clever escape and blinded the Cyclops. When Odysseus finally made it back on the ship with the remaining men that went along with him, Odysseus got a little too angry and shouted from the ship to Polyphemus and insulted him. Polyphemus prayed to the god, Poseidon and cursed Odysseus. This was on page 77, lines 526-533, book
Odysseus faces life-threatening adversities in the sea and the situation only continues to worsen from there. A reader can easily picture the “whole storms of all the winds and covered earth and ocean alike”(291-292). Once the unique sentence structure is deciphered vivid images form. Epics intend to portray the central hero in action. Calypso eloquently, but with peculiar language paints the image of the battle, in this case, our Greek king facing the raging storm. While Odysseus fares in the stormy sea in an unnerved state he fears the goddess is correct regarding her assumption of his journey home being filled with pain. Accurately the circumstances he finds himself in are specified with a reference to the Danaans. Odysseus tells himself, “Thrice and four times blessed are the Danaans who perished” (305). Danaans is a title Homer utilizes to label the expeditionary force of Troy, the Greeks. As the, now, solitary hero confronts the wrath of Poseidon believes himself to be more unfortunate than the miserable Greeks during a difficult time. The pain he is experiencing is apparent when such remark is made. Odysseus continues to reveal and provide insight on his hardship. Specifically, he comments the Danaans lost while “doing the pleasures of the sons of Atreus” (306). A better sense of the ruthless waves and circumstances Odysseus is in is
In the article “Stories of the Trojan War,” it talks about how the gods are raged by the disobedience of the mortals which caused uproar during the time (Peabody). One of the gods that seemed to have a raging authority was Poseidon, god of the sea. He made the journey of Odysseus very hard. For instance, Poseidon would make the sea’s rage, blew Odysseus and his crew off track, and last he strikes them with thunder. That ultimately destroys the crew; except for Odysseus who is left stranded until found by Calypso (Puchner). The actual cause of Poseidon’s anger was due to the fact that Odysseus had killed Poseidon’s son, Polyphemus in a horrific manner. Also, because Odysseus was not appreciative of the fact that Poseidon helped keep his secret of his plot to invade with the
Polyphemus ate four men of Odysseus' crew and in return, Odysseus and his remaining crew administered justice: 'Seizing the olive pole, they drove its sharpened end into the Cyclops' eye'; (pg. 135). In doing this, they were able to escape and they set sail. Odysseus, carried away in his pride, announced his identity to Polyphemus. When he had heard Odysseus' name, Polyphemus called upon his father, Poseidon, to adminis... ... middle of paper ... ...
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, also known as PTSD, is an anxiety disorder that can develop after a traumatic event (Riley). A more in depth definition of the disorder is given by Doctor’s Nancy Piotrowski and Lillian Range, “A maladaptive condition resulting from exposure to events beyond the realm of normal human experience and characterized by persistent difficulties involving emotional numbing, intense fear, helplessness, horror, re-experiencing of trauma, avoidance, and arousal.” People who suffer from this disease have been a part of or seen an upsetting event that haunts them after the event, and sometimes the rest of their lives. There are nicknames for this disorder such as “shell shock”, “combat neurosis”, and “battle fatigue” (Piotrowski and Range). “Battle fatigue” and “combat neurosis” refer to soldiers who have been overseas and seen disturbing scenes that cause them anxiety they will continue to have when they remember their time spent in war. It is common for a lot of soldiers to be diagnosed with PTSD when returning from battle. Throughout the history of wars American soldiers have been involved in, each war had a different nickname for what is now PTSD (Pitman et al. 769). At first, PTSD was recognized and diagnosed as a personality disorder until after the Vietnam Veterans brought more attention to the disorder, and in 1980 it became a recognized anxiety disorder (Piotrowski and Range). There is not one lone cause of PTSD, and symptoms can vary from hallucinations to detachment of friends and family, making a diagnosis more difficult than normal. To treat and in hopes to prevent those who have this disorder, the doctor may suggest different types of therapy and also prescribe medication to help subside the sympt...
Like David who is favoured by God, Odysseus is favoured by some of the gods and goddesses who reside on Mount Olympos. Zeus, the king, however, feels neutral and will help according to what he sees fit. When Odysseus and his crew realizes they are trapped and are bound to be eaten by the Cyclops, the son of Laertes has the idea of having the big brute drink wine till he is passes out and then drive a burning stake into his eye, blinding him. Of course it would’ve been easier to just kill Polyphemos, but then no one would be able to move the hefty boulder blocking the entrance. So afterwards, all the men clung onto the sheep and rams, hanging from their underbelly, and waited until they would be released into the pasture. With four men eaten, but everyone else free including Odysseus, he hollers from his boat, “‘Zeus and the other gods have paid you back!’” (Odyssey. l. 536) and starts this shouting contest between them. From this, Odysseus tells him his real name. Polyphemos is rather shocked by this knowledge because a prophecy had warned him about this blinding event, expecting someone who was a good-looking giant, and continues to call Odysseus a tiny coward for tricking instead of fighting him. What’s different between Polyphemos and Goliath, other than the fact that one is a mythical being and the other just abnormally enormous in height, is that a god favoured the former of the two. Ever since the Trojan War, some of the other Olympians, especially Poseidon, have been making Odysseus’ journey home a devastating hardship. Polyphemos, as son of the earthquake god, prays to Poseidon that Odysseus return home with a broken spirit after several
To start, within the course of The Odyssey, Odysseus displays hubris through many of his actions. The most prominent instance in which Odysseus shows hubris is while he and his men are trying to escape from the Cyclops Polyphemus. They drug the monster until it passes out, and then stab him with a timber in his single eye. Polyphemus, now blinded, removes the gigantic boulder blocking Odysseus’ escape, and waits for the men to move, so he can kill them. The men escape from the cave to their boat by tying themselves under flocks of rams, so they can easily slip by. Odysseus, now proud after beating the giant, starts to yell at Polyphemus, instead of making a silent escape. Odysseus’ men ask him to stop before Polyphemus would “get the range and lob a boulder” (436). But Odysseus shows hubris by saying that if they were to meet again, Odysseus would “take your life” and “hurl you down to hell!” (462; 463). Polyphemus, now extremely angry with Odysseus, prays to his father, Poseidon, to make Odysseus “never see his home” again, and after which, throws a mountain towards the sound of Odysseus’ voice. (470). Because of Odysseus’ hubris after blinding Polyphemus, Poseidon grants the prayer, and it takes Odysseus 20 years to return home, at the cost of the lives of all his men.
Before letting him leave the island, Circe tells Odysseus that he must face Scylla, a sea monster, and Charybdis, a whirlpool. Circe says, “Better by far to lose six men and keep you ship” (274). Odysseus is told beforehand that no ship could pass unscathed, but he chooses to not to tell his crew. He knowingly sacrifices his crewmembers’ lives and has no qualms about it, which shows his inner selfishness. He makes sure to protect his own life, but he sees his crew as disposable. Homer characterizes Odysseus this way in order to convey his views about humanity: humans are instinctively selfish. Odysseus also carelessley kills his remaining crew when he taunts the Cyclops. After hearing Odysseus’s name, Polyphemus prays to Poseidon and asks that Odysseus “never reaches home” but if he is destined to return, make sure he returns “a broken man—all shipmates lost, alone in a strangers ship” (228). If Odysseus had never told Polyphemus his name, he and his crew might have made it home more quickly and safely. Instead, his hubris causes an inescapable curse. Odysseus cannot bear the thought of forfeiting his fame, which leads to even more hardship on his quest to return home. Homer uses Odysseus to demonstrate the danger of egotistical
Men are not perfect all the time and can make mistakes that they regret later on. In The Odyssey, Odysseus and his men make mistakes that have effects on them. To begin, one mistake Odysseus makes is when he was so proud of himself for defeating the cyclops. After he got his ship ready and thought that he won he kept on taunting Polyphemus, who was the son of the Poseidon. Odysseus was so amused about how they just defeated cyclops that he didn't know what he was saying which is the mistake he was doing. He reveals to Polyphemus that he was the Odysseus, raider of the cities, Laertes’ son, and the man from Ithaka. Polyphemus then tells his father, Poseidon, to cast a curse upon Odysseus and his journey back home. Since Odysseus was on a ship in the sea, Poseidon had a great way to make sure his journey wasn't as great since he was the god of the sea.
Post-Traumatic stress disorder is a psychiatric disorder that may develop after one has been a victim or witness of a traumatic event (What is PTSD). Men and women who served in the Vietnam War were vulnerable to many acts of violence and death such as guerilla warfare. After being discharged from the Armed Forces, they may experience flashbacks when a trigger brings back a memory or they may also suffer from nightmares or insomnia due to specific rattling experiences (Riley, Julie). Not being able to sleep can have some deteriorating effects on the body which can make life after war very hard to adjust to. The transfer of the Armed Forces back home life can be somewhat of a culture shock. However, anyone can develop PTSD. A person who has been a victim of abuse, an unexpected death/accident, or even a survivor of a natural disaster is at risk of being diagnosed with this disorder (Mental Health America). They may experience some symptoms of; depression, irritability, insomnia, flashbacks, they may complain of headaches or stomach pain, and may become reserved (Riley, Julie). These indicatio...
When they arrive at Ithaca, they place Odysseus on a beach while he is sound asleep. Poseidon sees that Odysseus has reached home and asks Zeus if he can punish Odysseus for the final time. Zeus suggests he punish the Phaecians instead for helping Poseidon's enemy. Therefore, as the Phaecians' ship is just outside the reach of their harbor on the journey home…Poseidon sends the ship crashing into the rocks. Alcinous then speaks of a prophecy that his father told him - that the great god Poseidon would punish them, crash one of their ships, and raise a mountain blocking their harbor.
middle of paper ... ... In Homer’s Odyssey, both Odysseus and his son Telemachus embark on long, difficult journeys; Odysseus trying to return from Troy to his home in Ithaca, escaping Calypso and the island of Ogygia, and Telemachus from Ithaca to Pylos and Sparta in search of his lost father. While The Odyssey tells of the courage both men demonstrate during their respective travels, their quests are the results of the intentions and desires of gods. Odysseus is trapped in exile on Ogygia by the will of Poseidon, whose anger Odysseus attracts when he blinds the Cyclops Polyphemus, son of Poseidon, and by the love of Calypso, who wishes to make Odysseus her husband.
To start off, for many of the soldiers who returned from the war the battle for many was still not over. The war they fought was long , but the scars of war haunted their life.PTSD is one of the many illness that a soldiers obtained after a war ended.PTSD , which