Greed In The Odyssey

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“Greed is a bottomless pit which exhausts the person in an endless effort to satisfy the need without ever reaching satisfaction.” Odysseus and Achilles are so tempted by greed to reach the fame they desire that don't realize they are never reaching satisfaction. Achilles is a hero from the movie “Troy” and Odysseus is a hero from the poem “The Odyssey”, both heroes are greedy for fame. Achilles is sent on a quest to go with the rest of the Greek army to take over Troy but is only interested in his own fame and success. Odysseus is on a quest to get back home to see his family and faces many consequences throughout his journey. Achilles is sent to Troy to seek fame and conquer holy city along with the Greek army. Many times Achilles is overcome with greed in order for him to reach fame such as when he stormed the beach of Troy alone. Odysseus goes through similar challenges of being overcome with greed such as when he was witty to the cyclops and risked the lives of his whole crew. The authors use conflict to convey that people embark upon quests to gain fame and they learn that being too greedy for fame comes with consequences. Achilles, along with the rest of the greek fleet is traveling to Troy by sea and plans to storm the beach and take over the city. Achilles then decides to abandon the rest of the fleet and storm the beach along with just …show more content…

Achilles is talking to his mother when she tells him that if he goes to fight in the war he wil not survive. Achilles then acknowledges this and realises that she is right but is battled between the decision to go in order to gain fame. He ultimately makes the decision to go to war to pursue his desire of gaining fame. This also shows greed as he decides to go because of his wants and doesn't think about others who care about him. Such as his mother who will be in distraught after his

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