Epics are works of imagination that are often based on legends that hold bits of the truth in them; they are also long narrative poems which tell about a hero’s or heroes’ adventures. It reflects on the principles and ethics of a civilization or origin; these heroes are called epic heroes. The Odyssey was composed by Homer around 800 B.C. to 600 B.C. The Odyssey is about an epic hero, Odysseus, who wants to go home to his beloved wife and son after 10 years of the great Trojan War. Odysseus, The Odyssey’s epic hero’ displays wonderful qualities in his adventures that are honored in Greek society. Odysseus also displays faults, because he is human. One of the many traits that make Odysseus an epic hero is that he is very intelligence and strength. …show more content…
He had cause them to become trapped in Polyphemus' cave. Once back at his ship, Odysseus could have easily sailed away unscathed, but his pride interferes, and he tells Polyphemus his real name and even where he lives so the giant will know who has blinded him: “‘Odysseus, raider of cities, took your eye: Laertes’ son whose home’s on Ithaca!’” Then the Cyclops calls on his father Poseidon to punish Odysseus, and the god of the sea makes Odysseus's home very difficult. Odysseus has an admirable courage, caution, and judgment which he shows on the Island of Aeaea. Odysseus divides his men into two groups. One group to scout the island, while Odysseus and the rest stay behind on the ship. The scouting party is greeted by a beautiful, hospitable goddess with magical charm and a spellbinding voice.The men reassure themselves: “‘Dear friends, no need for stealth: here’s a young weaver singing a pretty song to set the air a-tingle on these lawn and paven courts. Goddess she is, or lady. Shall we greet her?’”(ll.19-23) Circe calls them into her halls and gives them a wine that erases from their memories any thoughts of home. All of the scouting party, except Eurylochus who is suspicious enough to stand outside the house and escape when she turns all of the men to pigs. When …show more content…
Not only must he exercise proper judgment, but he must also recognize that, even if things go well, he still loses six good men. Following Circe's advice, he avoids the whirlpool (Charybdis) and tries the side of the six-headed monster (Scylla). Against his instincts, he pushes through the monster's attack without stopping for a fight, realizing that delay would only cost him more men. He loses the six to a writhing death, the most heart-wrenching experience for Odysseus in all his wanderings, “Voices came down to me in anguish, calling my name for the last
Once he and he men are sailing away from the Cyclops, Odysseus cries back to the Cyclops “if anyone ever asks you how you came by your blindness, tell them your eye was put out by Odysseus, sacker of cities, son of Laertes, who lives in Ithaca.” Odysseus has regretted his earlier decision for Polyphemus to not know his true name, because it means that anyone hearing the tale of a man defeating a Cyclops will not know that it was Odysseus who did it. The arrogant Odysseus does not like this, because he wants all tales of his prowess to be known for his. As he cannot let the chance of more fame escape him, he reveals to Polyphemus his true identity. This sentence, with which he risks the Cyclops throwing a boulder onto their ship, show the readers just how arrogant Odysseus is. It helps the readers understand quite how willing Odysseus is to risk anything if it will add to his
Their next destined endeavor takes them to the land of the Lotos Eaters. The Lotos flower possesses powers which cause men to forget any thought they have of leaving the island. Odysseus, knowing of the Lotus’ special powers, orders his men to avoid the flowers. Three men took it upon themselves to taste the flower and were subsequently drug back to the ships kicking and screaming. Again, Odysseus’ intelli...
"Odyssey" is an epic story that has been a significant piece of literature since it was first composed and will remain so for ages to come. One of the reasons it has been so is because of the hero, Odysseus.
Fortunately, with no chance of escaping out in the open Odysseus used the herd of sheep and “Three abreast I tied them silently together, twining cords of willow from the ogre’s bed: then slung a man under each middle one to ride there safely, shielded left and right”(Homer lines 378-381). Odysseus knew since there was no way out, he thought of a tactic and showed cleverness by tying each of his men under a sheep to get away unseen, then hid under a ram to escape last. Foolishly, as soon as he and his men escaped, Odysseus, out of his own pride told the Cyclops that it was he who plundered his eye and talked poorly to him. As soon as the Cyclops knew his name he cursed Odysseus saying “...Grant that Odysseus, raider of cities, never see his home...Should destiny intend that he shall see his roof again among his family in his fatherland, far be that day, and dark the years between” (Homer lines 486-491). Since Odysseus let his pride take control of him, he acted with great impudence and treated the Cyclops disrespectfully and got himself and his men cursed to never see their home again. While quickly sailing away from the island, Odysseus and his men undergo many misfortunes, one of many losing all but his only ship from cannibals. Luckily, Odysseus and his crew escape only to arrive in the hands of Circe, who turns Odysseus’ men into swine and later tells him to journey to the land
Odysseus saw one of his men, Elpenor, and he asked him, “When you make sail and put these lodgings of dim Death behind, you will moor ship, I know, upon Aeae Island; there, O my lord, remember me, I pray, do not abandon me unwept, unburied, to tempt the gods’ wrath while you sail for home; but fire my corpse, and all the gear I had, and build a cairn for me above the breakers” (Homer 578). He did what Elpenor said and returns to Circe’s island. The goddess warns him about the monsters he will face and gives him advices on what he should not do when he face these monsters. They face the sirens and Odysseus said to his men, “Therefore you are to tie me up, tight as a splint, erect along the mast, lashed to the mast, and if I shout and beg to be untied, take more turns of the rope to muffle me” (Homer 581). Other than tie him up, he also puts beeswax into his men’s ears so that they could not hear the sirens. This plan shows him that Odysseus was being a wise leader and an epic hero. Sirens passed, Scylla and Charybdis are coming up their
In Homer's epic poem, The Odyssey, Odysseus' heroic traits of bravery. resourcefulness, and intelligence are revealed in each adventure. After winning the Trojan war, Odysseus is kept from returning to his kingdom and family in Ithaca by Poseidon, whom he had disrespected with his hubris personality. Odysseus and his men are searching for provisions, when they stumble upon the cyclops cave and become captives of the cyclops. Odysseus must use all of his wits, courage, and surroundings to formulate a plan to keep him, and his men from being eaten by the cyclops, Polyphemus, and get them them safely returned to their ship. Many more challenges await Odysseus even if he can escape the cyclops cave, luckily he will have his patron goddess helping
What constitutes an epic story? Certainly, literary expectations have come to define a story as a series of events revolving around one or more characters. An epic, however, must possess one attribute that a story may or may not contain; a hero. The Odyssey is an epic and therefore, it does contain a hero and perhaps even more than one. A hero cannot simply just exist, though, he or she must be shaped into the role through a series of adventures and misadventures that help the reader sympathize and identify with the hero’s progress towards a specific goal. The Odyssey proves no exception as the hero Odysseus’ ultimate goal of returning home to his beloved Ithaca is hindered by a sequence of events that create the story. Although his own contribution to delaying his return home must not be overlooked, it is primarily the desire of the gods which greatly affects Odysseus progress towards Ithaca.
He always wanted another way to conquer things he never just wanted to pass them, he wanted to face his problems face to face with no fear. Odysseus demonstrates heroic, god-like qualities throughout The Odyssey. In one instance, he cleverly tricks and blinds the Cyclops Polyphemus, saving his crew from certain death. Odysseus also bravely travels to Hades to learn his fate. Upon reaching Ithaca, Odysseus takes on all of Penelope’s suitors, defeating them to reclaim his rightful place.
Beginning on Calypso’s island, Odysseus acts helpless in many ways and relies on others to help him get where he wants to be. Luckily this works, and after 8 years on Ogygia Athena asks Zeus to help free Odysseus. Zeus sends Hermes to the Island where he finds Calypso in her home. “As for the lion-hearted Odysseus, Hermes did not find him in the cave, for he was sitting disconsolate on the shore in his accustomed place, tormenting himself with tears and sighs and heartache, and looking out across the barren sea with streaming eyes” (p.65). He cries while looking at the sea because it reminds him of how he is trapped and away from his family. Although Odysseus is released on this particular day, sitting by the shore and crying is a regular occurrence. Calypso treats Odysseus well on the island, and he can try to control his emotions instead of let them get the best of him. However, his vulnerability is exposed and Odysseus behaves in a way that makes others pity him instead of respect him. He continues to conduct himself this way even when he reaches the Palace of Alcinous in Phaeacia. Laodamas, a Phaeacian man, asks Odysseus if he would like to participate in their competition, and he declines with the excuse that he is too sad. He says, “‘I am too sick at heart to think of games. I have been through many bitter and exhausting experiences, and all I seek now is my
“The Odyssey” is a classic representation of an epic in literature. A Hero’s journey is never an easy one. It is packed with many struggles, loss, pain, headaches, growth, and triumph. To be known as a hero takes a lot, but what is a true hero? To some, a hero might just be a person who is courageous and brave, to others a hero might be a person that is a strong warrior and leader who wins battles; however, to some to others, a hero might just be a person who uses his brain just as much as a warrior uses his sword. Odysseus, in Homer's epic, "The Odyssey", portrays the ideal human qualities that Homer's Greek society mostly admired. Odysseus was known for his physical and mental strength, along with his patient and compassionate intellect.
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
Now Odysseus is finally returning to his home. What will he find there? Only Poseidon, the god of the sea who has been the master of this game. Rumor has it that not even Zeus has been advised of what Odysseus will find in Ithaca. We wonder what Odysseus must be dreaming. Is it the great storm that blew him off course when he tried to return with all his plunder taken from the sack of Troy? Is it the arms of sweet Penelope? Of maybe, just maybe he is dreaming about that first island he and his crew visited after Troy where he blinded poor Polyphemus the Cyclops. What a villain this man is. He took the sight of one who only had one eye. Oh, he is waking.
Picture this: a hero of great legends who travels to the underworld and back to get directions to his home from a blind prophet. It sounds like quite an impossible journey, but that is exactly what makes Odysseus all the more fascinating. The Odyssey, an epic poem orally transmitted by Homer, a Greek poet who wrote The Iliad, had to contain some variety of attributes that Greeks valued in a person. That one embodiment of what the Greeks found intriguing in a character is Odysseus. Odysseus is known as what is called an epic hero. An epic hero is a protagonist of a story that represents the most important attributes of a civilization. Odysseus, being based in ancient Greece, is the embodiment of intelligence, loyalty, and strength.
He and his men are taken from mythical land to the next, given temptations ranging from a supposedly all-healing lotus that replaces any longing for home with that for consuming more of the plant (pg. 115, par. 3) to that of simple human folly and romanticising of glory where there is none to be found. The titular "odyssey" itself, however, begins when Odysseus stumbles upon the land of the cyclopes, is captured, and manages to escape through various dishonorable trickery including intoxicating their king, Polyphemus, with alcohol, and stabbing him in the eye during his following sleep. One way or another, Odysseus and his following find themselves back upon their ship, and Odysseus takes the opportunity to indulge in his illusions of grandeur and taunts his defeated foe, saying the following: "I wish I could be as sure of killing you outright and sending you down to the house of Hades, as I am that it will take more than Poseidon to cure that eye of yours." (pg. 127,
He eats some of his men and traps the rest for his future meals. By the next day Odysseus comes up with a plan to get Polyphemus drunk so he can attack. He gets him drunk with wine from the ship and as he falls with intoxication he stabs him in the eye with a wooden stick and they escape. After escaping Polyphemus, Odysseus and him men head towards the home of Aeolus god of the winds. They were greeted warmly, taken care of and they stayed there for a month. Aeolus gives Odysseus a bag containing all of the winds that might send them in the wrong direction. He tells him that only the West Wind can bring them to Ithaca. After sailing for 10 days, they are so close to home they can see it. Odysseus goes to sleep and his men open the bag that Aeolus gave him thinking that there was going to be gold and treasures in there. When they open it they are automatically sent back to Aeolus’ land and he refuses to help them anymore. Now they must row their way to the land of cannibalistic giants, Laestrygonians. The giants suddenly attack and eat some of his men. The remaining men and Odysseus run towards the ship. He and his men then travel to Aeaea, the home of a beautiful yet dangerous