Vengeance In The Odyssey Essay

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Among the several epics written by the Greek poet Homer, The Odyssey can be seen as the most prominent of them. It portrays a vast variety of themes that are visualized by the conflicts between characters. Unlike other epics, the interactions are between Odysseus, the protagonist, and a multitude of other characters; in fact there is no clear antagonist in the epic. Amongst these interrelations, the concept of vengeance is prominent and presides behind much of the dialogue; in fact, we can say that one of the predominant themes of the story is that of vengeance. Poseidon’s plotting of Odysseus’ death and the murder of the suitors in The Odyssey provides for a clear depiction of the interactions that externally represent the internal conflict …show more content…

This concept had begun to leave its imprint as soon as Odysseus had won the battle of Troy. In his elation of winning such a battle, Odysseus had allowed himself to relax by falsely claiming that he and his army had won without the help of any of the gods (The Odyssey). Due to Odysseus’ ego, Homer foreshadows the idea that someone would counter his ego with their own in order to avenge their pride; this character would be the God of the Sea, Poseidon. Since Odysseus viewed himself so highly, this had infuriated Poseidon resulting in him cursing Odysseus on the seas. Through this interaction between Odysseus and Poseidon, it is clear how the cursing of Odysseus-- as a result of this interaction-- metaphorically represents this ongoing theme of …show more content…

As Homer claimed “Yet all the gods had pitied Lord Odysseus,/ all but Poseidon, raging cold and rough/ against the brave king till he came ashore/ at last on his own land…” (1.29). This just goes on to illustrate how none of the other gods held anything against Odysseus, but Poseidon continuously prospected for ways to present Odysseus with some of the greatest struggles that man has faced. Then Zeus goes on to declare “... he [Poseidon] does not kill the man;/ he only buffets him away from home./ But come now, we are all at leisure here,/ let us take up this matter of his return,/ that he may sail. Poseidon must relent/ for being quarrelsome will get him nowhere,/ one god, flouting the will of all the gods.” (The Odyssey). In other words, Poseidon has ability to avenge Odysseus as much as his heart desires, but under any conditions Odysseus must be returned to his kingdom alive-- Poseidon can coerce Odysseus to endure such pain without time being a factor of his concern. In this way, Poseidon presenting Odysseus with such struggles illustrates the development of the key theme of

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