Vulnerability In Homer's Odyssey

To be human is to be composed of skin, bones, struggle, and discontentment. The average human is constantly reaching for something greater than themselves: stability. We lack stability because we scrutinize ourselves over intellect, self-image, social class, or whatever makes us feel secure. By pursuing our own image of stability, we are forever wandering towards an infinite horizon. The story of The Odyssey by Homer can be used to examine what it means to be human. The Odyssey is about a man named Odysseus, who is lost at sea and faces various delays in attempt to return home. While the delays Odysseus faces are mythological creatures, they represent the day-to-day struggles of the pursue towards stability. A few of the struggles include the Cicones and Polyphemus. The Odyssey reveals the truth about what it means to be human through these delays. The myth can be applied to an endless amount of circumstances when critically examined from different points of view. From my own perspective, Homer’s Odyssey represents the endless struggle I face to find my idea of stability, which is passion.

After Odysseus becomes exhausted from the never-ending torment of life, he searches for a place to rest and comes across an island with the Cicones. The Cicones destroy people by tearing them apart in order to settle their own conflicts and delays. In other words, the Cicones are cannibals that eat odysseus’ men. This reveals that when when people are in a state of exhaustion, they seek shelter. Oftentimes the shelter they seek is not safe and will tear them apart. The Cicones are deceiving because they look human on the surface; in reality, they will destroy people because they only care about