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Homer's the Odyssey and his heroic journey
The Rebirth of Heroism from Homer's Odyssey
Homer's the Odyssey and his heroic journey
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The ancient Greek philosopher Plato once said, “let parents bequeath to their children not riches, but the spirit of reverence” (Think Exist). This importance, for parents to pass down the notion of reverence, can be seen in Book One of Homer’s The Odyssey. Set at the fall of Troy, the reader is introduced to, if but briefly, Odysseus, his son Telemachos and the suitors who are after Penelope’s hand in marriage. Throughout the first book, Homer makes it quite apparent that Telemachos and Odysseus are beyond doubt reverential characters and, therefore, set the foundation for being true heroes. The suitors, by contrast, are presented negatively for their lack of respect for and lack of faith in the Gods.
Homer puts his reader immediately with Odysseus after the fall of Troy, in Book One of The Odyssey. The reader is aware that he has not come home to Ithaca and rather finds himself in the possession of the nymph, Kalypso. Though Odysseus has not returned home, he is more fortunate as his other comrades who have perished on the journey home from Troy:
Even so he could not save his companions, hard though
he strove to; they were destroyed by their own wild recklessness,
fools, who devoured the oxen of Helios, the Sun God,
and he took way the day of their homecoming. (Book 1, 6-9)
This quotation demonstrates that though the temptation to eat the oxen existed, Odysseus was able to use the power of his mind to overcome the urge. Additionally, Homer demonstrates that it is Odysseus’s utmost respect and reverence for the Gods which inclines him from succumbing to earthly urges; he knows what is right and is willing to suffer and persevere in respect of the Gods. Through his restraint, Odysseus has proved himself to the read...
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...this expectation in his portrayal of the father and son Odysseus and Telemachos. Both these characters demonstrate a true reverence to the Gods, and Telemachos especially shows that he has a true connection with identifying the divine in his everyday life. This is shown through his utmost respect for xenos as well as his ability to recognize that Athene had paid a visit to him. Furthermore, our true hero, Telemachos, is juxtaposed against the self-righteous, the self centered and the reckless suitors who are unable to observe any divine in their live; whether it is the presence of a God at the threshold of the house they inhabit or in the recognition of the divine singer. Additionally, they do not respect the Gods power in regards to their prayers. Clearly, in Book One, Homer is addressing the idea that a true hero is one who is respects the Gods and their power.
In The Odyssey, Homer conveys a mixed message about Odysseus’s crew. At times, they seem loyal, whereas other scenes reveal them as disloyal. Homer does this to help center the attention on how Odysseus can fall victim to temptation and stand up to take control of his crew. The critical moments where Odysseus and his crew are in disagreement are significant because they demonstrate how Odysseus is epic, yet still human and flawed.
In Odyssey, Homer creates a parallel between Odysseus and Telemachos, father and son. The two are compared in the poem from every aspect. One parallel was the quest of Telemachos, in correlation with the journey of his father. In this, Odysseus is developed from a childish, passive, and untested boy, to a young man preparing to stand by his father's side. This is directly connected to the voyage of Odysseus, in that they both lead to the same finale, and are both stepping-stones towards wisdom, manhood, and scholarship.
Of all the heroic traits such as honor and glory, given to the reader through Homer’s epic poems loyalty seems to be the strongest, as with Patroclus in the Iliad, so it is with Penelope, Telemachus, and Eumaeus in the Odyssey. Through the use of these characters loyalty is demonstrated to Odysseus, the hero if the poem. Their undying loyalty and devotion to the warring hero gives perfect examples of how humans should act to those they claim to be faithful too.
Odysseus, king of Ithaca has been away many years from the land he loves, the wife he cares for, and the son he never knew (Homer 2). Meanwhile back at Odysseus estate, men who would call themselves heroes, noblemen, and even friends of Odysseus wreak havoc upon his estate and household. Telemachus, neither yet a man nor quite being a boy, tries as he might to begot the evil men, but Telemachus tries so in vein. Telemachus is at his wits end when a mysterious stranger arrives at his gate: he then invites his guest in. At this time guests were treated and greeted as if they were a god no matter what their physical appearance may be, for gods would often dress as beggars and seek refuge at ones home in order to test them (Homer 3). Little does Telemachus know that at this point a new chapter in his life is about to unfold before his eyes. Little also does this humble man Abraham know what God has in plan for him, that God will make him the father of a great nation. This stranger unknown to Telemachus is really the goddess Minerva; she has come to this child of Odysseus with information that will set him upon his own journey. After Telemachus and the stranger to his household have eaten, she gives him information that is needed to set him down his own path. The information this visitor has given Telemachus confirms what he has believed: that his father Odysseus is still alive. "But now the the storm-winds have spirited him away we know not whither" (Homer 5).
Throughout The Odyssey by Homer; Odysseus and Telemachus are faced with an extensive journey that leads them to profound development. At the beginning of the epic, Telemachus is a young boy and doesn’t know how to protect his home from the suitors that are attempting to pursue it. Odysseus has been gone for years, and was unable to teach his son how to be a leader or how to defend himself. Meanwhile, Odysseus has been on his journey home enduring all the obstacles of adventure, The Gods, and hardship. They each grow and flourish throughout the poem; Odysseus learns the importance of his presence in his family life and Ithaca. While Telemachus learns how to be a leader, mature as a man and forgive his father for his absence.
The majority of the Odyssey is an account of Odysseus’ adventures trying to reach his homeland of Ithaka. Several of these adventures are false homecomings, the most prominent of which is his imprisonment on Kalypso’s island. This false homecoming is strikingly different from what one would expect of Odysseus’ real homecoming, but similar enough for parallels to be drawn between the two. Homer uses this false homecoming to foreshadow Odysseus’ true homecoming.
... come, in weariness before your knees, your waters? Here is your servant; lord, have mercy on me.” (V, 467-473). Not only does Odysseus prove that he rids himself of hubris, but he also displays the transformation he endured during his hero’s journey, therefore proving his nobility and worthiness of being a hero.
Socrates, a Greek philosopher stated, "Look death in the face with joyful hope, and consider this a lasting truth: the righteous man has nothing to fear, neither in life, nor in death, and the Gods will not forsake him” (Socrates). This explains the basis for Greek beliefs that can be carried over to values and qualities of them. As in this, Homer, the author of The Odyssey, portrays many Greek values that make up a righteous man or as, Homer’s character Odysseus, an epic hero. The Odyssey is the story of King Odysseus' return from the Trojan War to his kingdom of Ithaca. Stories, like The Odyssey, are told with the intent of delivering a message that was important to their culture. Through characters and situations, The Odyssey promotes and emphasizes many important ancient Greek values such as hospitality, pride, and fate.
Homer's two central heroes, Odysseus and Achilles, are in many ways differing manifestations of the same themes. While Achilles' character is almost utterly consistent in his rage, pride, and near divinity, Odysseus' character is difficult to pin down to a single moral; though perhaps more human than Achilles, he remains more difficult to understand. Nevertheless, both heroes are defined not by their appearances, nor by the impressions they leave upon the minds of those around them, nor even so much by the words they speak, but almost entirely by their actions. Action is what drives the plot of both the Iliad and the Odyssey, and action is what holds the characters together. In this respect, the theme of humanity is revealed in both Odysseus and Achilles: man is a combination of his will, his actions, and his relationship to the divine. This blend allows Homer to divulge all that is human in his characters, and all that is a vehicle for the idyllic aspects of ancient Greek society. Accordingly, the apparent inconsistencies in the characterization of Odysseus can be accounted for by his spiritual distance from the god-like Achilles; Achilles is more coherent because he is the son of a god. This is not to say that Achilles is not at times petty or unimaginative, but that his standards of action are merely more continuous through time. Nevertheless, both of Homer's heroes embody important and admirable facets of ancient Greek culture, though they fracture in the ways they are represented.
Have you ever really wanted to eat the last cookie but it took every ounce of self discipline to resist the temptation? That's the way Odysseus and his men feel thought out The Odyssey. But they don't always resist and give into the temptation. Odysseus and his men do not show self discipline through the odyssey.
Identity is a theme that runs strongly throughout The Odyssey. While much of Homer's work is devoted to Odysseus' journey, an examination of his son Telemakhos provides an excellent example of character development. From the anxious and unconfident young man to which Book I opens to the courageous exactor of his father's estate, Telemakhos undergoes notable emotional maturation. The spiritual journey illustrated by Telemakhos, through his own personal odyssey, provides strong evidence that the epic is, indeed, about identity.
Throughout the last books of The Odyssey Homer tells us how Odysseus restores his relationships with his friends and relatives at Ithaca. Perhaps one of the most revealing of these restoration episodes is Odysseus' re-encounter with his son, Telemachus. This re-encounter serves three main purposes. First, it serves to portray Telemachus' likeness to his father in the virtues of prudence, humility, patience, and planning. Secondly, it is Odysseus' chance to teach his son to be as great a ruler as Odysseus himself is. Lastly, Homer uses this re-encounter to emphasize the importance of a family structure to a society. To be able to understand the impact that this meeting had on Odysseus it is necessary to see that Telemachus has grown since his first appearances in the poem and obviously since his last contact with his father; Odysseus left Telemachus as an infant now their relationship is a man to man relationship rather than a man to child relationship.
The challenges that Homer give the protagonist is all a test of character. Odysseus continues to pass the obstacles with flying colors, but his arrogance is the one flaw that is in dire need of correction. Some of the many challenges Odysseus overcomes on his voyage home is defeating the Cicones, surviving the Island of the Lotus Eaters, outsmarting the Giant Cyclops, saving his men from Circe, Traveling to Hades, passing between Scylla and Charybdis, escaping Calypsos’ Island and many more. Odysseus survives these obstacles and uses his smarts to escape near disaster. Often times he was the only one to survive these things and his crew often lost their lives due to their own stupidity. “‘We left the island and resumed our journey in a state of gloom; and the heart was taken out of my men by the wearisome rowing. But was our own stupidity that had deprived us of the wind.’”(P127 L75-79) Odysseus shows how he is an extraordinary man by being much smarter than his crew and the men that follow him. As a part of this stripping of Odysseus, Homer shows that Odysseus is a collective symbol of Everyman. On the one hand Odysseus is a great warrior, who is extremely intelligent, noble, and a great man. Although he has many god- like qualities he is still human. He shows that he is human and like every man, because of the fact that he still has major flaws. The
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.
The Daily Life of Ancient Greeks Life in Greece in ancient times will remind you of your own life in many ways. There were school, family, athletic competitions, and social gatherings. Knowing that participants in their sporting events competed nude or that you rarely knew your husband/wife until the wedding day does however, make you grateful for the society that you live in today. Babies Life for the Greeks in Athens began in their home. Babies were delivered by the women of the family, and only in cases of serious complications was a mid-wife called.