The English Dictionary defines hubris as “extreme pride and arrogance shown by a character that ultimately brings about his downfall”. Hubris is a fatal flaw in the personality of a character who enjoys a powerful position; as a result of which, he overestimates his capabilities to such an extent that he loses contact with reality. A character that suffers from hubris tries to cross normal human limits, usually violating moral codes. Examples of hubris are found in major characters of tragic plays. Like hubris, Odysseus’ curiosity leads him to lose sight of reality and causes the downfall of him and all of his men, Homers recall of the incidents with Polyphemus, the Laestrygonians, and Circe in the ‘Odyssey’ reinvent the idea of hubris, no …show more content…
It is the quest for answers and the need for food and supplies that leads him and his men into the cave, unaware of what they might encounter. With no idea of what might be in store for them, Odysseus’ leads his men into the cave, “Ah, how sound that was! Yet I refused. I wished to see the cave man, what he had to offer- no pretty sight, it turned out, for my friends.” (Book XI, ln 171-174). This example of curiosity is followed by the loss of six men. Homer tells this story in order to reflect on the idea that curiosity comes with consequence. It is important that this trait be given to Odysseus because, like pride, his curious sprit inevitably causes the downfall of his mission. This example is what keeps Odysseus from being able to sail …show more content…
Odysseus’ curiosity, leads him to the island of the Laestrygonians. “No cattle could be seen or buildings, only a trace of smoke rising inland. So I sent a party of my men to find out what sort of beings lived there. I chose two to go and a third as herald” (Book X, Ln. 169-71). Lacking that of a good leader, Odysseus and his men in for answers. Homer interprets Odysseus’ curiosity as the reason his men have to die. Odysseus lacks the ability to see the consequences of his actions. In reaction to his curiosity, Odysseus looses all but one ship full of
The Odyssey, usually accredited to Homer, contains several key conflicts which strengthen readers’ understanding of the protagonists. The conflicts are of particular help in understanding the hero Odysseus’ reasons for his actions. One episode in which Odysseus displays his key character traits of arrogance, cunning, and recklessness is book 9, in which Odysseus defeats the Cyclops Polyphemus.
Through some other clever thinking, he eventually got the rest of his men to the ships and they safely got underway. And it is at this particular point that Odysseus displays some conspicuously poor leadership. Instead of cutting his losses and and sailing away after losing just six men, he
The Odyssey states,”My men were mutinous...so doom appeared to us. Six benches were left empty on every ship.”(563). Odysseus’ men did not listen to him, and as a result many good men died. If they had all listened to him, they would have survived the experience. In The Odyssey, the prophet Tiresias says,”...all of this shall be just as I foretold.”(579). This prophet gave Odysseus warnings because he knew what would happen if Odysseus and his men did not follow his instructions. He also knew Odysseus’ men would disobey him, and he made this known to Odysseus. Also in the Odyssey, Odysseus says,”I told them nothing because they could do nothing.”(584). Odysseus knew he was sending some of his men to die, but he also knew that if he told his men this, nobody would ever get home. The men would panic and not be able to proceed. He knew that he had to choose the lesser of two evils, even if it meant death for some of the men. Odysseus was their authority, and he knew better than his
“There is no safety in unlimited hubris” (McGeorge Bundy). The dictionary defines hubris as overbearing pride or presumption; arrogance. In The Odyssey, Homer embodies hubris into the characters Odysseus, the Suitors, and the Cyclopes. Odysseus shows hubris when he is battling the Cyclopes, the Cyclopes show hubris when dealing with Odysseus, and the Suitors show it when Odysseus confronts them at his home.
Cyclops's Cave needing the supplies to get back to Ithaca and he needs to know which way is Ithica. It is also rude to just take the host’s things, without introducing yourself. Also, Odysseus needs to get rid his house of the suitors, because the suitors threatened to kill himself and his son. They also would have come back with greater armies and then killed Odysseus and his heir to get his land, wealth and power. Another example is found when Odysseus’ ships travel to Circe’s Island he did what he did so the witch would turn his men back to humans and release them. Examples of his moral and ethical decisions can be found throughout his journey and that is what makes him a moral and ethical
Odysseus lets himself and his men get trapped in a Cyclops’ cave where a number of men die (153, 312-316) Generally a true leader never allows his men to die for foolish and or unnecessary reasons. In this part of the text Odysseus allows his men to get trapped in a cave because he wants to wait to meet the owner of the cave which he was in. Hence, Odysseus is an awful leader due to the fact that he allows his men to die due to his own irresponsibility. Another similar instance is when he expects hospitality from the Lasitrygonês without even a shred of doubt that they would treat him well - even after making the same mistake with the cyclops’ earlier, both leading to the loss of many lives (168, 121-128). A great leader never lets men die due to their own error. In this case, Odysseus has entire benches worth of men die due to the fact that he did not learn from his earlier encounter with the cyclops. Thus, Odysseus is not as awe inspiring a leader as some may make him out to
Hubris is defined as excessive, personal pride. As Oedipus is about to learn the devastating truth of his origin and destiny, the chorus observes “Audacity sires the tyrant…” Creon accuses Oedipus of being irrational, and for allowing his pride to lead him into a journey that will affect his life forever. The greeks held reason to be the greatest gift of man, therefore a tyrant’s actions should be governed by reason. Hubris was not the essential cause of Oedipus downfall because of Oedipus’ prophecy, and Religious Incest. Hubris was not the essential cause of Oedipus downfall because of Oedipus’ prophecy.
Odysseus was within arms reach of home but because of how naive he was he was forced to keep going on his journey. After all of Aeolus’ hospitality and such a powerful gift Odysseus is still mindless at what this meant and because of him not being cautious, he could not complete his adventure. It’s surprising knowing that after being on a powerful god’s bad side and being forced back to sea, that Odysseus can be even more of a fool.
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
Throughout Odysseus’s meandering and consequent homecoming in Ithaca, Homer depicts many different aspects of Odysseus’s personality in his epic poem “The Odyssey”. Although Odysseus is smart, brave, and is a great fighter, in reality, he is an overconfident madman. Throughout Homer’s classic epic, Odysseus uses his skill to overcome many obstacles. However, in each story, overconfidence is always a major theme, and Odysseus’s hubris always causes him to do crazy things. At the end, Odysseus’s arrogance is his fatal flaw, and leads him into trouble.
In Homer’s Odyssey Odysseus shows his yearning for adventure and that challenging himself brings him happiness through his actions not his thoughts. Even in the clutches of a raging cyclopes Odysseus’ accepts the challenge at hand and persevere through the loss of some of his men. “My name is Nohbdy,” he tells Polyphemus who is drunk from the liquor Odysseus had given him before. The giant “reeled and tumbled backward,”. He son fell asleep and the next stages of his plan fell into place. When the sharpened log was hot enough for his liking he and a few other men “bored that great eye socket,”(380). Instead of letting his men die while he cracked under the pressure Odysseus remained calm and allowed himself to think. Having achieved his goal of defeating the mighty cyclopes he rejoiced in his valiancy. Odysseus exuded happiness when most of his men got out alive. Odysseus’ habits of getting his men into seemingly inescapable predicaments continues on the island of Cersei. At the gate of the witch’s island his need for adventure takes the best of his judgement. Against the advice of Eurylochus Odysseus “rushes to save his men from the enchantress,” (387). Odysseus’ need for thrill and excitement draws him onto the island. He knows that he will suffer the same fate but makes a decision in the heat of the moment that could've made him unable to return home, but he wasn’t thinking of home, he purely wanted to get his men back. Throughout his journey Odysseus perfectly represents the bond between a man’s adventures and the challenges they bring to
This is evident during his encounter with the cyclops. Odysseus finds an empty cave filled with livestock and dairy products. Not knowing that this cave belongs to the Cyclops Polyphemus, Odysseus waits there for the owner to return expecting that he will receive gifts. Polyphemus traps Odysseus and his men in the cave and begins to eat them. By getting Polyphemus drunk and stabbing him in the eye, Odysseus and his men are able to escape. When Odysseus reaches his ship, he tells the Cyclops his actual identity. “If every any one asks you who put out your ugly eye, tell him your blinder was Odysseus, the conqueror of Tory, the son of Laertes, whose address is in Ithaca” (Homer 110)! Odysseus wants to ensure that people will know he is the one who blinded Polyphemus and in this series of events, his main character flaw shows. His lack of humility seems unheroic but Odysseus does learn from his mistakes and completes the hero’s
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
Hubris- A greek derived term that means an overabundance of pride that leads to a character's downfall.
Throughout the course of his journey, Odysseus is haunted by the thought of his enemy, Poseidon, who has far more power than Odysseus and strives to keep him from returning to Ithaca. Poseidon still holds a grudge against Odysseus for blinding Polyphemus at his cave. Soon before Odysseus reaches Phaeacia’s shores with hope of rescue, Poseidon notices that “he’s [Odysseus] fated to escape his noose of pain” if he makes it to Phaeacia, and threatens to “give that man [Odysseus] his swamping full of trouble” to prevent him from reaching his destination (Homer 5:318-320). While Odysseus is among the most powerful mortals, he is not comparable to Poseidon. This is why, in a situation like this, it is an important skill to know your strengths, and act intelligently.