“Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is a progress. Working together is a success.” - Henry Ford. Heroes, Gods, and Monsters, a mythology written by Bernard Evslin analyzes Greek gods and goddesses, explaining their strengths and weaknesses. Orpheus, a musical God, is immensely considerate, unlike Odysseus who demonstrates multiple acts of selfishness throughout his journey in The Odyssey, an epic written by Homer. Orpheus, an open-minded musician, would listen to my ideas, and be a superior teammate in my dance competition rather than Odysseus, whose dominant personality would prevent us from reaching our full potential as a team.
Orpheus is extremely musically inclined, which would benefit our dance, whereas Odysseus’ selfishness would make
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Orpheus cares about Eurydice, his wife, and travels to Hades, god of the underworld, to express his desire to bring her back, despite the fact it had never been done before. “Give me back my wife again,” Orpheus demands. “For [he] will not leave without her-not for all the torments that can be devised.” (Evslin 82). Because of his resolution and willingness to endure, Orpheus is able to convince Hades of a deal to get Eurydice back. A benevolent dance partner such as Orpheus would make a tremendous teammate, since, for success, dancers must trust and rely on one another in dance moves like lifts. However, since Odysseus is inconsiderate, he would steal the spotlight since he is a discourteous partner. Odysseus refuses to follow his men’s ideas and instead wants to see the cave man, which “[is] no pretty sight, it [turns] out, for [his] friends” (Homer 867). Odysseus, knowing his men could be put in danger, makes a vacuous decision revealing he does not care about his men. Having a teammate like Odysseus, who is obstinate and inconsiderate would be atrocious, contrary to Orpheus, who is
Often through great literature, there is an epic hero. In the Odyssey, Homer tells the story of one man’s journey home from the Trojan War. The protagonist of the epic poem Odysseus is often regarded as a great hero. However, Odysseus is not quite the glorious soldier that people often see him as. Odysseus shows that he is an antihero through his pride, disloyalty, and bloodthirstiness.
Throughout literature characters have relied upon entities greater then themselves to furnish them with aid as they meet the many challenges they must face. The Odyssey is a tale of Odysseus’ epic journey and the many obstacles that bar his return home. But Odysseus is not alone in this struggle and receives aid from many gods, especially the clear-eyed goddess Athena. There are times when Odysseus beseeches the gods for aid, but other times he is too foolhardy to receive aid from even the immortal gods. In Homer’s The Odyssey, Odysseus’ journey revolves around the cyclical phases of his dependence, independence and his return to reliance upon the gods’ aid.
“What goes around comes around”,this great saying means that kindness is key. In the Odyssey by Homer, one important theme states how hospitality and kindness are always the best policy. Temptations and Obstacles represents a glimpse of allegory in life. Friendship is also a great thing in life because it's about support through tough and good times. Always feel generous with your kindness and support like Odysseus did on his journey.
There are numerous heroes throughout “The Odyssey,” but none of them are as significant as Odysseus. “The Odyssey” is a narrative poem written by Homer (around 800 and 600 BCE) to show the numerous adventures and experiences Odysseus goes through. Throughout the Odyssey, Odysseus a prominent Greek epic hero is on a quest to return back to his home in Ithaca; to his wife Penelope, and his son Telemachus. Just like real life, not all heroes are picture-perfect; they all have imperfections. In this case, Odysseus is sometimes insolent, and discourteous; but he is still considered an epic hero because of the many heroic qualities he endures. Odysseus proves himself to be an outstanding hero in various ways such as showing loyalty, intelligence, bravery, strength, and courage which are all some of the most momentous qualities found in a hero. If a true hero can prove they are a true hero, makes them a true hero.
The hero represented in the Odyssey is Odysseus. Odysseus always places his trust in the gods. In the book, The Hero’s Journey, page something,
"Selfishness is the greatest curse of the human race,” as quoted by William E. Gladstone, supports my thought that selfishness is what causes most of our problems in the modern world. Currently, we are living in an era that is filled with much gluttony and selfishness. However, selfishness is a trait that all of us possess, but the amount of selfishness that we have can determine the type of person we are. For instance, parents should always put their children’s needs before their own. Selfish parents would rather buy materialistic items for themselves than anything useful for their children. In Sophocles’s “Oedipus Rex,” the protagonist is literally blinded by his own arrogance. This attitude begins before he even travels to Thebes, and that is apparent due to the circumstances of his father’s death. Oedipus seals his own fate with his egotistical attitude and he cannot change his destiny after everything is set into motion. During his journey on the road to enlightenment, Oedipus’s selfishness causes him to transcend from being completely ignorant of his fate to holding on to the last shreds of denial to having an overwhelming sense of realization.
... in deceptiveness and similarity with her: “Two of a kind, we are, contrivers, both. Of all men now alive you are the best in plots and storytelling. My own fame is for wisdom among the gods-deceptions, too” (8. 379-383). It is as if though Athena represents these qualities heavenly, whereas Odysseus represents them on earth. Athena further exclaims to Odysseus, “Whoever gets around you must be sharp and guileful as a snake; even a god might bow to you in ways of dissimulation. You! You chameleon! Bottomless bag of tricks!” (8. 371-375). It is of no surprise that by Odysseus and Athena gathering forces and wit in this journey, nothing could stand in their way and Odysseus’s homecoming. Thousands of years later, the Odyssey stands proof to that.
The ancient Greeks have brought upon numerous ideas, inventions, and stories to the world. Greek mythology influences modern day literature and life. The Odyssey is an epic poem written by Homer, which tells the story of Odysseus's journey home after the Trojan War. Odysseus does not achieve his goal of reaching home so easily; monsters and gods come in his way and hinder him. The Odyssey expresses Greek values of hospitality from the customs of Ithaca, humility from Odysseus’s reform, and loyalty from Odysseus’s family.
The hero represented in The Odyssey is Odysseus. Odysseus always places his trust in the gods. In the book, The Hero’s Journey, it explains
Odysseus is a man separated from his wife, his son, and his home. All he wishes for is to return home, and he won't stop until he uses every ounce of his wisdom to get home and be with the ones he loves in the land he loves. He will not lay his eyes on the beauty of his homeland for twenty years, but he never quits. Even the loveliest goddess, Calypso, could not seduce him to stay with her when he had the choice to stay or go. Not even the enchantress, Circe, could convince him to stay with her. His eyes were always looking ahead to his homeland.
In the story of Orpheus and Eurydice, the two get married but Eurydice quickly perishes. Overcome with grief Orpheus convinces Hades to let him bring back Eurydice to the world of the living. He agrees but on one condition; Eurydice has to walk behind Orpheus and he cannot look back to see if she's following. Orpheus agrees, but when the couple are just about to leave Erebus, Orpheus looks back to see his lover. With a final "Farewell" Eurydice
Odysseus portrays himself as anything but a hero throughout Homer’s The Odyssey. Odysseus goes through his life believing he is the best. He has no regard for anyone’s feelings but his own, and he believes nothing and no one can harm him, not even the gods. Odysseus feels he is always the leader and no one can tell him otherwise. Odysseus should not be considered a hero because he portrays himself as a selfish man that failed his crew, and is controlled by his hubris.
Throughout the Odyssey, there are many relationships that represent love between two people. These relationships show loyalty, compassion, and the wanting to be near one another. Two of these kinds of relationships are between Odysseus and Telemakhos, and Odysseus and Penelope.
Odysseus is the hero of Homer’s epic poem, The Odyssey, but this champion would not have made his nostos if it were not for the minor characters; for without these minor characters, the story would not be whole. Eumaeus is a man worthy of note, for it was his unending hospitality (or xenia) and unending, pure love for Odysseus and his family, that had allowed Odysseus to finally reunite with his stranger son, his love, Penelope, and exact revenge on the arrogant suitors who have occupied his palace for too many years. The wife of the epic hero is not to be discarded either, for
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.