The Importance Of Civilization In Homer's The Odyssey

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Homer makes The Odyssey out of many smaller books each with their own theme and story that add to the entirety of the meaning of the Epic. Within these books, Homer exposes the effects the war has on human nature by symbolizing the consequences of war as monsters, who, as the story continues, gain more human appearances until Homer reveals that Odysseus himself is one of the consequences of war. Homer, make it clear that war’s most important consequence is the loss of civilization. This follows one of Homer 's more prominent themes throughout his epic, the idea that civilization is what makes people human. Many of the stories throughout the epic mention gods. The gods represent civilization and test the men’s ability to follow Society 's …show more content…

This is ironic because Odysseus kills the suitors for the same crimes that he commits against the cyclops. Even after the suitors offer to pay Odysseus back for the destruction of his property, he decides to go with the savage solution of killing everyone. Athena encourages Odysseus to follow through with his decision of revenge, due to the fact that the suitors are no longer fit to live in society due to their animal like nature. Ironically this makes Odysseus himself uncivilized. Homer emphases this point through Penelope. When Odysseus first comes to his home, Homer suggest that Penelope recognizes him. The first clue is that his dog recognizes him, the represents Penelope long wait for Odysseus to return home. Penelope also demands to talk to Odysseus in his disguise about where her husband is and then chooses to talk about completely unrelated topic. Penelope also sets up a “the bow­-contest” (Richardson) for the suitors that only Odysseus could pull off. Penelope’s action do fit her normal characteristics. Before talking to Odysseus, Penelope seems to “be most eager to put off the marriage decision.” (Richardson) These actions and symbols suggest that Penelope knows that the beggar is actually Odysseus. However, after the battle or slaughter of the suitors Penelope no longer seems as sure that Odysseus is Odysseus. After the battle Penelope test him by asking Euryleia, the maid to bring “the bed outside”(Homer 462). This shows that Odysseus is no longer recognizable after his monstrous

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