Odysseus was the King of Ithaca and had been fighting in the Trojan War for ten years. The group had to come home, however. While journeying back , they encounter many obstacles in their way, which leads to the many deaths of Odysseus’ men. Although Odysseus strategically navigated through his journey, his selfishness and arrogance clouded his judgement, which teaches the importance of balance in Greek culture.
Odysseus was very strategic when it came to outsmarting many of the obstacles that stood in between him and Ithaca. For instance, when the crew encountered Polyphemus, Odysseus devised a complex plan consisting of multiple parts. The first part was when he told the cyclops that his name is “Nobody Atall”, (which sounds like nobody at
…show more content…
Going back to the encounter with the cyclops, it can also be viewed as arrogant. Although Odysseus was very strategic in escaping from Polyphemus, as he was leaving he shouted back, “I am Odysseus, hero of Troy, and my kingdom encompasses Ithaca, Cephalonia and wooded Zanthe!” (Homer, 19). He reveals his identity which allows Polyphemus to curse Odysseus and his men. Polyphemus yells to his father, “Curse him as I curse him! Avenge me, for I am powerless to be avenged!” The cyclops then tells his father to avenge him, however his father is Poseidon, God of the Sea. Since the only way to return home was by sailboat, it made for a rough journey home.
In conclusion, Odysseus may have been very strategic when steering through the many obstacles in his way, he also demonstrated many negative qualities such as selfishness and arrogance that make Odysseus a balanced leader that reflects Greek culture. From the previous paragraphs, it is evident that Odysseus was definitely a good and bad leader. It brings up the point of why Odysseus was chosen as a leader if he had these bad qualities. The Greeks must have valued balanced leaders, meaning that they wanted a leader that was strong in some suites and subpar in
Odysseus?s cunning is cardinal to his survival and that of his men. He uses his cunning to get them out of several unpleasant situations. When they are captured by the Cyclops, he can not use the strength of his men to escape, so he must use his cunning to free them. He lies and tricks the Cyclops to get out, ??My name is Nohbdy: mother, father, and friends, everyone calls me Nohbdy?? (9.397-99). This clever deception stops the other Cyclops from helping Polyphemos helping them to escape. Odysseus also shows his cleverness when he returns to Ithaca.
...at he has to say. Honestly I think that Odysseus was is a great leader because, he tried his best to keep his crew safe, he never gave up on them; even if they were in a bad situation.
Odysseus does many things to make himself a bad leader. He doesn’t tell his men many things, he isn’t respectful to the gods or his wife, and he is constantly putting his men in danger just so he can go home. Odysseus is a selfish leader and only thinks about himself. Although he may have good intentions for himself by going home to see his family and the rest of his kingdom, he is a bad leader.
To begin with, Odysseus is an intelligent and clever man. He is a hero because he has the capacity to understand the situations and think through the struggles they are going to face. Odysseus is put against all the odds possible, and at times it seems like the gods are against him. Odysseus tricks the Cyclops, Polyphemus, in a very strategic way and handled the situation effectively. “My name is Nohbdy: mother, father, and friends, / everyone calls me Nohbdy (Homer 498). Odysseus’ cleverness is brought out because he conceived an idea that would be adequate enough to trick a Cyclops. Later when Polyphemus is stabbed, he screams, “Nohbdy, Nohbdy’s tricked
To start, within the course of The Odyssey, Odysseus displays hubris through many of his actions. The most prominent instance in which Odysseus shows hubris is while he and his men are trying to escape from the Cyclops Polyphemus. They drug the monster until it passes out, and then stab him with a timber in his single eye. Polyphemus, now blinded, removes the gigantic boulder blocking Odysseus’ escape, and waits for the men to move, so he can kill them. The men escape from the cave to their boat by tying themselves under flocks of rams, so they can easily slip by. Odysseus, now proud after beating the giant, starts to yell at Polyphemus, instead of making a silent escape. Odysseus’ men ask him to stop before Polyphemus would “get the range and lob a boulder” (436). But Odysseus shows hubris by saying that if they were to meet again, Odysseus would “take your life” and “hurl you down to hell!” (462; 463). Polyphemus, now extremely angry with Odysseus, prays to his father, Poseidon, to make Odysseus “never see his home” again, and after which, throws a mountain towards the sound of Odysseus’ voice. (470). Because of Odysseus’ hubris after blinding Polyphemus, Poseidon grants the prayer, and it takes Odysseus 20 years to return home, at the cost of the lives of all his men.
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.
Odysseus is a weak and inadequate leader because he fails to earn the respect of his men time in and time out. Odysseus’ men attempt to steal from him and unknowingly unleash the bag of winds that was given to Odysseus by Aiolos (166, 49-550). A great leader has the respect of his men. Odysseus’ men disrespect him in this excerpt by attempting to rob Odysseus. Therefore, Odysseus is not an adequate leader since his men disrespect him by stealing from him. Also, at a later page in the book, one of his men refuse to follow Odysseus into danger and tells Odysseus, “You cannot return, I know it” (173, 293). A skillful leader has the
In Homer’s epic poem, The Odyssey, Odysseus fails as a leader by prioritizing his reputation over his crew’s safety after defeating the cyclops Polyphemus. In the story, Odysseus, the king of Ithaca, travels to Troy to fight against the Trojans. On his journey back to Ithaca, a string of damaging incidents lead him to a mysterious island, which he later discovers is inhabited by the murderous cyclops Polyphemus. His crew manages to escape the cyclops, but not before Polyphemus kills several of Odysseus’s crew. Odysseus escapes and could have sailed away peacefully, but he calls out to Polyphemus to suggest that “if anyone, any mortal man, asks you how you got your eye put out, tell him that Odysseus the marauder did it,” (IX, 500-502). This prompts Polyphemus to lob a rock, nearly destroying Odysseus's ship. It is odd that this was
In The Odyssey, book nine and ten written by Homer, Odysseus constantly embodies the principal characteristics of a hero which are : cleverness, leadership, and selflessness. Thus, this character is regarded as an idol among the other characters and greatly captures the reader’s sympathy for his choices and the fruit to his actions in life. First, Odysseus displays cleverness in Book Nine when he tricks the Cyclops Poluphemus that his name is “nobody” in order to escape the horrors of the cyclop’s cave. He states: “Nobody--so my mother and father call me, all my friends” (Homer, 18). Second, Odysseus is a brave leader of his army especially in book ten when he displays leadership by motivating his comrades in keep trying to sail despite the
Odysseus exemplifies aspects of true heroism, namely his cunning, witty, and shrewd mind. He also portrays a brilliant leader. Of the many adventures Odysseus endures, his encounter with the cyclopes embodies his heroism best. Odysseus landed on the island and lead his men into the cyclops’s cave. When Polyphemus the giant returned, Odysseus took the lead and spoke to the cyclops. When the cyclops asked where Odysseus's boat was, he wittily answered, “My Ship? Poseidon god of the earthquake smashed my ship, he drove it against the rocks at your island's far cape, he dashed it against a cliff as the winds rode us in”(Homer 220). This brilliant response later saved the men on the boat from being captured and eaten by the cyclops....
“The Odyssey” is an epic poem that tells the story of Odysseus and the story of his many travels and adventures. The Odyssey tells the main character’s tale of his journey home to the island of Ithaca after spending ten years fighting in the Trojan War, and his adventures when he returns home and he is reunited with his family and close friends. This literary analysis will examine the story and its characters, relationships, major events, symbols and motifs, and literary devices.
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
Throughout literature, the reader often familiarizes themselves with the main character as it experiences changes in the story. In the epic poem The Odyssey translated by Richmond Lattimore, Homer, the author of the epic depicts the story of Odysseus, King of Ithaka and his journey back to his basileia after the decade long Trojan War. Several characteristics are apparent to the reader as Odysseus journey back to Ithaka emerges. His great Homeric leader traits proves to the reader that he is the epic hero of this time in the eyes of Homer. Throughout the epic, Odysseus learns from his character traits as he undergoes several challenges by the Gods. Odysseus characteristics traits allow him to grow into an ambitious man with confidence in his
The first heroic characteristic of Odysseus is his cleverness. In The Odyssey, one of the instances where Odysseus displays cleverness is in his encounter with the Cyclops, Polyphemus. Polyphemus captures Odysseus and his men in the island Cyclopes, which was filled with other giants. Although it is expected among the Greeks to display hospitality to strangers, Polyphemus ends up eating some of Odysseus men. In order to escape the giant, Odysseus comes up with a clever plan. He offers Polyphemus wine in order to get the giant drunk. When the giant falls asleep, Odysseus stabs Polyphemus’ singular eye, blinding the giant. The giant naturally wakes up, and starts to try and recapture Odysseus and his men. Knowing that the giant’s shouting would most likely attract the attention of the other giants in the island, Odysseus replies to Polyphemus when the giant asks him his name that his name was “Noman.” But when Polyphemus shouts for help, none of the other giants come to his aid, since he is shouting “My friends, N...
Odysseus’ story has been re-told, passed on, and admired for generations on end. This story not only shows a story of doing what you think is right, but it also show the story of one of the worlds most known hero. Odysseus is a strong hero, showing strength, courage, and weakness, which are all traits of many other heroes. Not only does he have these traits, but he is able to understand what is right for the whole group. He makes sacrifices that may be saddening and cause a loss, but help in the long run. But most memorable is the amount of cunning and wit he showed throughout the story, a reminder of all the epic things he did.