...Odysseus is the considerably relatable main protagonist of The Odyssey. The Odyssey is a thrilling epic poem composed by Homer in 8th century B.C. Greece. Similarly to Odysseus, I have goals of my own. Adventuring to various faraway places is something I love to do frequently. We are similar in appearance, as well. Obstacles prohibit us from doing what we want to do. Those aforementioned obstacles also push us to achieve our goals. I participate in the sport track as a sprinter. Throughout the entirety of my high school career —whenever I would walk down the hallway— I would look at the track and field school record board. I did not look at just any record, I looked at the 400m dash record. As time passed, I aged and matured and progressively...
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...In Homer’s The Odyssey, the author tells us of a magnificent story of lust, deceit, greed, and heroism. The Odyssey is a display of a journey of determination, willpower, patience, and virtue. The author tells the tale of Odysseus, on his voyage home to Ithaka. This is happening after the end of the Trojan War. Odysseus, the main character, goes through a series of many unforeseen trials and tribulations in this exemplary journey. This exemplifies his character and displays him as a hero in the eyes of the audience. During these different happenings, Odysseus makes decisions that do not correspond to his character. Odysseus is displayed as not only a hero but also as a good leader to his men. Throughout all their trials such as the Sirens, Polyphemus (the cyclops), and the enchantress Circe, Odysseus is displayed as clever, patient, cunning, and fearless. Odysseus made decisions not only for himself but also for his men as well. For example, he did not leave his men on the island of the Lotus Eaters when they clearly had no desire to go back to Ithaca; he knotted them onto the boat and left the island. He was determined to get home with as many of his men as he possibly could, though they repeatedly disobeyed him. Odysseus is one of history's greatest leaders and this is a vital part of what makes him such an epic hero Another characteristic that stand out and makes Odysseus a hero is his ability to overcome his obstacles in order to reach his goal. Odysseus is faced by many...
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...THE ODYSSEY Is a good leader classified as one who personally gains a lot or one who benefits his or her community at large? After fighting in the brutal Trojan War, Odysseus travels the sea in hopes of returning to Ithaca, his homeland, and his wife and son, Penelope and Telemachus. Homer’s The Odyssey reveals the struggles and obstacles Odysseus and his men face traveling home. As prophesized, twenty years later, Odysseus returns to a devastated Ithaca, alone, penniless and unrecognizable. Odysseus has hubris, a flaw that costs him, as well his men, excessive troubles. Odysseus does not learn from his and others’ past mistakes, again leading him into traps that could have easily been avoided. Odysseus constantly puts his men in harm’s way for selfish purposes. For these reasons, Odysseus is an incompetent leader, and therefore should be criticized. Odysseus has hubris. This excessive pride and arrogance leads Odysseus and his men into difficult situations that would not have otherwise arisen. Towards the beginning of Homer’s epic, Odysseus narrowly escapes from a Cyclops’ cave. In triumphant victory, Odysseus taunts the Cyclops, Polyphemus. His men advise him against further agitating Polyphemus after the Cyclops starts throwing massive boulders at their ship; however, Odysseus displays hubris and does not listen. ‘Godsake, Captain! Why bait the beast again? Let him alone!’ ‘Aye He’ll smash our timbers and our heads together!’ / I would not heed them...
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...The Odyssey Some people believe in faith. When the strings of faith are tested, one can either stay strong or give in. Those who give in because it was the easier choice, are punished later on in life. Those who chose the more difficult path are rewarded in the end of his long and treturous journey. This same idea can be found in Robert Fitzgerald's translation of Homer's The Odyssey. This piece can be interpteted in two different ways. One from the time period of when it was written, and one in our current time period. Although Odysseus was offered to live with the beautiful and immortal goddess Calypso, he chooses to take the more challenging path. The more challenging path reveals itself as the rewarding path home to his wife Penelope, thus representing the idea that love can withstand many obstacles and hardships. After embarking on an unexpected 10 year journey, Odysseus meets a beautiful goddess named Calypso. Odysseus ends up staying on her island for 7 years because on her island, time moves slower. Odysseus realizes how long he has actually been on her island and informs her that he must leave, and return to his wife Penelope. Calypso offers for him to stay with her on her paradise island, and become immortal. Odysseus declines her invitation, but in a civilized matter. “My lady goddess, here is no cause for anger./ My quiet Penelope- how well I know-/ would seem a shade before your majesty,/ death and old age being unknown to you,/ while she must die./ Yet, it...
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...The Essential Role of Goddess in Homer’s The Iliad and The Odyssey Just as women were viewed as inferior to men during Homer’s era, a first glance at Homer’s epics The Iliad and The Odyssey portrays goddesses as inferiors to gods. Despite the era’s bias to men, the goddesses are of equal importance to the plot of his stories as the gods. The goddesses play vital roles as either helpers or nightmares to men by often determining the results of an action. Homer did not establish the goddesses in his epics merely as minor structures to blend in the background. Rather, he established dynamic goddesses who were both powerful and intelligent. In fact, in many ways the goddesses controlled the gods by having an influence in their decisions and actions through manipulation, persuasion and guidance. By influencing the gods, the goddesses also played a large role as shepherds for human fate. The goddess’s constant intervention in the mortals’ lives was driven by favoritism, love or sexual desires, and their pity for the weak. Although the goddesses are often restricted from doing as they wish by the gods, they have proven, in many occasions, to overpower the gods through manipulation. Goddesses were often told what to do by the gods. Tasks such as delivering messages from Zeus were often carried out by Athena. Just as Hector told his wife, “Go home, attend to your own handiwork at loom and spindle, and command the maids to busy themselves, too. As for war, that is for men, all we...
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...French Author Albert Camus wisely declares that, “life is the sum of all your choices”(12).Decisions are a constant occurrence in a person’s life, each one having an impact on the next one. Ordinary people make foolish decisions and must face the consequences, just as fictional characters in stories. In Homer’s epic tale The Odyssey, hero odysseus utilizes poor judgement that negatively impacts his journey to Ithaca. After 10 years at war, the victorious Greeks encounter many obstacles, and their leader Odysseus must make many quick, difficult choices. The greeks arrive on Cyclops Island in search of hospitality, and end up getting trapped hostage in Polyphemus the cyclops’ cave. Cunning Odysseus devises a plan of escape that includes telling...
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...Homer vs. The Old Testament: The Telephone Game In the beginning there were three great stories, the stories of Homer and the stories of then what would become the Old Testament. Homer is famous for his epic poems, The Iliad and The Odyssey. The Iliad is about a man named Achilles and his feud with Agamemnon. This epic poem recounts what events took place in this feud. Homer’s next great piece of work is The Odyssey, a story about Odysseus and a war against the Trojans, and his twenty-year excursion to return home. The Old Testament much like Homer’s tales is an epic poem. The Old Testament is a story about the beginning of creation, and how one figure created the world, a story about right and wrong, and the trials and tribulations of the people of faith. By comparing the characters and the themes of Homer’s epics and the works of The Old Testament one can see the similarities between the two and how word of mouth from one story could have possibly flowed into the...
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...Amaya Snyder Philipp English I Honors 16 March 2018 Title There is not a day in ones life where they won't encounter obstacles. It is how one handles these obstacles that defines them. Whether they take the lead, or stay back and follow in the footsteps of a leader. Homer exemplifies this concept throughout his epic, "The Odyssey". Odysseus, the main character, goes on a journey lasting 10 years, as he tries to return home after the Trojan War and reassert his place as the rightful king of Ithaca. During his journey, he is confronted with many dilemmas, revealing his true traits as a leader. In Homer's epic "The Odyssey", Odysseus's bravery and cleverness portray him as a commendable leader and demonstrate how one with these qualities has...
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...be defined as someone who goes on a dangerous adventure with many obstacles that the person has to surmount. Heroes are everywhere. Odysseus is the hero of the “Odyssey” by a blind poet, Homer. Odysseus fights in Trojan War for 10 years and it took him another decade for him to get home. He had to pass many hardships to get to his homeland Ithaca. The three main stages in Campbell’s “The Hero’s Journey” that exemplified in Homer’s The Odyssey are the crossing of the first threshold,the road of trials, and freedom to live. For example, Joseph Campbell describes that the crossing of the first threshold is the hero which is Odysseus who is accompanied by the guide which is Athena, the goddess of wisdom goes beyond the boundaries of his or his everyday, enter the wilderness, and has the first encounter with...
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...The Odyssey is Homer’s epic poem translated by Robert Fitzgerald. It is about Odysseus’ 10-year battle to return home after the Trojan war. While Odysseus battles mythical creatures and countenances the wrath of the Gods, his wife Penelope and son Telemachus stave off suitors vying for Penelope’s hand and Ithaca’s position of authority sufficiently long for Odysseus to return. In the Odyssey, Odysseus demonstrates to be a good leader because he gives a prime case of a homeric hero and he exhibits moral obligation in his actions throughout the epic. Initially, Odysseus chooses to go to war with the Greeks despite the fact that he does not want to leave his wife and son. Odysseus answers, “My lady goddess, there is no cause for anger. My quiet Penelope I long for home, long for the sight of home,” (The Wanderings....
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...The Accepting the Rejecting and the Giant - Chris Haas Per:1 “The friendly and generous reception and entertainment of guests, visitors, or strangers”. That is the very definition of my odyssey topic;Hospitality. Hospitality at the time of ancient Greece was a very big subject in the odyssey because to the people of ancient Greece, guests were thought of as if they were god-sent. Hospitality was among one the thing in ancient Greek history that you were kind of supposed to uphold and just do, as if it were a common rule, which in a way it was. There were times when hospitality is greatly shown to the main character Odysseus, and also times when an antagonist would greatly disapprove of accepting Odysseus into their house or living state. As...
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...In Homer’s epic poem The Odyssey, Odysseus demonstrates many heroic traits, and he shares some of those traits with heroes in the modern real world. Odysseus is the main protagonist in The Odyssey. He faces many obstacles on his journey back to his home island of Ithaca, a place he holds dear to his heart. The aforementioned obstacles include beasts, monsters, temptation, an insatiable whirlpool, and betrayal. Of the many sour encounters, by far the most grueling was the one of the Cyclops. Odysseus’s actions in ‘The Cyclops” demonstrate that he is clever, which is a trait he has in common with Harriet Tubman. Odysseus and his American counterpart both share the trait of cleverness. In the episode of The Cyclops, Odysseus’s wit beyond measure...
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...In Homer’s epic poem The Odyssey, it is suggested that the ideal Greek concept of a hero is one who exhibits the moral virtue of arete, excellence in all areas. Having a similar denotation to that of the more modern term “well-rounded”, the Greeks valued highly those who were not lacking and were furthermore adept at a wide variety of skills. Odysseus, the protagonist, is an exemplar of a hero that demonstrates this Greek ideal. In addition to having a mighty physical prowess that allowed him to survive his rough journey, he was also able to use his own craftiness and quick-wittedness to overcome these trials. The Greek hero ideal of having arete is evidenced by Odysseus’s use of his intelligence instead of strength to resolve his conflicts...
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...Odysseus: Hero or Not In Homer’s epic The Odyssey, Odysseus is a true thinking man’s hero. He faces many obstacles in his journey home from the Trojan War, with a curse from the sea god, Poseidon. Odysseus battles monsters, makes tough decisions, and fights with his integrity to get home, but through what some call “bad luck” and the size of his pride Odysseus finds himself in a pretty difficult predicament. However, like any other heroic tale, in the end he’s able to go home to his wife and son. The question is did he come back as a heroic legend or a selfish punk? Believe it or not, Odysseus is the demanding hero in this poem. Through tough decisions, sacrifices, and his humble attitude…at times; Odysseus shows the reader he is still a human...
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...In the epic poem The Odyssey, Homer changes Odysseus’ decisions to reveal that leaders must make rational decisions for the most successful outcome possible. The theme of leadership is represented through the protagonist, Odysseus, recovering some of his crew from their mistakes, constructing an optimal plan to overcome brute force, and making decisions that will later affect their destiny. Throughout the Odyssey, Odysseus makes rational decisions for himself and his crew to accomplish the goal of returning back home from his journey. After some of Odysseus’ crew members make the mistake of consuming the lotus flower on the Island of the Lotus Eaters, Homer shows that Odysseus’ changed decisions to protect his crew change and reveal the...
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