In The Odyssey, it is Odysseus that is telling the story, and he shows his own high opinion of himself by exaggerating his successes and making his failures seem inconsequential. In The Penelopiad, on the other hand, Odysseus’s faults are brought forward through the observations of his wife. Penelope mostly comments on his wit, which boarders on malicious manipulation. Both accounts show different sides of Odysseus but Penelope’s observations remind the audience that he is not an infallible hero, but a man. Following the visit to the Cyclops den in The Odyssey, Odysseus shows arrogance by declaring his escape from there to be a success despite having lost six men while trapped. He further proves his vanity by mocking the Cyclops while escaping, …show more content…
Odysseus and his men land on the island of the witch Circe. The witch captures Odysseus’s scouting party and he receives help from Hermes to rescue them. In his version of events Odysseus claims all the credit for himself. Odysseus does not omit Hermes’s part in the story, but he does place more emphasis on the clever part that he plays in the plot then he does on the help he received to make it work. Odysseus is also clever. Penelope reiterates this multiple times in the Penelopiad, though not as a compliment. She asked after Odysseus while observing her suitors and one of the maids says: “Don’t gamble with Odysseus, the friend of Hermes…you’ll never win.” This is like saying that Odysseus is a cheat and a thief. He later proved this assumption by cheating to win Penelope’s hand. Penelope went into further depth describing Odysseus’s wit and manipulation when detailing her wedding night. She states that: “He could draw almost any listener into a collaboration, a little conspiracy of his own making.” Odysseus did so with her by insisting that she not be afraid and instructing her to fake a few screams to satisfy the listeners at the door. Following that, they could get to know each other better. He was playing the scared fifteen-year-old who had heard horror stories of the marriage bed and
Although in the episode, “The Sirens; Scylla and Charybdis,” Odysseus is aware of the prophecy that he had previously been told by Circe, of how he will be the only survivor in the end, and all of his men will die, Odysseus fails to warn his men. (The Sirens; Scylla and Charybdis. 718-724).By not communicating what he had been told to his men, it shows that he does not care about what his crew would think of the situation. Odysseus frequently loses focus of the task at hand and is unsuccessful in achieving the entire crews goal. When the enchantress, Circe, turns all of Odysseus’s men into pigs, except for him, rather than attempting to do something about it and free them from her hold on them, Odysseus does not utilize the plant given to him to weaken Circe’s power.
The Odyssey, a story based on a great warrior who not just shows his mind but his faults. One fault being his pride. As of the day he went to fight the Trojan War, he was lost at sea for 20 years. Odysseus fought with smart and the hope of being able to defeat everyone in his path. One example of this is Odysseus built the trojan horse which helped him win the Trojan war.
He talks to is father like he knows Odysseus. He does this to see if his father still remembers him after twenty years. Overall, Odysseus uses his intelligence for the
In the epic story the Odyssey by Homer, Odysseus is returning from the Trojan war, and on his way home he finds many obstacles ahead of him. Odysseus is the ruler of Ithaca and he is trying to return home to his land. Many creatures try and stop him from achieving his goal of returning home, but he and his crew have to push through and get home. Odysseus portrays bravery and courage leading his crew through these tough challenges. Odysseus heroically leads his crew and himself through dangerous obstacles, but also foolishly endangers them during the journey home.
In the epic poetry, “The Odyssey,” by Homer, Odysseus exhibits his arrogance, foolishness, and his lack of leadership in which it leads to him going home by himself.
Overall, Odysseus is often portrayed as a “model hero”, but in reality he has many faults such as being untrustworthy, arrogant and
The Odyssey by Homer is an exemplary story that teaches life lessons to those going on a journey for themselves. It illustrates how the challenges and obstacles one may face can help someone become a better leader. The Odyssey highlights one man, Odysseus, a man filled with excessive pride, experiencing the wrath of the god Poseidon. He expects to arrive at his home, Ithaca, safely to reunite with his wife, Penelope, but unfortunately faces many temptations and setbacks. Due to the challenges he faces, it prevents him from arriving home as early as he thought he would.
An epic hero is someone who is characterized commonly on their nobility and bravery. However ,there are more attributes epic heros can posses. For example Odysseus, the protagonist in Homer's retelling of “The Odyssey”, shows many forms of excessive arrogance and pomposity. After conquering Troy, Odysseus and his men set off on their way home.
Because in the beginning he was impulsive and arrogant, he set himself up for a journey of miseries, and in this quote he asks the gods to release him from those miseries. He has never asked that before and always thought he was better than the gods themselves. After being humbled, put in rags, and put through many hardships, Odysseus finds that he is not the most important being and becomes more humble because of this. When the suitors are trying to win Penelope’s heart they are tasked to string Odysseus’s bow and shoot it through axes. Odysseus waits for most of the suitors to attempt to string
These women influenced the conditions of the journey by guiding Odysseus in different directions, and aiding him crucially. Their authority showed the idea behind an old proverb, which states, “Behind every great man there’s a great woman”. Throughout The Odyssey, the women exemplified their power during the course of Odysseus’ journey. Odysseus’ wife, Penelope, bravely held down the front in Ithaca while her husband struggled to find his way back home. In Book 18, Penelope spoke to the ever-so-desperate suitors about what Odysseus “told” her before he left.
The Odyssey by Homer revolves around the character, Odysseus, and his ten-year struggle to return home after the Trojan War. As the epic’s idol, he displays the combination of a clever, handsome, and courageous man popular among the mortals as well as the gods. Essentially, he embodies the ideals of the ancient Greek culture, being adorned with many favored characteristics of the era. However, an intriguing aspect of Odysseus lies in his personality. As the protagonist, he does not manifest the entirety of a stereotypical hero because Odysseus has a fatal flaw—his arrogance.
Upon Odysseus arrival to Ithaca, Athena hides his identity to help him defeat the suitors. She turns him into a very old beggar to conceal his identity from everyone, most importantly the suitors. Odysseus reveals himself to his son Telemachus, cowherd and the swine herd. The nurse Eurycleia recognizes him because of a scar he got years ago by a boar’s white tusk. Penelope doesn’t recognize Odysseus at first sight because of the disguise.
The Odyssey by Homer is a book that involves the Journey of Odysseus and his men and the Obstacles they come across. The Odyssey portrays many themes including vengeance, hospitality, courage, bravery and more. Odysseus experiences some good and bad during his journey. He comes across people who help him, but also comes across creatures who hold him back. Odysseus is an Epic hero because of his quick thinking skills, bravery, and confidence for himself and his men.
Homer’s epic poem, The Odyssey, chronicles the homeward bound voyage of the main character, King Odysseus of Ithaca. After Trojan War which lasted ten years, Odysseus sets foot on another adventure, which also spans ten years, to return to Ithaca. Odysseus is gone from his home for a total twenty years, but upon his arrival back to Ithaca, he finds that his title has been defended by his wife Penelope and his son Telemachus, who have been awaiting his return this entire time. Odysseus and Penelope are meant to be a model couple, so people often argue about which of the two is more admirable. To be admirable is to have faced a struggle with honor and dignity.
Odysseus’s Traits Throughout the Odyssey, the main character Odysseus goes on an epic adventure with his focus being to get home to his wife Penelope, and his son Telemachus. He faces many obstacles dealing with characters such as the Cyclopes, Poseidon, Aeolus, Athena, Helios, Calypso, Zeus, Hermes, Scylla, and Circe. Odysseus’s men are some of the most valuable people to him throughout the Odyssey. He always puts himself in front of danger for them to protect them even though they all died from an unexpected turn of events soon before he returns home. When Odysseus comes home he greets his twenty year old son and straightens things out on his homeland, Ithaca.