Love, an intense feeling of deep affection. In Homer’s epic The Odyssey, almost all of the main characters do certain actions because of love. Love is a very powerful thing that one cannot see but knows is there and can feel it inside. It is in our lives everyday. In Homer’s epic The Odyssey, a major theme is that love is the force behind everyone's actions.
An example of this theme is how Odysseus really loves and misses his kingdom, Ithaca, so he decides to go back. Odysseus has been away from his wife, family, and kingdom for 20 years. He was originally gone because he had to fight in the Trojan War. Odysseus was blown off course during his return from the Trojan War, and he spent 10 years traveling from island to island attempting to find his way home. “Ithaca / being most lofty in that coastal sea, / and northwest, while the rest lie east and south. / A rocky isle, but good for a boy’s training; / I shall not see on earth a place more dear, / though I have been detained long by Calypso, / loveliest among goddesses, who held me / in her smooth caves, to be her heart’s delight, / as Circe of Aeaea, the enchantress, / desired me, and detained me in her hall, / But in my heart I never gave consent, / where shall a man find sweetness to surpass / his own home and parents?
…show more content…
She loves Odysseus and would not do that to him. “She has told them that she is weaving a shroud (a cloth used to wrap a body for burial) for Laertes, her father-in-law. She promises that she will choose a husband when she has completed the work. “So every day I wove on the great loom, but every night by torchlight I unwove it…” With this simple trick she has deceived her suitors for three years” (Homer 697). Penelope comes up with a lot of ways to say no to the suitors about having affairs with her. By these actions the reader can infer that Penelope will not have affairs with the suitors because she loves Odysseus and no one
In Greek epics, tragedies, and mythology women are portrayed in various ways. Women are mainly considered to be weak and less important than men, but there are some women who are shown to be strong and heroic, despite the reputation that was placed onto them in Ancient Greek civilizations. There were two particular women that were strong and took the roles of their husbands while the men left to fight in the Trojan War. These two women were Penelope, wife of Odysseus, and Clytemnestra, wife of Agamemnon. These two women were different in how they chose to rule while their husbands were at war and how they acted once they got back.
Even some women were crushing on Odysseus and even held him captive Athena guided Odysseus through most of the journey. There is much cheating in the Odyssey among royalty and gods/goddesses When Odysseus finally returns back to his hometown, he is unrecognizable and rejected among his people Penelope has her doubts and holds and archery contest to prove his worth, which
In Homer’s Poem, The Odyssey, Penelope is the exceptionally patient and clever spouse of the infamous hero, Odysseus, and the mother of Telemachus. One poignant factor of Penelope’s character is her patience and devotion which is displayed throughout the poem. With her husband absent for a great majority of her life for the later of twenty years and his location unknown, Penelope stays, patiently awaiting Odysseus’ return, all whilst preserving their estate and raising her son by herself. Throughout this time, she had many persistent suitors in pursuit of her, abusing her husband’s absence.
“Greed is a bottomless pit which exhausts the person in an endless effort to satisfy the need without ever reaching satisfaction.” -Erich Fromm ‘The Odyssey’ by Homer, follows the story of Odysseus, a great Greek hero. It tells of his venture to Troy, to lead his army in the Trojan War, and his separation from loved ones and his kingdom for twenty years. However, the novel mainly focuses on the story of his homecoming and all he, and many others, had to endure while he was returning from abroad.
The odyssey, an epic told by Homer in ancient greece, has many major themes following odysseus’s adventures. While Odysseus is sentenced to never return home after the Trojan War. He is overcoming challenges to return home to his wife penelope and his son Telemachus. Throughout the story major themes of loyalty, hospitality and vengeance are hidden within the plot. The story continues to show his heroic side with three major traits.
In Book 2 of, The Odyssey, many suitors are vying for Penelope's hand in marriage. They plan to take over the throne and assume the role as king because they believe Odysseus will never return. Telemachus, Odysseus's son calls upon the assembly with the hopes that they can do something about the many suitors in his house. While everyone involved, including the suitors, the assembly, Telemachus, and Penelope share blame for this stalemate, ultimately, the suitors are the most to blame for the fact that they've been consuming Odysseus's wealth for almost four years.
Meanwhile, Penelope is in Ithaka busy dealing with the suitors who vie for her hand in marriage, tending to her loom, and directing her serving maids at work. In Homer’s epic poem, women, and goddesses are treated differently than men and gods when it comes to their freedom, expectations, and image. One common occurrence in this epic poem is unequal freedom for women,
For the many years that Odysseus has been away, Penelope is able
However, for a woman in Homer’s society, who belongs to either her father and her husband, she is the head of the household for 20 years in the absence of Odysseus. She does not preserve peace in the household, but she takes actions to prevent the destruction of ranks of the household by delaying her marriage so that when Odysseus come back home, he can reclaim the kingship, or when Telemachus is old enough, he can take the throne which is rightfully his. In the position where women have no power, she uses her intellectual strength to control the suitors. Penelope promises the suitors that she will choose one of them to marry after she finishes weaving the shroud for Laertes because it is shameful if she does not do anything for her father-in-law. The suitors eagerly comply to her request without knowing what Penelope plans to do.
“Now I will bring them on as a trial for my suitors. The hand that can string the bow with greatest ease, that shoots an arrow clean through all twelve axes- he’s the man I follow, yes forsaking this house where I was once a bride,” (Od. 19.648-652). As soon as Penelope utters these words Odysseus urges her and assures her that her once lost husband will be home in time before the suitors can complete this task. This reassures Penelope that the beggar indeed is Odysseus.
However, Penelope still loves Odysseus and remains loyal to him by stalling the marriage. She still continues to persist in being hopeful and refuses to believe that Odysseus will never return to her, so she creates several excuses to help her evade marriage for as long as possible. She presents tasks to keep the
In the Odyssey, when Odysseus comes back to Ithaca to retake his throne and his family, he comes disguised as a beggar. He does this to stay hidden from Penelope and to collect information to find a way to get rid of the suitors. In Penelope’s dream, an eagle kills all her geese. The eagle is Odysseus and the geese are the suitors. Penelope’s dream is foreshadowing what is going to happen to the suitors.
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.
The Odyssey begins as Odysseus leaves an island he was trapped on for 10 years to go back to his hometown, Ithaca. However, we do not know if he will make it back, as it is highly probable that he will die. The Odyssey is a Greek Epic involving some of their ancient Gods. On the way to Ithaca Odysseus faces many challenges while his wife deals with challenges of her own at their house. Suitors have taken over Odysseus’s home, and are all trying to marry Odysseus’s wife, Penelope.
The journey of Odysseus began at the end of the Trojan war, when he tried to make it to Penelope in his home, Ithica. But the gods were not happy with Odysseus, due to his arrogant ways and his lack of faith in the gods. Because of this, his journey home would become a 20 year one. He was moved, of course, a number of times by the gods or by weather, He faced many trials and was stopped at many places. Each place he was brought to ended up being another trial.