Cunning Mind In The Odyssey

In the epic poem, “The Odyssey of Homer” translated by Allen Mandelbaum, our epic hero even though physically strong, he relies more on his mind than his muscles. The Odyssey focuses on Odysseus, “ a man of twists and turns” trying to get home to his wife and son after being lost at sea for years. Throughout Odysseus journey, he is able to use his cunning mind to get himself out of danger and return home. The Odyssey shows how the skillful mind can be more effective than brute strength. First of all, Odysseus’ victory in the Trojan War was won using his skillful tactics. Odysseus was able to make a tactical plan to infiltrate the city of Troy instead of attacking it head on. Odysseus’ plan was to make a large wooden horse, he and his men would conceal themselves inside the wooden horse. By doing this, Odysseus was able to trick the king of Troy into thinking that it was a gift. The king brought the horse inside and over night, Odysseus and his men bursted out of the horse and was able to make a surprise attack inside the city. Odysseus was able to take over the city over night and as a result ended with a victory.

Polyphemus was obviously much bigger and stronger than Odysseus and his men. There was no way Odysseus could take down the cyclops head on. Instead, Odysseus took advantage of Polyphemus’ strength and stupidity. By getting Polyphemus drunk with wine, Odysseus was able to get him to fall asleep. Odysseus and his men then stabbed the cyclops’ eye with a large wooden stick, thus blinding the cyclops (417). Since the cave was still closed due to the boulder blocking it, Odysseus came up with a plan by using the sheep as their extraction. Every morning the sheep were let outside to graze. Odysseus and his men concealed themselves by holding onto the bottom of the sheep, and were able to pass