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Essay On Alcohol In The Odyssey

731 Words3 Pages

In both ancient Greece and modern American society, people who drink alcohol are punished. No matter the degree of the punishment, there are consequences to drinking alcoholic beverages. The consequence to drinking could be as minor as giving away valuable gifts to strangers or as grave as taking another person's or one's own life. Alcohol impairs the function of the brain which, in turn, makes someone vulnerable to any harm. Although many things have changed from ancient Greece up to today's modern society, the consequences that follow alcohol are quite similar. In The Odyssey, kings attempt to show hospitality, and in modern society, people drink to celebrate although in both cases it goes awry. As Telemachus arrives to the King Nestor's castle, he is quickly greeted by Pisistratus, Nestor's son. Homer describes, “He gave them a share of innards and poured some wine in a golden cup” (Homer 3: …show more content…

When Odysseus and his men are trapped in the man-eating Cyclops' cave, he comes up with a plan to trick the Cyclops. Odysseus explains, “The fool, and then, when the wine was swirling round his brain” (9:406). Once the Cyclops was drunk, this made the giant Cyclops vulnerable to the small men. To escape the Cyclops' wrath, they blind him. Dike, or justice an revenge, is exhibited as Odysseus' men get revenge on the drunk Cyclops for killing some of the men. Again, Saunders informs, “People who are intoxicated don’t think they’re impaired. Their false confidence leads them to think they can drink and drive safely – when they can’t” (Saunders). In modern society, "liquid courage" is a term to describe the courage that people have when they are drunk. This courage can lead to a multitude of consequences. These consequences can be from when people think they can drink and drive which lead to automobile accidents or even

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