In the ancient Greek poem, “The Odyssey”,by Homer, Odysseus, the king of Ithaca, can be recognized as a great leader based on the actions he has taken in the land of the Cyclops. For example, Polyphemus being a one-eyed monster, Odysseus instantly created an escape plan which began with claiming that his “name is Nohbdy” and that “everyone calls him Nohbdy” (lines 274-275). This quote demonstrates Odysseus’s quick thinking along with the realization of how significant it was to deceive Polyphemus and use a specific name for future use. This strategy formed from the clever Odysseus resulted in the prevention of other Cyclopes rescuing Polyphemus once Polyphemus shouted that no one has attacked him. Inspiration and contribution to the plan struck
so my mother and father calls me, all my friends” (223).This just shows how quick of a thinker Odysseus is. He was able to quickly make a name that would later help him escape. Then, while the Cyclops was sleeping, Odysseus “Hoisting high that olive stake with its stabbing point, straight into the monsters eye they rammed hit hard” (223). Now this is the Arête part of Odysseus we see. He stabs the monster’s eyes with no fear and no trouble and still Odysseus manages to escape.
Kealan Chiu Mr. Fleitas English 1 Period 5th 2/7/23 Odysseus’s Journey with Manly Masculinity In her translation of the epic poem The Odyssey, Emily Wilson conveys that Odysseus has a cocky, stubborn, and negative masculinity, as seen through the word choices Odysseus uses. For example, Wilson expresses Odysseus's cocky masculinity when she says, "Cyclops! If any mortal asks you how your eye was mutilated and made blind, say the Odysseus, the city-sacker Laertes' son, who lives in Ithaca, destroyed your sight" (Wilson 9 502-506). Wilson saying "your eye was mutilated and made blind" shows Odysseus's cocky masculinity coming out since he is the King of Ithaca; having everything perfect, makes Odysseus look down on Cyclops and make fun of someone's facial features.
In the epic The Odyssey, the main character Odysseus’ foolishness greatly impedes his journey home and costs him the lives of all of his men. After spending 10 years away during the war at Troy, Odysseus’ prolonged journey home lasts ten more years due to his constant foolishness along the way. After defeating the cyclops, Polyphemus, Odysseus turns and yells “‘Cyclops, if ever a mortal man inquire how you were put to shame and blinded, tell him Odysseus, raider of cities, took your eye: Laertes’ son, whose home’ on Ithaca”’(Homer 501- 505). Odysseus tells that cyclops what his name is and where he is from just because he wants recognition for what he has just accomplished.
In book nine of Homer’s epic, The Odyssey, Odysseus displays his intelligence, patience, and hubris when killing the Cyclops, Polyphemus. When Odysseus meets Polyphemus he introduces himself as “outis” meaning nobody. Lying about his name shows Odysseus’ intelligence. When Polyphemus fell asleep, Odysseus stabbed him in the eye and he woke up screaming “Nobody’s killing me”. (9: 455)
After Odysseus fights the Cyclops, he expresses, “Kyklops, if ever mortal man inquire how you were put to shame and blinded, tell him Odysseus, raider of cities, took your eye: Laertes son, whose home’s on Ithaca!”(9. 548-552). In this quote, it refers to how Odysseus tells the Cyclops his name so the Cyclops will know who took his eye out. The Odysseus should have faced and fought him instead of running up to him to tell him his name. The poem would have changed dramatically if he would have killed the Cyclops, and thus sparing him a little over 10 years of pain and absence caused by
Homer writes, “if mortal man inquire tell him Odysseus raider of cities took your eye.” Odysseus first told the cyclops his name was “nohbody” which masked his
Throughout the story of The Odyssey Odysseus makes many questionable decisions that affect more than just himself. Whether that be, being selfish, or simply withholding essential information from his crew, he seems to choose wrong almost every time. Odysseus is an extremely flawed character who makes his journey home much harder than it has to be, his poor judgment extends his treacherous journey back to Ithaca immensely. One of his most flawed decisions is when he didn't tell his crew what was in the bag from Aeolus and ended up elongating their journey home by years.
In the beginning of the book Odysseus is impulsive and arrogant. After Odysseus blinds and defeats the Cyclops, he cannot contain himself. Out of pure impulsiveness and the inability to be humble, Odysseus yells out to the Cyclops, “If any man on the face of the earth should ask you/ who blinded you, shamed you do so–say Odysseus,/raider of cities, he gouged out your eye,/Laertes’ son who makes his home in Ithaca!” (Homer 9.556-562). Odysseus is so impulsive he has to scream out his name to the gods and the Cyclops.
But, after angering Poseidon by blinding his one eyed cyclops son, Odysseus must go through brutal situations to get home thanks to the fuming god. The theme, the search for justice, is very prevalent in this text because of the fight between Odysseus and the suitors, the reunion of Odysseus and his wife Penelope and when Odysseus visits his father Laertes and Athena must restore peace because of the fight that breaks out there. To begin, the theme searching for justice is shown clearly when Odysseus returns home and kills the suitors. The text states, “Odysseus took aim and hit him with an arrow in the throat.
When visiting Cyclopes’ Island, he is forced to save many of his men from the beasts. He retorts after the battle in these words, “‘How do you like the beating we gave you, / you damned cannibal? Eater of guests / under your roof!’” (Homer 874). Odysseus overcame this burden of saving his men, including himself, and defeated the Cyclops.
After Odysseus has thrown the flaming spear in to Polyphemus’ eye, the other cyclops living there hear Polyphemus screaming and they ask what is wrong, Polyphemus screams, “ Nohbdy, Nohbdy’s tricked me, Nohbdy’s ruined me!” The other cyclops of course think that nothing happens and they go on with their day. Odysseus throws the spear so he can blind Polyphemus and hopefully get away. If Odysseus had not told him that his name was “Nohbdy” then the other cyclops living there would have been ready to kill Odysseus, but because he is smart, he thinks of this right away. But, because Odysseus is so arrogant, he ends up telling Polyphemus his real name, so Polyphemus prays to his father, Poseidon, Odysseus becomes cursed because of his actions.
He gets the Cyclop drunk, claims his name is nobody, then stabs his eye and leaves him blind. The next day, when the Cyclop open the door to let his sheep out, Odysseus and his men make a run for it. When the reach the boat Odysseus reveals his true identity and brags to the Cyclop that he got away with what he did to him. Since the Cyclops was son of Poseidon, Poseidon curses Odysseus with a bad trip home because of what he did to his son. Overall, Odysseus is arrogant, making him nt fit to be labeled as a modern
The Flaws of Homeric Xenia The Odyssey, written by Homer and translated by Robert Fagles, presented ancient Greece as a world filled with monsters, gods, and temptresses, all along side the mortal man. As a mortal man, Odysseus’ venture featured tremendous plight stemming from both immortals and mortals; however, Odysseus was able to overcome his extenuating circumstances aided by both Athena, and the concept of Xenia. As consequence, Xenia had an unequivocally positive impact on Odysseus as he ultimately would not have succeeded in his journey back home without the hospitality of strangers. Nonetheless, this essay will argue that while Xenia solidifies relationships between mortal men, it ultimately can be used as a tool of segregation between man and the mythical, as well as dehumanizing those of different cultures and religions. Xenia is the Homeric Greek concept of hospitality.
Easily tempted by a challenge. Odyssey had many strengths. Also, he had weaknesses that will lead him to face conflicts in the future. His strengths, weaknesses, and conflicts put his men through a life changing experience. Odyssey has numerous strengths.
