During the Ancient Greek era, their culture had different social codes than other cultures in that era and the ones to come after. The Ancient Greeks of the time created their own moral codes called, “The Eight Greek Evil Thoughts” that were detrimental and took away the aspects of being human. ”The Cyclops” is epic from the story, The Odyssey that was written by Homer and translated by Robert Fitzgerald. In the episode of “The Cyclops” Odysseus and his men have washed ashore onto an island where it is mostly inhabited by cyclops, Odysseus’ curiosity leads him to a cave that it also the home to a cyclops named Polyphemus. Polyphemus returns to his cave and soon notices that he is not alone, he slowly starts to eat members from the group until
The men had been traveling back from the Trojan war and were looking for a place to rest and recover before going back to Ithaca. When they entered the cave of Polyphemus they were not met with hospitality, but instead was met with his unfriendly and unwelcoming attitude. Odysseus tried to reason with him, but Polyphemus clearly had no intention of following the rules of xenia, probably because his father is Poseidon and thinks that he can protect him. Polyphemus trapped the men in his cave and started eating them (2 at a time) as meals. “You order me to fear the gods!
In the epic The Odyssey, Homer supports the Greek tradition of hospitality when Aeolus helps Odysseus get to Ithaca and King Alcinous provides Odysseus the resources to return home to reveal the thematic understanding that society should act towards others in a way that reflects how they would want others to act towards them. Homer’s display of the Greek value hospitality is shown when Aeolus assists Odysseus on his journey to Ithaca. Odysseus is gifted a “westward wind” and a bag possessing all the “stormy winds” (Homer 1224). When Odysseus receives these tokens of gratitude, it makes his trip easier for him and his men. With the wind, Odysseus’ men are not required to row the boat.
While Odysseus and his crew are slowly moving away from Cyclopes Island, Odysseus tells Polyphemus that he is “Odysseus, Laertes’ son,” whose home “lies on Ithaca” (Homer 459 and 460). Because of his arrogant decision to tell Polyphemus the truth of his origins, he essentially dooms him and his crew. Polyphemus, who is Poseidon's son, asks of his father to punish Odysseus for his arrogance, whom grants his prayer. In cessation, Odysseus’ haughty decision to tell Polyphemus his whereabouts leads to his utter
Summary: Cyclops In the story, Odysseus is still speaking to the Phaeacians, but is now telling them of his encounter with Polyphemus, the cyclops. Strong winds blew Odysseus and his men to Polyphemus’ island, where they unloaded and entered a cave that Polyphemus happened to live in. When he entered the cave, he closed the entrance with a large boulder that only he could move, trapping himself, his sheep, and Odysseus inside. After he ate some of Odysseus’ men, Odysseus devised a plan to get the cyclops to move the boulder so that the men could escape.
In the article, "Odysseus the Foreigner,", it briefly says in Section "Odysseus and Polyphemus", "When Polyphemus found out, through the false words of Odysseus, that the Greek ship had been destroyed, he grabbed two of the new arrivals and easily bashed their bodies against the ground. " By the definition of Xenia, this was horrible treatment yet expected for the Cyclopes, because after he ate them, he revealed that he doesn't believe in Xenia; after all, he is the son of the powerful Poseidon, a powerful god. In my opinion, this shows the power of how Poseidon handled the situation for his now blinded son against the mortal Odysseus, which was creating the most inconvenient journey back home that took 10 years to even come close to his
Throughout the epic poem, “The Odyssey,” written by Homer, we readers read through the perilous journeys taken upon Odysseus and his men, while being caught in a web of his hubris leading to his downfall. Ultimately suggesting the lesson to not be too prideful of our actions as it can lead to contributions to one’s downfall While taking the challenge to defeat Polyphemus, Odysseus, and his men end up puncturing his eye with a stake, leading the cyclopes to be distraught in pain. As the men were retreating to their ship, the cyclopes doubled in fury when Odysseus taunted Polyphemus. Odysseus’ men yelled at Odysseus to retreat to the ship as the cyclopes could do more damage than they had done. Odysseus, too caught up in his pride, continued
In the Odysseus (book 9), written by Homer, (book 9) has several symbolisms throughout the episode. One major symbolism used throughout this episode was hospitality. Homer use Cyclops and Odysseus to represent the different view of hospitality. Odysseus action symbolize the poor use of hospitality. Odysseus and his men sailed to the land of the Cyclopes.
The concept of hospitality is clearly evident in society to this day. From the royal treatment of kings and queens to the warm welcomes shown by families, the Greek culture was no exception to this idea. As demonstrated in The Odyssey, a sense of respect was presented not only towards the Greek gods but also to the mortals themselves. Characters such as Odysseus rely on the hospitality of others for food, shelter, guidance and protection. Without it, many characters wouldn't have survived as they were often stranded in distant lands.
In The Odyssey by Homer, hospitality is something seen in almost every book. This idea of being kind to strangers is a top priority in the Greek world because there is no way of telling who the person in need is and if they are a god. So, it is better to help all, rather than face the wrath of an angry god. However, Odysseus’ wife, Penelope, has suitors who do not follow these laws as the other people do. The theme of hospitality is established as a rule, and when it is broken, a terrible fate is set in place.
LEFT justify and indent first line. TAG? CA? In Homer’s epic, The Odyssey, Ancient Greeks strongly believed in providing their guests with excellent hospitality because in Ancient Greece, it was believed that any stranger may be a god in disguise, so Penelope does nothing out of the ordinary when she warmly welcomes people into her home. Though Penelope treats her guests no differently than she would a king, she enjoys and is comforted by the presence of her hosts, and she takes care of and provides hospitality for people that she does not even know.
Odysseus ate the Cyclop’s food without permission, similar to what Penelope’s suitors did. Polyphemus was rude to the men and did not accept them into their house. Odysseus was later punished by the gods for his wrongdoings while nothing happened to Polyphemus due to the fact that his father was
In this book, Odysseus has been disguised by Athena as a beggar who has traveled the world. He has been dropped back on Ithaca by the Phaeacians. On his journey back to Ithaca Odysseus has changed greatly. As the prophecy has said he has returned home in a stranger 's ship, without his crew, and as a broken man. After Athena disguises him, Odysseus goes to his loyal swine herder, Eumaeus.
Hospitality and kindness played a major role in Greek society and this is clear throughout Homer’s writing. In his epic, The Odyssey, Homer creates two groups, those who are kind and hospitable, and those who are not. Those who are hospitable are respected and thought highly off, while those who violate the laws of kindness eventually end up punished. During his long and treacherous journey back home to Ithica, Odysseus experiences many forms of hospitality. Some of these shows of hospitality are need and generous, while others are not.
Today it is quite frightening to stay in a stranger’s home, but in The Odyssey, it is common to do so. The Odyssey, a novel written by Homer in the twelfth century B.C.E. (Who Was Homer?), is about Odysseus’ journey home to Ithaca, his gentle wife Penelope, and his maturing son Telemachus after the Trojan War. In this novel, the theme of hospitality occurs frequently. Hospitality is the act of being welcoming to others by giving the guest food, drink, clothes, a place to rest, and a bath. Being hospitable in Homeric Greece is so significant, that it is a part of their culture.