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The good and bad of odysseus
Odysseus role in the odyssey
The good and bad of odysseus
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Throughout his journey, Odysseus and his men faces numerous temptations. When Odysseus is at Circe’s island to rescue his men, as he and his crew were about to depart Circe tell Odysseus “Remain with me, and share my meat and wine’ restore behind your ribs those gallant hearts/ that served you in the old days, when you sailed/ from stony Ithaka. ”(X.509-511). Odysseus falls into the hands of Circe as she tempts the crew with as much meat and wine they want. He and his crew givegave into Circe’s island, regaining the fat he lost, as the year goes by.
Odysseus was, in my eyes, not justified in punishing everyone he did. Some people such as the maids where punished just for sleeping with the wooers. They didn’t deserve to be punished as harshly as they did. However, the wooers themselves got what they deserved. Odysseus won the competition set up by Penelope.
The punishment given by Odysseus to the wooers that had overrun his kingdom during his absence was death. I believe there were many reasons he was justified for his actions. Odysseus knew he could not just return home and claim his kingdom after all these years and with all of the things that were happening. There were many wooers that were no good, arrogant and deceitful and only there to claim his wife and home without any regard for the kingdom. There were even plans made by one, Antinous, to kill Telemachus, their son due to his heir to the throne.
For example, while Odysseus was away, his wife Penelope remained completely faithful to him for 20 years and turning away more that 100 suitors. However, Odysseus is not as honorable, cheating on Penelope twice. In addition to this, after Odysseus finally returns, he decided to slaughter all of the suitors that pursued Penelope, all of whom were kings of other kingdoms. Along with killing 108 young men, he killed 12 handmaidens that he felt were disloyal to Penelope as well. At the time, those who heard the Odyssey originally most likely thought that Odysseus was justified in his killing of the suitors and maids because it was seen as him protecting his kingdom and his wife, but reality, all it was was
Culture changes over time, and although Odysseus exhibits some timeless characteristics of a hero such as bravery and determination, he misleads his crew, depends on divine help, and does not demonstrate mercy. These are qualities Ancient Greeks would have seen as admirable, but they would not be viewed in the same light today. To begin, Odysseus is unmerciful to anyone that has wronged him. He kills all of the suitors in the hall, “Spattered and caked in blood like a mountain lion,” (Fitzgerald 22. 450) he did not leave any survivors. After he does this, he orders Telemachus to kill all of the servants that have been
Once Odysseus kills all the suitors, he makes the maids clean up the blood and pick up the bodies. After that, he hangs the maids that were sleeping with the suitors. “And snatching in a powerful hand a sword left on the ground - Agelaus dropped it when he fell - Odysseus hacked the prophet square across the neck and the praying head went tumbling in the dust.” This
While Odysseus did have good intentions of bringing his men home, he continuously made poor and selfish decisions, and he was constantly putting his men in danger more often than
In the Odyssey, Odysseus had to go to The Land of the Dead in order to speak with Tiresias who is a dead sage. He had to ask him about his future and how to get back to his homeland, Ithaca. He gave him useful information that helped him with his life. For example, he said to avoid the cattle of Helios. He is the god of the sun.
In the story the Odysseus, Odysseus finally takes revenge on the wooers who has taken over his home. The fact that they overtake the residence without any regard for the man of the house itself is one example of dishonor. Penelope made a statement that will justify Odysseus anger and actions . She told them "they were "abusing the hospitality of the house because the owner is long gone" .
As the precise definition of justice cannot be definitively stated, the line separating just from unjust actions is incredibly obscure. Many factors may influence an individual’s perception of what constitutes justice, such as time period, culture, or personal morals. Thus, while an act may be considered righteous in one context, the same act may be ruled unjust in other contexts. For instance, when Odysseus finally returns home to Ithaca, as retribution for defiling his home and attempting to court his wife, Odysseus murders all of Penelope’s suitors. The extremely graphic depiction of his retribution had appeared almost superfluous, causing the morality of his actions to be brought into question.
However Odysseus, despite being a good man, does not display honor and dignity when he refuses to forgive the suitors, then slaughters them all, and has an affair with Calypso. Since Penelope can react to tough situations with grace and poise, she is more admirable than
Odysseus’ slaughter of the suitors was an act of justice and revenge. The act was revenge because slaughtering 108 men for courting your wife and eating your food is insane. If someone did that present-day, society would frown upon the person who committed such an act. It would be considered mass-homicide and the person would be jailed for life. On the other hand, the act is a form of justice because of the setting of the story.
There are people who think Odysseus is a hero then there are those who hate him and think he’s a bad guy. One of their strongest claims may be that he cheats on his wife with Circe. But back then it was very common for a man to sleep with someone other than his wife,even though the women weren’t allowed to do it. That may be their biggest claim but they should know that it wasn’t uncommon back then. So they shouldn’t say Odysseus is a bad guy just for doing that one thing, they should consider all the good things he did before they say he’s a bad
In the book The Odyssey, the main character, Odysseus, is a man who is loved and respected by many. In the beginning of the book, we learn that Odysseus has left on a journey and, since it has been many years since his departure, many people assume that he has passed. On his journey, he portrays his many traits, not all of them being good ones either. Some of his good traits include his cunning, bravery, and hard work ethic. On the other hand, his negative traits are his excessive pride, immense curiosity, and rather large temper.
Odysseus was able to have justice by killing the