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Was Odysseus Able To Be Successful Essay

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The reason Odysseus was able to be succesful in the end of his ten year long journey returning home to Ithaca was because he had strategy beyond years of learning. I believe that his strategy came naturally to him because any normal person I know could not have thought so quickly on their feet and gotten out of an abundance of situations. For example, in the cave with Cyclops and all of his men he had to act fast because they were trapped and being eaten alive by the hour. It takes a cunning strategic mind to be able to sit down and look a traumatic situation right in the face and adress it. He not only saved himself in the cave from the giant but he saved his men as well by having strategies mapped out in his head. But, the real strategy …show more content…

If he would've rushed in high and mighty like it was probably very tempting to do he would've been attacked by the suitors and have no home to live in anymore. But instead he stopped and thought of a plan with the abundance of strategies that appeared naturally to him. He knew he didn't stand a chance if he appeared victoriously to the suitors for it would be a grave threat to them. So Athena disguised him as an old beggar so he would not appear as a threat but that he could use strategy to win and destroy the suitors. Penelope says she will only marry the man who can string Odysseus' bow and shoot it through the handle of twelve axes and of course it was the beggar who could only do that. So that is when Odysseus shows himself when he knows he is victorious and that all the beggars will be killed. He says, "You dogs, you never thought I would any more come back from the land of Troy, and because of that you despoiled my household, and forcibly took my serving women to sleep beside you, and sought to win my wife while I was still alive, fearing neither the immortal gods who hold the wide heaven, nor any resentment sprung from men to be yours in the future. Now upon you all the terms of destruction are fastened." He was only triumphant in this because of the strategy he

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He has to overcome his foes and his environment. In the cavern with the cyclops, Odysseus must fight to survive. He and his men have to use wit and strategy to escape the cave. After the first attack on his men Odysseus knew he would need to develop a plan to survive. Odysseus and his men are put in danger as they encounter their foe:“Neither reply nor pity came from him, but in one stride he clutched at my companions and caught two in his hands like squirming puppies to beat their brains out, spattering the floor” (Homer 903).

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Odysseus’ strategic planning lets him overcome adversity once

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Why don’t people take advice that later comes back to haunt us? This is shown superlatively in the story of the Odyssey, by Homer. There are several times that the great Odysseus did not take any advantage of the opportunities presented to him. These times consist of when the men slaughtered the cattle of Helios, when the several Suitors tried to make Penelope their spouse, and when the fleet of Odysseus’ men and himself bothered Polyphemus. Odysseus and his men met their demise with their poor decisions.

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The main character Odysseus in the Odyssey written by Homer is generally thought to be a great hero; however, he shows more traits of a quite flawed character on closer inspection. Around the beginning of Odysseus’ journey home after the war, Odysseus decides to take a detour to the home of a cyclops deciding to not listen to his men’s suggestions to leave while they still could; consequently, it does not end well: “Ah, how sound that was, Yet I refused. I wished to see the caveman, what he had to offer no pretty sight it turned out, for my friend” (9.130-132). This thought by Odysseus shows that he realized his decision to go to the mysterious island wasn’t the most rational one and that his men’s pleas to leave were the better option, but he decides to be stubborn and place his curiosity before his men’s safety resulting in a non-heroic

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In real life we make our own decisions, and some of those decisions lead to bad outcomes, even though we don’t blame ourselves for many of our mistakes, we are to blame. In Greek Mythology, humans make many important decisions in their life, many of them lead to horrible endings. In the journey of Odysseus, he made many choices throughout his journey that eventually led to the death of all his crew members. In other stories from mythology like the stories of Theseus and Icarus, they made decisions that led them and their loved ones to life threatening situations. Even Zeus once stated “My word, how mortals take the gods to task!

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With Odysseus being stranded and away from home for 10 years following his fight in the Trojan War, Odysseus managed to surpassed several test that strengthened him into the heroic person that he was. For example, in Book V it tells how Odysseus is still being held against his freewill by the nympho Calypso on her Island (pg. 385). It is assumed that there is no way at all for Odysseus to get back home to his land, all of his ships are missing and he has no crew to row him across the sea. Through all of those setbacks while on a quest to return home, the islanders also had a plot out to kill Odysseus’s son (pg.385). With these horrific incidents, Odysseus’s main focus was still to make it back home to his land.

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Yes, the terribly challenging circumstances in narrative in which the Odysseus finds himself is a challenge of courage and heroism of which very few would willingly volunteer. His ability to remain courageous in the face of brute beast, the actions of gods and demi-goddesses, and in almost impossible natural and supernatural circumstances certainly admirable. However, it is evident that there are circumstances where his hubris leads him to trust his intellect and wit over more reasonable course of action that not only endanger his life, but the life of his entire

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Self-control led Odysseus’ men to glory, not dying from the first challenge set upon them. To clarify, Odysseus demonstrated that having restraint can be crucial in times of war. For instance, when the trials were done and the king went back home; he saw that his house was filled with suitors. Odysseus then controlled himself and didn’t take foolish actions, but waited and made a plan. This idea was then further elucidated in the words of Homer, “The stool he let fly hit the man’s shoulder.

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Naturally, he has much to be proud of: his sexy and loyal wife, his bravery, and his victorious battles from the Trojan War and beyond. However, his arrogance creates a weakness in his character that negatively impacts himself and the people around him. The evolution in Odysseus’s personality turns him from an arrogant flaunter to a humble man, and demonstrates that the strifes he encounters during his journey home is not simply new experiences, but also his beginning of a profound revelation. Starting from the middle of the mountain, Odysseus’s new transformation will allow him to soar to the top with eagle

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There were many approaches taken by Odysseus in order to show his perception on intelligence and how he used it. For instance, when Odysseus and his men were trapped in the Cyclops’ cave he thinks to himself, “I drew on all my wits, and ran through tactics, reasoning as a man will for dear life, until a trick came--and it pleases me well” (767). What makes Odysseus so intelligent is how diligent of a thinker he was; he thought of solutions almost instantaneously, and they always worked out to some degree. To be fair being a leader comes with making difficult decisions; consequently, his plans don't always fully succeed. Furthermore, while the crew is sailing into scylla he strategizes for what’s ahead, “But as I sent them on toward Scylla, I told them nothing, as they could do

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The hero, however, has managed to win the war for his country using this cunningness, and his ideas outwit the opponents. Wisdom can be broadly defined as the application of knowledge. Odysseus effectiveness in war is based on his ability to analyze various scenarios; he also exploits any assumptions or weaknesses by the enemy in his favor. This attribute depicts wisdom because the main character applies the knowledge has of his enemies to ensure victory for his country. Furtherance, Odysseus understands the vulnerabilities of Greek leaders, and thus manipulates them to ensure he retains favor with the army; for example, when he convinces the leaders to vote whether he should be given the god-made armor.

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Just as Achilles is confronted in the Iliad with the problem of balancing his honor with his pride, Odysseus repeatedly faces situations in which self-restraint and humility must check bravado and glory-seeking. In his early adventures, he fails these tests, as when he taunts Polyphemus, inflaming Poseidon. As the epic progresses, Odysseus becomes increasingly capable of judging when it is wise to reveal himself and when it is appropriate to rejoice in his

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Odysseus was a man of great stature and strength; however, Odysseus was not only physically strong, but mentally strong as well (Olson). We can see Odysseus’ mental strength, or cunning, and bravery when he is in the den of Polyphemus and devises the plan to save him and his crew by calling himself nobody and stabbing out the cyclops’ eye. He also recognizes that he

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There are many lessons Odysseus and is men learn on their journey home in the Odyssey. Unfortunately, only Odysseus makes it home and the rest of men are dead because of their foolish actions. In the Thrinacia and The Cattle of the Sun episode of the Odyssey Odysseus’s men once again disobey him and cost them their lives. The men and Odysseus learn valuable lessons throughout their epic journey, but in the episode the most important lessons they learn are; temptation can lead to death, being obedient can save your life, and trust your instincts. If Odysseus’s men would have been more obedient to their leader Odysseus perhaps all of them would have made it back home alive.

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Odysseus has clearly learned not to be impulsive in his decision-making from his past errors, for example on the island of the Laestrygonians and that of the Cyclops, his bad decision making cost many of his men their lives. This decision to wait and contemplate where he is and think about his decision is very smart because at his palace, there is a “world of pain” (11.132). If he ran home, he might have been killed by the suitors. This question shows that after suffering so much, he finally has learned patience. In response to this, and his whole speech, Athena praises him and says he is “so winning” and he is “worldly-wise” (13.377,77).

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