Odysseus Weaknesses In Homer's Epic Poem The Odyssey

In Homer’s Epic Poem The Odyssey, Odysseus struggles against gods, mythical creatures and his own weaknesses in order to return home to Ithaca. Odysseus washes up on the shores of Phaecia and is taken in by the Phaeacians after having his ship overthrown by Poseidon. The Phaeacians questions who Odysseus is, and Odysseus recalls his encounters with gods and mythical beasts after trying to get back home after fighting in the Trojan War. He speaks of tales of how he was cursed by Poseidon by blinding Polyphemus, his encounters with Circe and Calypso, his venture to the land of the dead to see Tiresias, and how all his men died because they ate the cattle of Helios. After finishing his story, the Phaeacians return Odysseus to Ithaca. Once there

Odysseus suffers abuse from the suitors, especially Antinous who throws a stool at him. Penelope has been avoiding marriage to one of the suitors by weaving a shroud for Laertes and unweaving it at night and whenever she finishes it, she would pick a man to marry. The suitors eventually find out about this so Penelope puts up a final contest, whoever could shoot a bow cleanly through twelve axe heads would become her husband. All the suitors fail and Antinous stalls his turn, so Odysseus as a beggar, shoots twelve arrows cleanly, and then shoots Antinous. He, Telemachus, Eumaeus and Philoetius kill all the suitors. Odysseus in his true form visits Penelope, however Penelope is distrustful and tests Odysseus to see if he is

Odysseus and his men tie themselves to rams so they can escape when Polyphemus moves the boulder. When morning came, Polyphemus lets the rams out, unknowing of Odysseus and his men tied to their bellies. Each of Odysseus men gets out one by one until it is finally Odysseus’s turn, “Last of them all, my ram, the leader, came” (Homer 97). Odysseus is the last to get out so his men could get out safely first. While exploring Polyphemus’s cave, Odysseus’s men tell him they should go back, but he insists they stay to see the caveman in the cave. Odysseus’s men press Odysseus to take the cheese and leave the cave, but Odysseus responds, “how sound that was! Yet I refused, I wished to see the caveman” (Homer 968). Odysseus refuses to leave the cave because he wants to see the caveman. Odysseus then finds him and his crew stuck in the cave and in danger because of Polyphemus. Although Odysseus’s bravery helps him and his crew escape safely so they can continue their journey back home, his curiosity put him and his crew in danger in the first place and if they never got stuck in Polyphemus’s cave, they could have gotten back to Ithaca