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Pursuit Of Perfection In The Odyssey

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The Pursuit of Perfection:Analysis of the unspoken portion of Ancient Greek culture.

Whether we realize it or not, we all relentlessly pursue perfection. In our lives, we strive to be something better or at least to...seem that way. To live a life without faults, without the flaws that make everyone else so imperfect, but always seem to fall too far from that ideal. Perfection remains an objective that can never be reached, something that is unattainable and in stark contrast with reality. In Homer’s “The Odyssey” the traces and nuances of this pursuit can be found in the very structure and hierarchy of Ancient Greece. Through his storytelling, Homer paints a vivid picture of adventure and wonder, but even while Homer tries to deliver an …show more content…

The constant struggle to be the best at everything, and to be better than everyone else puts a lot of pressure on the people in our society.We feel as if we need to maintain the facade of perfection because of the standards society places on us, money matters because society judges us based on class. Even though we are one society, we end up breaking the minds of people who tried to realize a life of perfection only to fail.“In spite of its elusiveness, we remain fixated on perfection. Often enough, even when we know the flaws, we still defend an image of flawlessness.”-Melissa Bury. The Ancient Greeks had a fixation on an “ideal” world.This was prevalent in their architecture, and in their art of the human body.However, the Greeks pursuit for perfection ends up being just a pursuit, as the goal never can be or will be

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In the Odyssey by homer and translated by Robert Fitzgerald, the Cyclops encounter is one of Odysseus’ greatest flaws and successes at the same time. It began to go downhill when Odysseus lies about his name and the condition of his ship. When him and his men are captured by the cyclops Odysseus claims his name is nobody, and his ship was wrecked, he does this to aid his escape plan and as a tactic to guard his name and men. When the escape plan is put into play, Odysseus stabs the cyclops in the eye with a red hot spear all the while him lying about his name was put into use because the cyclops yells, in agonizing pain, nobody stabbed him in the eye, this causes the other cyclops to lower there guard and not go to assist their brethren. All

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The Odyssey highlights several key themes that were integral to Greek life. Hospitality, and the abuse of it are some of the central driving forces in this epic. Homer’s telling of the tale focuses on these aspects of Greek life to

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The Odyssey by Homer is an exemplary story that teaches life lessons to those going on a journey for themselves. It illustrates how the challenges and obstacles one may face can help someone become a better leader. The Odyssey highlights one man, Odysseus, a man filled with excessive pride, experiencing the wrath of the god Poseidon. He expects to arrive at his home, Ithaca, safely to reunite with his wife, Penelope, but unfortunately faces many temptations and setbacks. Due to the challenges he faces, it prevents him from arriving home as early as he thought he would.

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One of examples is the “Discolobus” by Myron. They wanted to be described in idealized human form, God-like appearance in contrapposto posture (such as the “Spear Bearer” by Polykleitos). The Greeks valued physical healthiness and masculinity (for

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Considering a society in which myopia or obesity are direct signs of imperfect chromosomes, and lead to a path of discrimination, Gattaca underlines the importance of physical perfection as a necessity to survive in the futuristic world. Juxtaposing this with societal values in the 1990s, the obsession with physical perfection is still prevalent with the availability of plastic surgery, hair and makeup salons and protein powders and slimming pills, all to allowing individuals to achieve societies idea of perfection and thereby become a successful member and role model in society. Considering Eugene, who was engineered to be the ‘perfect human’, a “9.7, (…) a catch” yet he achieves only second place in his swimming race, showing Niccol’s belief that success is not guaranteed through DNA, imposing the idea that someone may always be better, faster and

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Back in Homer’s time, hospitality is of greatest importance because of the lack of hotels. Travelers rely heavily on others in support of their needs. Therefore, in Homer’s epic poem, The Odyssey, reflects that attitude towards hospitality. At the same it becomes a strategy used to manipulate the minds of gods and mortals in purpose of deceiving and having their way. It is not by choice but by force.

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What is perfection? What is a master of their craft? These questions are what separates the mediocre from the professionals. An answer those questions are names, Jiro Ono and Agnes Varda. These ordinary people have become specialists through their hard work and dedication over the decades.

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Warfare was deeply embedded in the Greek psyche and played a crucial role in shaping their values, ideals, and societal structures. The concept of "arete," or excellence, encompasses not only physical prowess but also intellectual and moral virtues. By examining their warfare practices, we gain a deeper understanding of the values and ideals that defined Ancient Greek

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Through Homer's depictions of temptation and their consequences, we can conclude Greeks constantly struggled with temptations. Homer thought how one deals with temptation determines character and the consequences that follow. If one did not give in, rewards followed, but if they did, punishment ensued. The Greeks were similar to us in their desires, but exceedingly lusted after beautiful women and reigning power. The Gods proposed heinous things to those that submitted.

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Creating an amazingly life-like appearance to its sculptures, not only demonstrated, in my mind, a higher intelligence, but is defiantly a tribute to their focus on superior strength and fitness. Although the realistic style was soon changed to create an even more ideal human figure, the understanding of the human body and how to recreate it through art was only the beginning of Greece’s contribution to the “classical ideal.” After their rise to power, gained by their triumph over Persia, the Greeks again changed the way we see art. This time they turned to their knowledge of geometry, focusing on the creation of grand architecture as their medium.

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In the epic poem “The Odyssey” the main character and hero of this story is a wise king known as Odysseus. Throughout the story Odysseus portrays many different characteristics that belong to his personality as he tries to make his way back home to Ithaca. One of Odysseus’ traits is patience, which is used with many different characters as Odysseus uses this skill in his plans and strategies. The trait patience is important because, it is needed in real life scenarios, and can help keep someone calm or composed in tense situations. Patience also is useful because it can help an individual to be able to wait for long periods of times without getting upset or frustrated.

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Aylmer is consumed with a pursuit of perfection in his scientific studies and also in nature. The leads to Aylmer being appalled at the blemish on his wife Georgiana’s cheek. He tells Georgiana “you came so nearly perfect from the hand of Nature, that this slightest possible defect..shocks me, as being the visible mark of earthly imperfection” (216). This is the catalyst for Aylmer's seeking for perfection in his wife who is a natural being. Aylmer recognizes that there is a “fatal flaw of humanity, which Nature...stamps ineffaceable on all her productions” (216).

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“The Odyssey.” The Norton Anthology of World Literature, Norton, 2001, pp. 225–530. Lawall, Sarah N., and Maynard Mack. “The Aeneid.”

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This story is easy to understand by young adults and also appropriate to be conducted in literature class. This story emphasizes moral values such as we should strive for progress instead of perfection. The perfection Aylmer chased throughout the story doesn’t make him content feeling because it’s just mere folly opinion of him. So here I would stress to my students that perfection in the end should never perish us in anyway.

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