ipl-logo

Return Of The Generals In Homer's Odyssey

653 Words3 Pages

Return of the Generals
In The Odyssey by Homer, two heroic generals return home from the great Trojan War. The two generals are called Odysseus and Agamemnon. Both had embarked on amazing adventures before returning to their native land. Upon their arrival home, they both discover extreme events which leave a huge impact on their lives. Ultimately, Odysseus has an epic and happy homecoming, and returns home to a faithful wife. Agamemnon’s homecoming, however, is filled with death, depression, and rage. Both homecomings share similar characteristics, while also sharing complete opposites too.
One homecoming involved a backstabbing, cheating wife, igniting a rage among the gods, while the other involved a loyal wife, which seemed to please and …show more content…

The following quote is Zeus talking to the other gods in Olympus, he says, “Orestês, as you know, had just killed the man.” This quote is Zeus explaining that Orestês had avenged his father by killing Aegisthus. Another quote is “But if you are determined to murder me with the sharp bronze, then that would be my wish also, since it would be far better than to have to go on watching forever these shameful activities, guests being battered about, or to see you rudely mishandling the serving all about the beautiful palace.” This shows us that Telemachus has indeed picked up on his father’s lessons on honor. He is willing to defend himself and the palace against the suitors. This shows us that Telemachus is faithful to his mother, father, and the palace where he was raised. Odysseus had a truly happy homecoming, while Agamemnon had one of the worst homecomings possible. Odysseus had defeated all of the suitors, was reunited with his son, and solidified his marriage with his wife. Agamemnon on the other hand had come home to find his wife who he once loved with another man. The following quote is Agamemnon’s spirit talking to Odysseus in the underworld. “...Aigisthos plotted my death with my accursed wife-invited me to his house, set me down to a banquet, butchered me as if I were an ox at the manger!” This quote really explains how terrible Agamemnon’s homecoming was. Not only was

Show More
Related
566 Words | 3 Pages

There is controversy in the classical scholarly community on the subject of why the first four books of the Odyssey focus on Telemachus. Jenkins claims it’s a tribute to Odysseus because Telemachus is a part of him. I disagree because though the Odyssey primarily depicts Odysseus’ nostos, it is also driven by Telemachus’ maturation in tact and intelligence to significance beyond simply coming of age. There are several scenes in the first four books and the last quarter of the epic in which Telemachus make speeches with key similarities that invoke identical responses from Penelope and the suitors.

Read More
160 Words | 1 Pages

The Relationship between Telemachus and Odysseus his father is very different. First off, Telemachus has really never met his father but there is still some relation there. Telemachus longs to meet his father and have a relationship. It is very clear that Telemachus struggles to come to the fact that his father has been away for so long and questions at the beginning of the books if he will every come home. Once Telemachus is told by Athena in disguise that his father is still alive ( lines 220-228 in Fagles) he longs on a journey to try and find his dad to see if he is alive.

Read More
374 Words | 2 Pages

In the beginning of book 2, Zeus sends a dream message to Agamemnon where he tells Agamemnon false information that gods are all united in seeing Troy fall and that Greeks should attack. Convinced by this message, Agamemnon calls for an assembly to convince the other leaders and the rest of the army to attack Troy. During the aftermath of this assembly, a very telling interaction between a great hero of this epic and the common soldiers happens when Odysseus is trying to rally the men back to fight after they were in the processes of leaving. Odysseus urges the men to fight by beating the common soldiers and yelling, “ You there, who do you think you are?Sit Still and listen to your betters. You’re a weakling, Unfit for combat, a nothing in

Read More
1524 Words | 7 Pages

273-275). This shows Telemachus being weak, because he has lost all hope for his father and his return and he also holds belief that his father, Odysseus is dead. This proves that Telemachus is still a boy in the beginning because, he is showing weakness by giving up and believing that Odysseus is dead and will never return. Another example of Telemachus being weak in the beginning is that he continues to lose hope and doubt his father 's return to Ithaca. Telemachus says, “Eurymachus, clearly my father 's journey home is lost forever/

Read More
665 Words | 3 Pages

Although he is young, Telemachus is technically the "man of the house" and by Greek gender standards has control over his mother. The suitors know this as they suggest that Telemachus is prolonging the situation by not "sending his mother away with orders to marry" (124). Somehow this is a credible argument to the suitors and they vow to "eat you [him] out of the house" (134) essentially squandering all their resources until Penelope decides to marry one of the suitors. Furthermore, they disrespect Telemachus by saying "your inheritance is going down the drain and will never be restored" (223) and "you've got some nerve laying the blame on us when the suitors aren't at fault it's your mother" (93-95). The suitors try to convince Telemachus that he has no right to be angry and that he's in this situation because of his mother.

Read More
933 Words | 4 Pages

Along these lines, Agamemnon ignored his side commanders when they offer him advice that would most likely help his reputation as a ruler. Also, Agamemnon would let his emotions get the best of him and make drastic decisions when it was critical. An example of this is when Nestor tells Agamemnon to hold on Briseis taking Achilles of which he doesn’t listen and then because of his emotions getting the best of him and him lacking, this sets up a chain reaction resulting in the deaths of hundreds of Achaian soldiers. He fails to realize when he is depressed that not everything is about himself and cannot retreat to his own wants and needs when he wants to, he is still a

Read More
712 Words | 3 Pages

Athena disguises herself and reveals to Telemachus that his father is alive but tells him to sail in search of more information, “Do you hear me: As a goddess, yesterday/ you came to us, command me to sail/ across the shadowed sea, that I might learn/ about my long-gone father’s coming home” (32). Athena has Telemachus best interest at heart and by commanding him to find his father she played a big role in helping him shape himself and grow into the man he was destined to be. He takes Athenas’ advice and finally comes to the realization that he needs to stand up to the suitors, “Throughout all those years/ when I was still a boy, you suitors squandered/ the riches that were mine. But I am grown;/ and listening to the words of others, I/ can understand…” (33). Telemachus then sets off to find more information on his father and his possible whereabouts “I’ll come fetch what you’ve prepared.

Read More
1474 Words | 6 Pages

Odyssey Argumentative Essay The Odyssey is an epic by Homer. It is a story about Odysseus journey back to Ithaca after the Trojan War. All the Greek heroes had returned home after the Trojan War except for Odysseus who was an important hero in Ithaca. Odysseus was absent in his son’s life and Telemachus decided that, it was time to find his father and bring him back home to his wife Penelope.

Read More
1334 Words | 6 Pages

The Odyssey revolves around a household without its master, Odysseus, who has been lost for 10 years. Despite that, Agamemnons’ death by his faithless wife isn’t the main focus of the Odyssey, but it is still frequently mentioned. Aegisthus can be thought of as the suitors who are seen at the beginning of the Odyssey feasting and sipping wine all day. His affair with Clytemnestra, his murder of Agamemnon and then later on, his death by Agamemnons’ son Orestes, foreshadows the inevitable death waiting to consume the suitors’ lives for their efforts to destroy Odysseus household. The stories set up is similar in a way that there are two returning heroes, Agamemnon and Odysseus, their sons, Orestes and Telemachus, and their wives, Clytemnestra and Penelope respectively.

Read More
1886 Words | 8 Pages

Revenge was persuaded on Agamemnon secretly and therefore it was unjustly. In a journal by William Allan he expresses that, “If you didn’t seek revenge on someone who injured or insulted you then you was seen as unmanly and it diminished a man’s honor” (596). Agamemnon’s honor and manliness got stolen from him in the play and he deserved revenge just as much as Clytaemnestra and Aegithus did. William Allen also summarizes that revenge in Athens wasn’t just for maintenance of status but it was also relaxing because it released grief and anger. The worse part of it all is that Clytemnestra’s actions are portrayed as having grief for her daughter but was that all?

Read More
721 Words | 3 Pages

Agamemnon showed lack of emotion and trust in his army when they headed out for the Trojan war. Being the Greek army’s commander-in-chief, he was respected but not liked by his subjects. He is depicted in the Iliad as a person who tried to get something for himself in any given situation regardless of the costs. Homer, Dawkins, and Homer (2017) point out that

Read More
849 Words | 4 Pages

Agamemnon: Inside and Out In the three part drama , Oresteia , there are characters that come and go , However there is one man in particular that has sailed seas, conquered lands, and let his city of Argos to victory time and time again. Agamemnon, he is characterized throughout the three greek plays we see him. Whether it be the ill-hearted that we fill sympathy towards for having to make one of the hardest decisions in greek tragedy in Iphigenia in Aulis , or in The Iliad the story of the great warrior , Achilles , where we feel hatred towards him for being so ignorant and childish towards the god who strikes from afar Apollo. However, no act characterizes him more than Agamemnon in which the man-hearted woman Clytemnestra after many years

Read More
948 Words | 4 Pages

In his journey, he gets help from Athena and wise knowledge from Menelaus. He takes risks, shows strength, confidence, and responsibility towards the end as he fights alongside his father. After enduring hardships and overcoming obstacles, Telemachus evidently matured into a man who made his father

Read More
402 Words | 2 Pages

Telemachus learns and appreciates the ways of his father, and so decides to follow the story of Orestes, and kill the suitors to take back his father’s home (3.52). Lastly, in book 4, Telemachus visits Menelaus in Sparta. In this part of the journey, we learn more details of the Trojan War, and also that Odysseus is still alive but captured by Calypso (4.71). Menelaus continues, talking of tales about Odysseus’ bravery and cunningness, educating Telemachus about the heroism is father had, which he believes he should also

Read More
891 Words | 4 Pages

Achilles lost Briseis, whom he loved, just because Agamemnon whined about it not being fair. Achilles ' subsequent withdrawal from fighting caused the Achaeans to lose a major battle. In short, Agamemnon is a jerk and bully, who blames others for his failings and sacrificed his own daughter so he could go to war. He is not

Read More

More about Return Of The Generals In Homer's Odyssey

Related Topics

Open Document