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Use of symbolism and figurative language in the odyssey
Use of symbolism and figurative language in the odyssey
Significance of the odyssey
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The gods play a big part within The Odyssey to a point where they interact with the characters were they can aide or hinder them. Athena plays an important role within the first couple of books in The Odyssey. Athena goes to Ithica while disguised as one of Telemachus’ father’s old friends named Mentes. As Mentes, she tells Telemachus to get rid of the people from his father’s land and to ask of his father’s whereabouts in Sparta. Why does Athena approach Telemachus disguised?
While Odysseus’ men are constantly being punished for giving into the temptation the sight of food offers, Odysseus seems to be exempt from the temptation the image of food brings. For him, the most powerful combination is the image of food together with a seductress. In many ways this seems rather unjust. While his men are punished for falling prey to the sight of some plain cheese and a fat goat, their leader’s, temptation comes in the form of a woman bearing splendidly rich and exotic foods. These scenes are always described more lavishly than those consumed by his men.
The relationship between the gods and humans in Book XIII of Homer’s The Odyssey plays an important role on Odysseus’ growth as a hero. Odysseus has arrived at his homeland, Ithaca, but he cannot sail directly to his home because his ship was turned into stone by Poseidon. This provides some challenges for Odysseus, because he must wait more to arrive home, after many years of waiting. Athena later decided that Odysseus was not yet ready to go home.
Throughout the story of Odysseus’s journey told by Homer, there are many defining examples of interaction between humans and their gods. The gods primarily interact with humans by either siding with or against them. The gods would often side with humans since they wanted to help them such as Athena, Goddess of Wisdom, helping Telemachus, Odysseus’s son, whereas the gods seeking revenge such as Poseidon, who sought revenge on Odysseus for slaying his son Polyphemus, would turn against them. While actual interaction between gods and humans seems to be a rather risible idea, there was much guidance given to humans by the gods throughout the Odyssey.
Hierarchy is abundant in all societies, whether it be ranks in a government, social classes, or any other worldly positions. In Greek society especially, there can be seen a hierarchy not only including governmental positions and social classes, but also a ranking of power of the gods above men, and even some gods above other gods. The gods can help humans by making sure their lives go smoothly, and even by controlling the weather and aspects of nature. The gods also have to power to make things go horribly wrong for a person, and can be triggered by disrespect from a human being, or even by the emotions of the god. Odysseus, one of the main characters of The Odyssey, an epic poem written by homer, embarks on a journey in efforts to reach home,
In the book The Odyssey, men are expected to be strong, physically and mentally, and take positions of leadership. Although this is true sometimes, it is not a correct assumption to make about all men in literature, especially an “epic”, like The Odyssey. In a book like this, the men act as warriors and heroes, and are seemingly emotionless. What many people don’t realize is that men struggle emotionally too, it’s not only women. Some might think that Odysseus was just a guy who went to war, and stalled to go home afterwards, not even considering his family.
In The Odyssey, both the human characters and the Greek gods and goddesses are responsible for what happened. The plot seems to follow a pattern of humans against humans, gods against humans. The story starts with the Greek gods taking pity on Odysseus and all that he went through. The gods decide it is time for him to go home to see his mourning family. The reason why Odysseus is not with his family is because he enraged a god.
Is there value in celebrating certain individuals as heroes? Heroes encourage individuals to aspire to be greater. Heroes possess attributes such as bravery, honor, and justice. On the other hand, heroes aren’t perfect they do have flaws. However, flaws do not negate the positive influence heroes possess.
The three different chapters for this week’s Parsha speak about how the people of Israel, will turn corrupt and worship false gods and he will conceal himself from those that do so, “And I will surely hide My face in that day for all the evil which they shall have wrought, in that they are turned unto other gods.” - Deuteronomy 31:18. Also saying not to fear man, because he will never leave nor forsake us, found in Ivrim, Perek 13:6. As long as we stay on the path of light and follow him and his son Yeshua HaMashiakh, he will not abandon us or forsake us. In Deuteronomy, they speak more about the Feast of Tabernacles, “And Moses commanded them, saying: “At the end of every seven years, in the set time of the year of release, in the feast of
The Implications of Different Societies on the Same Story Everyone loves to say that history repeats itself. Obviously, no event will be exactly the same as one a few centuries ago, but the undertones, causes, and ultimate effects of these events often line up almost perfectly. However, there is one thing that continuously changes with time— society. Society determines the details of these causes and effects, along with the little nuances of each and every event in history. In The Comeback by A.R. Gurney, Gurney does an amazing job at retelling the story of Homer’s
Mary Knapton 1A English Class Desire’s Preeminence in Literature “Truly, would you not for less than that make the tour around the world?” (Verne 297). In Homer’s The Odyssey, Kenneth Branagh’s Thor, and Jules Verne’s Around the World in 80 Days, the protagonist goes on a journey that follows the elements of the hero cycle.
The Odyssey is an epic poem written by the blind, illiterate poet Homer. It takes place in ancient Greece and tells of a man’s journey home from war. The topic, intervention of the gods, is seen throughout the book numerous times as the gods who are in favor of Odysseus lend a helping hand. It is well-known that the gods are very important to the Greeks. In this epic poem, The Odyssey, Homer demonstrates the importance of the positive and encouraging intervention of the gods in Greek culture; the brave actions, encouraging words, and cunning strategies of Athena as she assists and guides Odysseus on his journey back home.
In Homer’s Odyssey, gods and other supernatural beings dominated every aspect of mortal life. All living things and phenomena that occur in the world can be traced back to the gods. Seeing as how gods are responsible for the lives of mortals and the state of the natural world, performing deeds that anger the gods would prove to be disastrous while performing deeds that please the gods would prove to be beneficial. Odysseus’ journey back to Ithaca after the Trojan War was took ten years due to angering gods like Poseidon and Helios. However, it was through Athena’s aid that he was able to make it back home.
In the Odyssey, I feel as if the Gods role was to function more as spiritual guides and as support for the human of choice. An example being Athena reuniting Odessyus and his son after 20 years, Hermes warning Odysseus of Circes witchcraft, and Circes giving him directions. Yet, I also feel as if they punish for poor behavior as well.
The relationships between the Greek gods and mortals have always been complicated. The gods can be generous and supportive, but also harsh and destructive towards the humans. They claim to be all powerful beings with unlimited power and influence, but in truth, they are far more human than they are perceived. They meddle with human lives, not because they are wise, but because of their own selfish reasons. In Homer’s
