ipl-logo

Should Eurylochus Have Killed The Cattle In The Odyssey

443 Words2 Pages

In Homer’s Odyssey Eurylochus shouldn't have killed Helios’s cattle because of the warning, the promise the men made, and the food they already had. First, Eurylochus shouldn't have killed the cattle because of the warning. Odysseus was warned that if his men touched the cattle that they would die. Eurylochus should have known something was going to happen if him and the other men killed the cattle because of the promise they made to Odysseus. Eurylochus said, “But if he flares up over his heifers lost, wishing our ship destroyed…” (Homer), so he guessed that Helios would punish them, but he did the deed anyways. Next, Eurylochus shouldn't have killed the cattle because of the promise. Eurylochus and the men promised before …show more content…

So they had to fish and find other animals besides the cattle and sheep. Eurylochus and the men was tired of the fish and other animals,but they should have kept eating it because they would eventually left the island. Odysseus even urged his men to bypass the island, but they wanted to land and eat the cow even though they had food from the sea. However, Eurylochus should have killed the cattle because of the men and him being tired of the other food they ate. Odysseus gave them barley and wine,but they ate it all. Eurylochus and the men started to fish and eat the other small animals besides the cattle. Eventually, they got tired of the smaller animals and decided to kill and feast on a cow. Helios should have let Eurylochus and the men eat a cow and they wouldn't have killed one. In conclusion, Eurylochus shouldn't have killed Helios’s cattle. In conclusion, Eurylochus shouldn't have killed Helios’s cattle because of the warning, the promise, and because they had enough food already. Even though Helios should have let Eurylochus and the men have a cow because they needed another type of food to eat. In the end, Eurylochus and the other men shouldn't have killed and feasted the

Show More
Related
1122 Words | 5 Pages

Can dishonesty be valuable if it was used to achieve desirable outcomes? Is lying considered justified if it was involved in a dangerous situation? It is not always bad to lie. As children, we were continuously taught to be honest. We have grown to be implanted with the fact that lying is unacceptable but admissible.

Read More
571 Words | 3 Pages

In Homer’s The Odyssey, Odysseus repeatedly shows that he is polytropos, for as Zeus says “There is no mortal half so wise”(3). Using his wits, Odysseus gets him and his men out of several sticky situations in the Odyssey, proving his leadership through his actions that save the lives of his crew member. On the other hand Odysseus’ streak of constantly outsmarting challenges, goes to his head, and unfortunately causes Odysseus to develop a hubris. His pride at times makes him arrogant, believing that he always knows best, which leads to the untimely demise of his crew. While Odysseus proves to be good leader by saving his crew from trouble with his wits, he is ultimately a bad leader because he refuses to listen to advice.

Read More
432 Words | 2 Pages

At the end of part 2 of the Odyssey, when Odysseus is finally home and confronts the suitors in his home, he decides to slaughter them all for invading his home and courting his wife: “Not for the whole treasures of your fathers, all you enjoy, lands, flocks, or any gold put up by others will I hold my hand. There will be killing till the price is paid” (22.62-64). This quote from Odysseus shows that he was furious at the suitors, and he would allow no other atonement for their crimes except death. While the suitors all did wrong things, their actions did not deserve the death penalty. This shows that Odysseus was not thinking straight and being fair, and this is not something a hero would do.

Read More
228 Words | 1 Pages

When they made to Cyclopes’ land, Odysseus wants to find out if the men on the land believe “…wild savages with no sense of right or wrong or hospitable folk who fear the gods (l70 line).” Odysseus and his men enter one of the Cyclopes cave without his permission. Odysseus and his men ate all the Cyclopes food, drank his wine and took some the Cyclopes stock. Odysseus wanted to leave but he

Read More
1399 Words | 6 Pages

While Odysseus’ actions taken to punish the suitors may appear immoral in modern society, by considering the ways in which modern society differs from Homeric society, Odysseus’ actions are just in the context of the poem. As violence has an extremely negative connotation in modern society, the use of the death penalty is morally ambiguous, and is a highly debated topic; however, violence is far more legitimized in the society of the Odyssey, and therefore, death is a far more acceptable form of punishment. This idea is exemplified by the way in which violence is discussed between characters within the Odyssey. In particular, this general acceptance of violence is demonstrated through the fact that many of the characters within the Odyssey share an almost unanimous belief that the suitors should be put to death to pay for their crimes.

Read More
448 Words | 2 Pages

In Greek culture, honor was immensely important and the Cyclops has none. In contrast, Odysseus brags about the great feats of Agamemnon yelling, “So great a city he sacked, such multitudes he killed”(9.298-299) That Odysseus sees pride in killing, shows that the Greeks valued killing, but only if honorable. There is a stark contrast between the killings of the Cyclops and those of King Agamemnon. In the eyes of the Greeks, Agamemnon’s killings were for his country, his people, and the greater good of society. These murders had a selfless purpose.

Read More
1064 Words | 5 Pages

Odysseus starts to learn the importance of being modest through moments of despair. One can perceive a change in character midway through the journey, during his trip to Helio 's Island. Prior to the trip, the crew was deliberately told not harm Helios’s, cattle, for they will suffer the consequences. However, hunger grew in all their bodies leading them to eat the sun god’s cattle. In despair, Odysseus cries to Zeus explaining how he needs a god to save him from starvation.

Read More
1054 Words | 5 Pages

However, the monsters are not as interested in the indulgence of juicy steak, wine, or even the enticing and mystical lotus flowers, but rather in human flesh and blood. The Cyclops, Polyphemus, that Odysseus encounters on his journey gruesomely devours many sailors, tempted by the thought of being able to consume human “innards, flesh, and marrow bones.” The Cyclops continues his feast, “filling his belly with manflesh and great gulps of whey” (IX 312-322), as he greedily causes the demise of many sailors. This passage further reminds readers of the negative consequences of succumbing to the temptation of overindulging. It also acts as a clear warning to readers that feasting in excess is animalistic and inhuman.

Read More
1314 Words | 6 Pages

What is the definition of a good person? The view of a good person changes as time goes on. However, the Odyssey is still the foundation of human morality. The Odyssey, created by Homer, is an ancient telling of a man named Odysseus and his journey home from the Trojan War. The morals found in the Odyssey show readers the benefit of being able to view situations from multiple points of view.

Read More
779 Words | 4 Pages

Odysseus decides to pray to the gods to end their hunger, but to no avail. A character named Eurylochus then suggests that the men eat the cattle, explaining that they should not listen to Odysseus because, in his opinion famine is the worst form of death. “‘Comrades,’ he said, ‘You’ve gone through everything: listen to what I have to say. All deaths are hateful to us, mortal wretches, but famine is the most pitiful, the worst end that man can come to’” (863-867).

Read More
529 Words | 3 Pages

Throughout the story, Odysseus demonstrates his courage that ultimately allows him to survive. One of these moments was during his journey back to Ithaca, where he faces a race of man eating giants called the Cyclops. Odysseus originally stops his ship there to relish a feast while on his journey back to Ithaca, but while doing so, out of curiosity explores the island. Soon, he finds a deserted house and decides to wait of the owner. The owner was unknowingly one the Cyclops, named Polyphemus.

Read More
922 Words | 4 Pages

By singing beautifully, Circe attracted, and tempted, all the men to herself except for, “Eurylochus, who feared a snare” (IV: 563-564). This demonstrates how Eurylochus resisted temptation, which in turn, saved all of his men who were tricked by Circe’s enchanting sorcery and turned into pigs. Eurylochus stayed strong and ran to tell Odysseus, who stayed with and talked to Circe, eventually saving his men. If Eurylochus had fallen into the temptation like the rest of the men, they would all have been doomed and turned into

Read More
414 Words | 2 Pages

Odysseus shows considerable hubris when he brags to King Alconis about slaughtering the small village of Ismarus. Odysseus claims that he and his men “stormed that place,” enslaved the women, and slaughtered those who fought. (Homer 43). Due to Odysseus’ arrogant decision to assault Ismarus, a few of his men died. This demonstrates how arrogance and the hunger for victory will lead to certain death.

Read More
909 Words | 4 Pages

None of Odysseus’s men were really loyal to him because of their lack of obedience and honesty. In this episode the men learn that their disobedience causes them their lives when Helios the sun god realizes his scared cattle had been killed. Helios furious goes to Zeus and begs him to punish Odysseus’s men, or he will take the sun and go “down to the House of Death and blaze the sun among the dead” (Odyssey 12. 412). Zeus with no choice left but to punish Odysseus’s men whips up a storm and strikes his thunder bolt to destroy Odysseus’s ship soon after they leave the island. No one survives but Odysseus.

Read More
472 Words | 2 Pages

We can depict this through a quote found in chapter 9, “A wind from seaward served him, drove us there. We are survivors, these good men and I.” Being the heartless creature the cyclops is, he still goes on to eat Odysseus’ men, shocking them as they believed they should have gotten better treatment and a gracious greeting from the Cyclops as if they were noble heroes. However, soon Odysseus learns that

Read More

More about Should Eurylochus Have Killed The Cattle In The Odyssey

Related Topics

Open Document