Thousands of people join our military and risk their lives to fight for their country. After many years of fighting in war, soldiers are no longer who they used to be. When they return home, they are looked down upon, treated badly, and aren’t given the treatment needed to recover. The struggles and obstacles these veterans face on their journey home and once they arrive forever face. In the epic poem, Odyssey by Homer, it shows the obstacles a soldier has to face on their journey. Odysseus and his men have traveled a rough journey on their way home to Ithaca. The gods put Odysseus 's men to the test by seeing if they will follow his rules even in the toughest situations. In the poem, “Sailing From Troy”, Odysseus’ men ignore his orders to leave. Odysseus’ men object, “sheep after sheep they butchered…. while fugitives went inland running to call to the arms the main force of Cicones” (Homer lines 48-51). Odysseus’s men disobey him and end up having a surprise attack. The crew believes that the gods will forgive their actions if they conduct rituals and sacrifices. The men make a proposal to “..cut out the noblest of these cattle, for sacrifice to the gods who own the sky, and once at home, in the old country Ithaca…. we’ll build a costly temple and adorn it with every beauty for the Lord of Noon” (Homer lines 868-873). Odysseus’s men ignored his warning about killing the cattle and proceed so they offer Helios’s best cattle as a sacrifice to the gods and to build a temple