ipl-logo

The Consequences Of Eating In Homer's The Odyssey

1054 Words5 Pages

Throughout history, feasting has been a way to bring people together, to celebrate, and to entertain. In Homer’s play, The Odyssey, food serves multiple purposes. The opulent banquet that Telemachus attends in Sparta with Menelaus displays the hospitality and wealth of the Spartan royalty, and provides key information about the whereabouts of Odysseus. While this instance of feasting displays how eating can bring people together to celebrate, overindulging in the Odyssey is also portrayed negatively. As the play progresses, readers learn that excessive and unnecessary eating is one of the reasons that Odysseus does not quickly return home to Penelope, and additionally, it is the reason that many of the crewmen do not return at all. The recurring motif of feasting portrays the harmful consequences of falling prey to temptation, which include the delayal of Odysseus return home and the death of his …show more content…

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. The Cyclops’ feast, although abhorrent, shares similarities with Odysseus’ crew’s feasts: the power of temptation and an intense craving for food drives both of their gluttonous

Show More
Related

Odysseus Temptation Analysis

240 Words | 1 Pages

Throughout his journey, Odysseus and his men faces numerous temptations. When Odysseus is at Circe’s island to rescue his men, as he and his crew were about to depart Circe tell Odysseus “Remain with me, and share my meat and wine’ restore behind your ribs those gallant hearts/ that served you in the old days, when you sailed/ from stony Ithaka. ”(X.509-511). Odysseus falls into the hands of Circe as she tempts the crew with as much meat and wine they want. He and his crew givegave into Circe’s island, regaining the fat he lost, as the year goes by.

Read More

Odysseus Dialectical Journal

315 Words | 2 Pages

Having been stuck on an island for many days with our food supply now empty, us men are willing to do almost anything to fill our stomachs. As a group, we have been through so much turmoil, and have lost some men along the way. I have never agreed much with our leader, Odysseus, for he was the one that usually caused all our troubles. However, for once I like his suggestion to leave “The Cattle of the Sun God’s” heifers alone. Consequently, this time it was the fault of a man I once thought to be smart, Eurylochus.

Read More

Examples Of Greed In The Odyssey

815 Words | 4 Pages

On their way home, Odysseus and his crew faced many obstacles. The way they handle these obstacles highlights their greediness. In The Odyssey by Homer, Odysseus’s crew is portrayed as greedy which delays their journey home. First, the crew’s greediness delayed their journey home when traveling to Aiolos’ Kingdom by setting themselves back.

Read More

Essay On Odysseus Is An Epic Hero

726 Words | 3 Pages

If you were to think about a man with great abilities like being strong, courageous and intelligent, you could think of people you personally or like me, you could think of someone such as Odysseus. Odysseus fits the definition of an epic hero because he is quick thinking, strong and courageous. Odysseus is one quick thinking individual. He has gotten him and his crew out some some sticky situations with his clever plans. One of these plans were how to get away from Polyphemus, a cyclops who was the son of Poseidon.

Read More

The Role Of Suffering In Homer's Odyssey

1141 Words | 5 Pages

From the onset of the book, death is a recurring event, persistent throughout the entire poem. In many ways, the Odyssey is the story of the death of all of Odysseus’ friends and fellow fighters during their return home from conquering Troy. These deaths are particularly heartbreaking to Odysseus because, normally, one would expect that all dying would conclude with the end of the war against Troy. In this case, however, the anticipation of his return to his family at home became a series of tragedies. This sequence of events changes his view and molds Odysseus’ character in regard to his surviving friends and family.

Read More

Common Men In The Odyssey

360 Words | 2 Pages

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.

Read More

The Negative Effects Of Curiosity In Homer's The Odyssey

1064 Words | 5 Pages

Earlier in the epic, Odysseus frequently abuses his role as captain of his crew because of his curious nature. He makes several stops on their journey home in search of more opportunities to prove his skillfulness, even though he is already a king and has won a major war. One of these stops is at the Island of Polyphemus, home to the cyclops famed for eating all humans that enter his cave. Even though Odysseus is well aware of the danger ahead, his curiosity tempts him to

Read More

The Cyclops In The Odyssey

448 Words | 2 Pages

In The Odyssey, the Cyclops is a monster because of his key differences from mere human beings, specifically his lack of wit and of morals. Depicting these qualities as monstrous support that cleverness and a general regard for human life were heavily valued in Greek culture. Odysseus easily trick the Cyclops bragging, “I poured him another fiery bowl - three bowls I brimmed and three he drank to the last drop, the fool”(9.404-406). To describe the bowls of wine as fiery foreshadows the demise of the Cyclops. Odysseus was able to use his brain, not strength, to make the Cyclops drink himself into a stupor.

Read More

Odysseus Obstacles

694 Words | 3 Pages

In the poem, The Odyssey, Odysseus wanted to make a name for himself and to have everyone know that he is a hero and wanted to always be remembered. His quest was to get home after the ten years of war in Troy, that he tried to get out of by faking he was crazy. After Achilles, the Greek champion died, Odysseus came up with an idea to get into the city and to end the war. He had the Greek army make the “Trojan Horse”, which was just a giant wooden horse that was hollow and he devised a plan to give it to the Trojans as a peace offering. “The horse which Odysseus led up to Troy as a trap filled with men who would destroy great Ilion.”

Read More

What Is The Hero's Journey In The Odyssey

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

Importance Of Good Life In The Odyssey

759 Words | 4 Pages

From Odysseus’ time with Calypso in Ogygia up until the moment he takes back his home and wife from the suitors in Ithaca, the struggles he faces help answer what makes for a good life. Homer uses Odysseus’ journey throughout “The Odyssey” to identify four aspects of a good life: mortality, honor, hospitality, and experiences. Homer reveals that mortality is necessary for a good life when Odysseus denies the opportunity for immortality that Calypso offers, he shows the significance of honor in his description of Odysseus’ bravery in the Trojan war and the consequent respect that Odysseus’ crew has for him, Homer reinforces the importance of hospitality in each city Odysseus travels to, and he conveys that experiences, good or bad, define a good life. The Greeks held their gods in high esteem and therefore when Homer or other characters in the epic refer to Odysseus as being “godlike,” this is one of the highest compliments he could receive.

Read More

Penelope In The Odyssey

794 Words | 4 Pages

In Homer’s Poem, The Odyssey, Penelope is the exceptionally patient and clever spouse of the infamous hero, Odysseus, and the mother of Telemachus. One poignant factor of Penelope’s character is her patience and devotion which is displayed throughout the poem. With her husband absent for a great majority of her life for the later of twenty years and his location unknown, Penelope stays, patiently awaiting Odysseus’ return, all whilst preserving their estate and raising her son by herself. Throughout this time, she had many persistent suitors in pursuit of her, abusing her husband’s absence.

Read More

Temptation In The Odyssey

381 Words | 2 Pages

In The Odyssey, temptation is a theme repeatedly explored by Homer. The issue of temptation is constantly providing the protagonist, Odysseus, with conflicts. From the very beginning of the epic tale, with Paris’s lust for Helen, temptation causes mayhem in the lives of the characters. It repeatedly prevents Odysseus from achieving his main goal of returning home to Ithaca.

Read More

Temptation And Pride In The Odyssey

664 Words | 3 Pages

Odysseus and his crew members longed to return home, however this desire was in conflict with the many temptations that they faced. These are similar to the temptations that people today face. For example, on the island of the Lotus Eaters, Odysseus and his men were offered the Lotus

Read More

Diction And Imagery In Homer's Odyssey

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 The Consequences Of Eating In Homer's The Odyssey

Related Topics

Open Document