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The Free Will Of Odysseus In Homer's Odyssey

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In one of the most heartfelt moments of The Odyssey, Odysseus meets his mother in Hades on his journey back to Ithaca and discovers of her passing. So she spoke, and my heart yearned To embrace the ghost of my dead mother. Three times I rushed forward to hug her And three times she drifted out of my arms Like a shadow or a dream. The pain That pierced my heart grew ever sharper, And my words rose to my mother on wings: (11.204-210) Prior to this, Odysseus’s mother had been absent from the narrative, begging the question, if Anticlea evokes so much emotion from Odysseus, why is she only being introduced now? Although Odysseus is in Hades, his description of words rising on wings sharply contrasts his mother’s shadowy apparition, creating
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Odysseus has finally swam across the sea and has found a place to lay down, and Homer relates him to an ember that does not die out. Odysseus goes through many

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The last key point that is important to realize is that Odysseus thinks through his choices and advice. We have already seen that Odysseus is a thought out planner and a social situation genius, yet he is also wise with the choices and advice he decides to take. When Odysseus returns to Circe for the funeral, Circe gives Odysseus some significant advice that can help him get home. She tells him about the Sirens and the monsters and gives him advice on what routes to take and what precautions to take. Odysseus could of easily ignored this information, seeing as he is a crafty man who thinks very highly of himself, but Odysseus realizes that the advice will benefit him and his crew, so he decides to put this advice to use.

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What- The Second Continental Congress followed the First Continental Congress and took place in Philadelphia, May 5th, 1775. It took charge of the Colonies’ war attempts and would eventually lead to the United States Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776. Who- Some people who were involved in this included, John Hancock from Massachusetts, Thomas Jefferson of Virginia, and Benjamin Franklin from Pennsylvania along with Patrick Henry, George Washington, and John Adams. Many of the 56 delegates who had attended the First Continental Congress were at the second.

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Depending on Others, Can Teach Self-dependence From a young age people are often told, contradictory things. People are told that they should try to do things on their own, but are also told that, if they need help they should ask for it. These conflicting messages are exceptionally difficult for soldiers trying to assimilate back into society after the war. As soldiers return home, they often try to live self-dependently, but sometimes they need help and have to depend on others. This effects Odysseus because when he needs help, he has to rely on the gods to lead him the right way.

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This also aligns with the Greek value of family because Athena wants Odysseus to reveal himself to his own son rather than being locked up in someone else's body and depressed after all the events he’s been through so that they could be together again like a

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Odysseus goes to the land of the dead and during the time he is there he will encounter many new fates and things he must do as well. First, when Odysseus is in the Land of the Dead he is to sacrifice a lamb” I swore to sacrifice a black lamb, handsomest of all our flock”(11.1071-72). In this Odysseus is saying how he had made a promise to Teiresias and now he was to slaughter this lamb that he said he would do. Next, Odysseus encounters the spirit of his deceased mother “I see my mother’s ghost among the dead sitting in silence near blood. Not once has she glanced this way toward her son, nor spoken” (11.1145-47).

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In real life we make our own decisions, and some of those decisions lead to bad outcomes, even though we don’t blame ourselves for many of our mistakes, we are to blame. In Greek Mythology, humans make many important decisions in their life, many of them lead to horrible endings. In the journey of Odysseus, he made many choices throughout his journey that eventually led to the death of all his crew members. In other stories from mythology like the stories of Theseus and Icarus, they made decisions that led them and their loved ones to life threatening situations. Even Zeus once stated “My word, how mortals take the gods to task!

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Odysseus encounters many monsters and immortals throughout his homecoming journey. He faces everything from Sea Nymphs to Sirens, from Lotus Eaters to Cyclopes, and from Enchantresses to even the Gods themselves. Because Odysseus stuck through and pursued on, he finally returned to his wife and child. When Odysseus arrives in his homeland, Athena directs him to Eumaeus’ hut where he meets his son. At first, his son refuses to believe his father has come back, but eventually convinces himself his father has truly returned.

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She instructs him to “sail in quest of news of your long-lost father.” (86). Using her disguise, Athena reaches Telemachus and offers him wisdom. Telemachus takes this advice to heart and sets out to find his father. By offering this information about Odysseus, Athena inspires Telemachus.

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In this important exchange between Odysseus and his mother,

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The cave is dark and musty. The beast is gruesome: nasty, brutish and gross. He gobbles down men and sheep for breakfast, lunch and dinner. With only one eye, decaying, rotted teeth, and the stench of his rancid breath filling the confined cave, the journey Odysseus had embarked on, did not look like it had a bright future. But, this was part of the journey that he had agreed to.

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Athena is known as the goddess of war. Odysseus was aided by her ideas on how to regain power through her tactical skills. The fact that the goddess warrior was on his side through the journey home, reclaiming his land, and killing the suitors was a huge advantage. Athena is very intelligent in how she strategizes and won wars in the past. Some may argue that Odysseus is the real hero but there were many times throughout The Odyssey where he needed Athena’s protection and input of logical ideas.

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But, after angering Poseidon by blinding his one eyed cyclops son, Odysseus must go through brutal situations to get home thanks to the fuming god. The theme, the search for justice, is very prevalent in this text because of the fight between Odysseus and the suitors, the reunion of Odysseus and his wife Penelope and when Odysseus visits his father Laertes and Athena must restore peace because of the fight that breaks out there. To begin, the theme searching for justice is shown clearly when Odysseus returns home and kills the suitors. The text states, “Odysseus took aim and hit him with an arrow in the throat.

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Here, Odysseus tells Athena that she is all he has left and through her immortal powers, she is the only god still on his side who can help him in his time of need. Therefore, through Athena’s encouraging words, she is able to make Odysseus feel uplifted and more useful, especially as Odysseus is, at this point, very hopeless and miserably

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Odysseus’ reverence to the gods is shown again after the suitors families and the town learns of Odysseus’ homicide, they come after the royal family. Athena and Zeus come to Ithaca, ordering a peace. Homer describes the event and Odysseus’ reaction, “So she commanded. He obeyed her, glad at heart." (Homer 24.598).

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