Theme Of Self Control In The Odyssey

Along the journey home, Odysseus and his men are presented with many situations that act as tests of their personal character and self-control. Whether it is the temptation of revelry, the ability to escape their worries, or gluttony, the men must choose between their own selfish desires or resistance for the communal good. The crew’s success or failure in giving in to their temptations depends upon their possession of certain characteristics. Throughout Homer’s Odyssey, the failure of Odysseus’s men to recognize their lack of self-control due to foolishness results in them bringing misfortune upon themselves and ultimately their community while their king and commander, Odysseus, successfully displays how to avoid this lack of self-control

The men do not have enough self-disciple or caution to think about what their actions could ultimately cost them. This foolishness eventually results in death for some and sorrow for the many. For the men “there was too much wine to swill” and “too many sheep to slaughter” (Od.9.52). Even when survival depends upon it, the men cannot restrain themselves from feasting and having a good time; the temptation becomes too great. This time spent in their voracious feasting allows the Cicones to gather reinforcements and attack. Eventually, “six men-at-arms were killed” from every ship (Od.9.69). Not only did this result in grief for the rest of the crew, but it meant that there were six more men per ship that would never return home to their families. The crew’s folly prevents them from having enough self-control to resist the revelry or see how their actions could have detrimental

He even tries to fix the situation when he “took the men to task, upbraiding each in turn, but how to set things right? We couldn’t find a way” (Od.12.422-3). He is wise enough to look at how their decision would affect himself and others. His men, on the other hand, break their oath to not harm the cattle even after witnessing several frightening warnings. They cannot overcome the temptations of the flesh and instead choose to disgrace the sun god by eating his cattle. Each man becomes “blind in his reckless ways” (Od.12.325). This is the final straw, the action that will undo them all. Just like Circe warned, Odysseus returned home “all shipmates lost, and come a broken man” (Od.12.153). Failure to keep their oath and control the temptations of their flesh led to the crews violent and untimely death. Since Odysseus is the only one to return, not only are his men all robbed of their own homecoming and lives, but the people of Ithaca were robbed of their fathers, husbands, sons, brothers, and