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What Is Redemption In Odysseus

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Homer uses the Gods and Goddesses impact on Odysseus to show how redemption can be earned which is illustrated through Foster's quest theory. Circe, Zeus, Poseidon, Athena, and Helios are gods that symbolize mythological ideas, whereas in the Odyssey they symbolize lessons Odysseus needs to learn. Odysseus is a man that the gods critique often. Odysseus is on a journey to get home to his family from the Trojan War. Odysseus does not always make the best decisions and it gets himself in big trouble. Circe, the goddess of sorcery, “informs him that in order to reach home he must journey to the land of the dead, Hades, and consult the blind prophet Tiresias” (Homer 699). Circe tells Odysseus the future and lets him make the decisions. When Odysseus goes to the land of the dead he must make the right choices so that he can reach his stated reason; to go home. Circe symbolizes the idea of Odysseus having to learn be a better leader and make smarter decisions. He needs to show the gods he is worthy of redemption since he has angered them. Later, Odysseus must go through challenges and trials in each place Circe foretells him to go so that he can learn self knowledge, gain his redemption with the gods, and get home to …show more content…

Like Poseidon, Zeus would affect Odysseus’ journey and bring him off course. Odysseus goes to the land of the Cicones and raids it, and steals many things. This is what causes Zeus to be mad at Odysseus. Afterwards, when Odysseus is sailing away he explains to Homer how “...doomed appeared to us, dark word of Zeus for us, for our evil days”(Homer 684). Since Odysseus and his men did malicious actions Zeus intends on punishing them. A doom was in their future if Odysseus kept up these sorts of actions. Zeus is one the most important god to be on good terms with since he is the king and son of Cronus. The greatest challenge Odysseus faces is finding out ways to redeem himself with the

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In addition, now Odysseus must face the wrath of the God Poseidon along his voyage. He now dedicates himself to ruining all chances of Odysseus getting back to Ithaca. After several years of perseverance, Odysseus finally reaches Ithaca only to

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For example, when Odysseus has an affair with the Goddess Lady Circe or when his crew opens Aeolus’s Bag of Winds. One major theme in “The Odyssey” is the consequences of temptation and how that ultimately impacted Odysseus’ and his crews' journey back to Ithaca and the events of the Hero’s Journey. The Hero’s Journey also played a major part in shaping how the characters behaved as well as the result of the narritave. The theme of the consequences of temptation is established throughout the story through the actions of Odysseus' crew, which ultimately resulted in their

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Poseidon is one God against him. Poseidon does everything he can to keep him away from home till Odysseus learns a lesson that Poseidon was trying to get to him. Many Gods also try to help Odysseus, one very helpful one being the god of the wind, Aeolus. Aeolus gives him a sack of wind which helps Odysseus get home but the problem with that. You only get one use out of it so if you open it when you don’t have good timing.

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At various times throughout the story, mainly through the trials, Odysseus made many decisions and forced his crew to go through many potentially lethal situations without preparing his own crew, or situations that were just a waste of time. This then leads to not only all of his crew being killed but the creation of many bad relationships. The first example of Odysseus mistreating his crew is when he and his crew went through the trails, “No more. Come, / let me tell you about the voyage fraught with hardship / Zeus inflicted on me, homeward bound from Troy...” 9.42-44.

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TS1 (Thesis): In The Odyssey, Homer depicts Odysseus’ real foe as the theme of temptation with displays of hubris and lustrous goddesses, which portrays the importance of being vigilant to not submit to temptation. ST1: Homer depicts that Odysseus is determined to get home, but Odysseus succumbs to temptation when he leads his crew into the cyclops lair, eats the cyclops’ food, and demands for a gift, resulting in a protracted journey home. 1: Homer displays Odysseus as recklessly brave when he requests, “we’re at your knees, in hopes of… a guest-gift”(9.300) from the cyclops. 2: It is apparent that Odysseus has given into the temptation to be arrogant when he declares for the cyclops to give them, “a guest-gift,” after Odysseus and his men have broken into the cyclops lair, showing even further Odysseus’ isn’t vigilant to

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764 Words | 4 Pages

(p.793-line.948) Zeus is seen creating thunder and lighting in The Odyssey which is commonly caused by another situation that affects Odysseus’s journey. “...when Zeus Cronion piled a thunderhead above the ship, while gloom spread on the ocean.” (p.791-line.938) Zeus displays a large role in Greek mythology because he is a ruler and protector of the gods which explains how he solved the complaint of Helios. Odysseus’s fate lies solely on Zeus in The Odyssey because he is seen as the god who decides everyone’s fate in Greek

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643 Words | 3 Pages

Circe is a helpful, magical goddess whom Odysseus meets along his journey back to Ithaca. After Odysseus leaves Circe’s island, he travels to the House of Death and learns he must travel back to Circe’s island to bury a crew member’s body. When Odysseus and his crew return, Circe greets them kindly and thoughtfully

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1665 Words | 7 Pages

Circe informs him that in order to reach home he must journey to the land of the dead, Hades, and consult the blind prophet Tiresias”(Homer 576). Odysseus is showing he is dependent on the gods because he is relying on Circe. He

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However, Zeus saw the two sides of the gods’ feelings towards Odysseus. “‘Great Odysseus/ who excels all men in wisdom... it’s the Earth-Shaker, Poseidon, unappeased,/ forever fuming against him..’” (1.78-83). Zeus created an equilibrium so that Poseidon could take out his anger on Odysseus through punishment, and Athena receives the duty of making sure Odysseus gets home to Ithaca.

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“She replies that they must first visit the land of the dead to hear a prophecy from the ghost of Tiresias” (Fitzgerald 387). This proves that Circe is providing Odysseus’ fate at the moment. One last example of fate and destiny in The Odyssey is when Odysseus visits Tiresias, he tells him his destiny as he heads back home. “Great captain, a fair wind and the honey lights of home are all you seek. But anguish lies ahead…

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This confrontation shows how his concealment is another example of his typical resourcefulness, which he uses as a defence in this situation because he is unsure whether this unknown person is trustworthy or not. Odysseus’ heightened sense of awareness of possible enemies is a result of his constant confrontation with danger on his journey home. Being one step ahead of everyone else helped him to survive. For example, when he and his men are faced with having to escape the cave of the cyclops, Odysseus’ idea to blind the cyclops saves them from death; however, this action also caused a delay in his homecoming, because Poseidon—the father of the cyclops—punishes him by causing storms, thus elongating his homecoming. This is one instance in which Odysseus’ resourcefulness has ambiguous consequences, which raises the question that perhaps his saving grace could also be a negative trait in certain situations.

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1190 Words | 5 Pages

Odysseus suffered the consequence of being away from his son, Telemachus, and his wife, Penelope for 20 years. Odysseus was told by Athena and other gods, what to do during his journey. All of them told Odysseus that he couldn’t tell his men because they’d suffer a consequence. Odysseus listened to Athena and the gods because he only thought about himself and didn 't think about what his crew would say or do. When Odysseus and his crew passed by the mainland where the Cyclops lived, they were only going to stay for two days, but then out of curiosity, Odysseus wanted to see what kind of beast the Cyclops was which made them almost die.

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620 Words | 3 Pages

Throughout The Odyssey, we learn a lot about the greek culture. One of the first things we learn and that continues to get expressed throughout the whole story is that the gods are very important. To start it off, the storyteller prays to Muse. Then, later in the story, Odysseus stabs the cyclops eye out, causing Zeus to get mad at him. Because of this, Odysseus has a lot tougher of a trip home.

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846 Words | 4 Pages

Odysseus has grown from the man he was before, as now he finds comfort and safety in obeying the gods when in the past he did not consider their wishes. Odysseus has only returned due to Athena and he has recognized that and his compliance is founded in his appreciation and respect for her. Odysseus is now a hero due to the obedience he now has to the gods, founded in a sense of humility. Through Odysseus’ experiences on his journey, he learns the value of obedience and dangers of arrogance and ultimately, become a hero through the lessons learned.

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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.

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