The Sirens try to lure him to his death by singing a tempting song, which contains immortal knowledge as well as Odysseus’ triumphs in Troy in order
Before Odysseus and his men passed the sirens he told all his men to stuff their ears with wax so only he can hear the sirens “ Therefore pass these Sirens by, and stop your men's ears with wax that none of them may hear”(55). This shows why Odysseus is a bad leader because he knew they were going to pass the sirens and only wanted himself to experience
Sirens lure men with their beautiful looks and voices. Calypso warns Odysseus of the dangerous creatures and Odysseus warns his crew. They come up with a cunning plan on how to not let the sirens lure them by filling up their ears with beeswax . Odysseus still plans to kill the suitors when he returns home.
to the crew, jerking my brows; but they bent steady to the oars. Then Perimedes got to his feet, he and Eurylochus and passed more lines about to hold me still. So all rowed on, until the sirens dropped under the sea rim, and their singing dwindled away” (Homer 123-131). Sirens being a powerful enemy to weak minded people Odysseus held his voice from calling out and passed through the
In the Odyssey by homer and translated by Robert Fitzgerald, the Cyclops encounter is one of Odysseus’ greatest flaws and successes at the same time. It began to go downhill when Odysseus lies about his name and the condition of his ship. When him and his men are captured by the cyclops Odysseus claims his name is nobody, and his ship was wrecked, he does this to aid his escape plan and as a tactic to guard his name and men. When the escape plan is put into play, Odysseus stabs the cyclops in the eye with a red hot spear all the while him lying about his name was put into use because the cyclops yells, in agonizing pain, nobody stabbed him in the eye, this causes the other cyclops to lower there guard and not go to assist their brethren. All
Odysseus was warned by Circe that the sirens were a deadly force to sailors. She explained to him that their song is so beautiful that men lose their minds. When hearing this, instead of avoiding the sirens and keeping himself and his men from harm, Odysseus decided that he had to hear their song for himself. Circe explained to him the way that he could keep his crew from hearing the sirens. She said that he can place thick beeswax in the men’s ears and have them tie Odysseus up tight.
The theme of disobedience is very prominent in this episode. The poor choices Odysseus makes as well as his foolish men. In other episodes in the Odyessy like Scylla and Charybdis, The Lotus Eaters, and most episodes’ disobedience was also a problem. In the Sirens and Cyclops episode Odysseus’ men where more obedient when they were in threating situation. If this episode was never told in the book of the Odyssey, the readers would be missing out on how important it is to be obedient and trusting your own instincts.
Then Odysseus and his men have to face sirens during an expedition. Odysseus went through all these hardships just so he would be able to see his wife, who had not seen in 10 years. Odysseus was trying to return home to her because he was faithful to her, he even resisted temptation
Odysseus then realizes he can not handle the singing: “The lovely
This is very dangerous since the Sirens “...bewitch men coasting by;/… [they] will sing his mind away/on their sweet meadow lolling. There are bones/of dead men rotting in a pile beside [the Sirens]” (Homer 395). Odysseus was very courageous to offer to listen to a deadly song to benefit his crew. Normally, someone would have been fearful to offer this, but Odysseus possesses the superhuman courage to listen to the
Given the leader he is, when Odysseus and his men encountered the sirens, his men were quick to follow his instructions with diligence. Homer writes, “Sirens weakening a haunting song over the sea we are to shun”(690-691). The sirens sing a songs to lure sailors to their death. Homer writes, “I alone should listen to their song”(693-694). Odysseus knowing what the sirens purpose and having prior knowledge of the things the sirens would say to him.
Instead, the text talks about the actions of Odysseus who "sliced an ample wheel of beeswax [...] and I stopped the ears of my comrades one by one". Indeed, the only understanding of the sirens comes from their speech; this perspective originates from the Odyssey's point of view. Unlike "Siren Song," The Odyssey's focuses on the person who opposes the sirens, Odysseus, more than the sirens themselves. This leads to the Sirens lacking any special quality that would make them any different than any obstacle there is noting personal about them. This is in contrast "Siren Song," which focuses almost exclusively on the siren.
Homer tells the story of The Odyssey through a narrator that is hearing the story from a muse. In the first book, Homer uses pronouns and refers to himself telling the story, but he isn’t a character, rather a third person that focused on Odysseus and Telemachus. In book four, Odysseus becomes the narrator. Doing this gives a different way to tell the story, through his own experiences, which gives the reader a different way to understand the epic poem. It’s also the first example of an extended first-person narrative in Western literature.
Circe shared with Odysseus that the sirens songs lure sailors to shipwreck and that he should put beeswax in his ears to prove it, but Odysseus refuses and tells them to tie him down instead. Odysses shows his hubris takes him over when he states, “Therefore you are to tie me up, tight as a splint, / erect along the mast, lashed to the mast, / and if i shout and beg to be untied, / take more turns of the ropes to muffle me” (12.695-698). Odysseus does not listen to anyone about the sirens songs and doesn't think it will effect him. This proves Odysseus hubris is too large because he has the confidence to face the sirens songs, which are very
