It is often wondered how words are formed or created. Many of our words are derived from different older cultures, like the civilization of Ancient Greece. An example of this is the word museum which comes from the word muse. The Muses were greek goddesses of the fine arts who were prayed to by philosophers, musicians, and artists who seeked inspiration. The Greek poet and author of the famous stories The Iliad and The Odyssey was one of them. In the epic, The Odyssey, Homer displays Ancient Greek values and virtues through his character/hero, Odysseus. Odysseus is a true hero in the eyes of the Ancient Greek Civilization because he was intelligent, loyal, and extremely religious. During Homer’s lifetime, being religious was expected. The …show more content…
Another similar terrible sin is not being loyal to your spouse. Thankfully, Odysseus was a faithful husband to his wife, Penelope. Homer agrees when he writes “But in my heart, I never gave consent” (Homer, 917). Even though goddess and immortals desired him, he always only loved and longed for Penelope because of his admirable loyalty. Moreover, the only reason Odysseus remained with Calypso for so long was because she forced him to. That is until Athena pleaded with her powerful father, Zeus, to help liberate him. Justifying my idea, Homer wrote “Though he fought shy of her and her desire, he lay with her each night, for she compelled him” (Homer, 914). If it were not for the hypnotic nymph’s compulsion, the righteous Odysseus would have been reunited with his love and queen years before. In addition to Calypso falling in love with Odysseus, so did the enchantress Circe, who also kept him on her island and away from his home. Homer states “Odysseus and his men beg Circe to help them return home” (Homer, 935). Although Odysseus was given two chances to stay with a beautiful woman and become immortal, his love for Penelope, never ceased. Odysseus maintained his loyalty to his beloved because Homer wanted Odysseus to have heroic traits to make him more appealing as a role model in …show more content…
The Ithacan king is intelligent, loyal to his wife, and has a intimate relationship with the gods. In our modern society, just recently it has not been expected of to be religious. On the other hand, being clever, cunning, and intelligent, is still something that is well respected. Equally as respected as being a loyal spouse. However, The Odyssey also taught that a hero is never perfect. Every hero has at least one fatal flaw that makes them human. Odysseus's is
Odysseus went above and beyond as far as heroes go though. True heroes are leaders who are loving, kind, fair, caring, and admired by those whom they rule, but Odysseus was so much more than that. He was so dedicated to his crew, that he was willing to sacrifice himself for them, and he almost did just that on Circe's island. He knew he stood no chance against Circe and would probably be turned into a pig, but he had to at least try to get his men back, even if it meant sacrificing himself in the attempt. As the swineherd said when asked about Odysseus, “Never another master kind as he” and as he elaborated on the subject of Odysseus, “That man, old friend, far away as he is… I can scarcely bear to say his name aloud, so deeply he loved me, cared for me, so deeply.
Usually, epic heroes share common character traits such as bravery,courage,loyalty,. In Homer’s Odyssey, it is my belief that Odysseus is not heroic mostly because he was loyal when he was gone and left his wife. For example, when he went where Hades was all his men went and they ended up dieing.
The Odyssey, the basic standards of loyalty and faithfulness are varied depending on the individual’s gender and relationships. Females are to devote their bodies, souls, and lives to their husbands, while males aren’t looked down upon if they do not return the same courtesy. Penelope is expected to stay celibate while Odysseus is not expected to reciprocate the same actions. Servants are also required to stay loyal to their masters even if they are
Two female characters are Penelope and Athena. Penelope is the beautiful wife of Odysseus. She hasn't seen her husband for twenty years and fears he is dead. She is pursued by many suitors who wish to take Odysseus' place. She weeps for Odysseus nightly.
Heroes pass down the idea of what good qualities a human should have, but some show how power can get to your head. In The Odyssey by Homer, Odysseus shows the complete opposite qualities by being merciless towards people that do any wrong to him, relentless in how his instincts come upon him, and violent towards any misfortune that happens to him. Odysseus cannot be considered a hero because he shows the opposite values of hospitality, loyalty and how much revenge is in his heart. Odysseus displays discourteousness or the opposite of hospitality to the suitors in his home because all he wants the outcome to be is violent without any understanding. While Odysseus gets angry with Polyphemus earlier in the story by saying, “...who dared to eat your own guests in your own house.” (9.479) Odysseus wants to kill every one of the suitors that is trying to marry Penelope, Odysseus 's wife.
Heroes can range from the well-known Superman to Harriet Tubman during the American Civil War, to the very parents that get you up in the morning. Despite who the hero may be, heroes are said to display selflessness, humility, and integrity. Specifically, epic heroes are expected to also illustrate loyalty and devotion. In the Odyssey by Homer, Odysseus is depicted as the bigger than life epic hero of the epic poem that has had such an overwhelming impact on Western culture. However, his character flaws and the byproduct that are their consequences negate his heroism.
A hero is a person who is recognized or idealized for his or her outstanding achievements and noble qualities. The deaths of his men are the result of Odysseus’ weaknesses. The possession of the character trait, arrogance, does not help him in escaping, but rather puts him closer to danger. Another trait that ends up killing a number of his men is his lack of leadership skills, or rather the lack of respect and trust from his men. In some parts of this epic poem, Odysseus also displays the characteristic, foolishness, in which that also results in the deaths of a number of his men.
In “The Odyssey” written by Homer, Odysseus has fought big creatures that you have never thought you would ever hear about, but the only real thing he cares about, is his wife, Penelope. Even after twenty years, Odysseus has never forgotten about Penelope. Odysseus may have made poor decisions, yet he was always loyal, trustworthy, and strong-hearted when it came to his wife Penelope. Odysseus made several wrong decisions in his travels after the Trojan War. Odysseus was loyal to a certain point, but if a Goddess asked you to do something you should act on it or something bad could potentially happen to you or a loved one.
but he still constantly longed for his wife and son.” (Stewart). This source shows that he was truly loyal to his wife, loving towards his son, but did not, even over the course of seven years, develop any romantic feelings towards Calypso. “But Odysseus didn’t accept her generosity – he was dreaming about going back to his Ithaca and his wife.” (“Calypso and Odysseus”).
The Odyssey by Homer is an exemplary story that teaches life lessons to those going on a journey for themselves. It illustrates how the challenges and obstacles one may face can help someone become a better leader. The Odyssey highlights one man, Odysseus, a man filled with excessive pride, experiencing the wrath of the god Poseidon. He expects to arrive at his home, Ithaca, safely to reunite with his wife, Penelope, but unfortunately faces many temptations and setbacks. Due to the challenges he faces, it prevents him from arriving home as early as he thought he would.
In The Odyssey by Homer, Homer makes Odysseus look like a hero, but his actions show that he is not. I do not believe that Odysseus deserves the title of a hero because his flaws kill his men, he cheats on Penelope, and he lies and spies on Penelope. When Odysseus and his men meet the cyclops, Odysseus decides to stay at the cyclops’ cave and see what he has to offer, even though his men think they should just steal all the cyclops’ food and run away. Since Odysseus made his decision to stay, his men were eaten by the cyclops.
Odysseus is truly loyal to Penelope because he leaves Ogygia (where he was trapped) as soon as possible, puts all of his effort into making it home to his wife, and even flirts with Princess Nausicaa to get him home. Even though Odysseus has been through
The Odyssey by Homer revolves around the character, Odysseus, and his ten-year struggle to return home after the Trojan War. As the epic’s idol, he displays the combination of a clever, handsome, and courageous man popular among the mortals as well as the gods. Essentially, he embodies the ideals of the ancient Greek culture, being adorned with many favored characteristics of the era. However, an intriguing aspect of Odysseus lies in his personality. As the protagonist, he does not manifest the entirety of a stereotypical hero because Odysseus has a fatal flaw—his arrogance.
In an epic poem, The Odyssey, by Homer, Odysseus struggles to come back home while his wife, Penelope, faces barbarous suitors who plague her house to court her for the marriage in order to claim the kingship of Ithaca. With an absence of the man of the household and a son who is not old enough to rule over the country and handle the domestic complications, Penelope endeavors to keep the household orderly and civilized. In order to prevent further chaos in the household, Penelope maintains her role as the Queen of Ithaca and Odysseus’s wife through her loyalty and cunning. For a woman who does not know when her man will return home, Penelope is extremely strong to keep hope and wait for her husband; thus, her unwavering loyalty to her husband
By the end of The Odyssey, Odysseus can be considered a hero. Odysseus finally makes it home and regains his throne putting everything once again in its place. After defeating the odds and overcoming the obstacles put in his way, he was able to learn important lessons. He learned that while curiosity is a good trait to have it is important to know when to control it so that it does not lead to problems. One of the most important things was that he learned that hubris, while it makes him a hero, should not be displayed at all times.