Odysseus is known as a very honorable man recognized as brave, noble, and a hero in the Odyssey. He is described one way, but his actions are contradicting towards his distinguishable character. In Homer’s The Odyssey, it can be argued that Odysseus is too deceitful, narcissistic, and pretentious to be considered an honorable hero. To support this, I will be analyzing the use of the word “honor” in situations where Odysseus was described as a man with great honor by the gods.
Odysseus’s honor is first mentioned in Telemachus' yearning for his father’s return and the need for his great honor to take back control of his home in Book 1. Telemachus has idealistic views of his father knowing just what he was told about him because of Odysseus
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In the Odyssey, Polyphemus prays to Poseidon asking for Odysseus to never go back home or return to his family too late and with no honor. This prayer comes true and his honor is no more once he returns to Ithaca, and the biggest aspect of this is through his narcissistic behavior. Odysseus is praised as the “most devoted and most loyal man (Homer 432)” to his crew and his wife when in reality he is a truly selfish character in the Odyssey. One form of selfishness Odysseus shows is adultery. Odysseus emphasizes the significance of a man and wife keeping a ‘harmonious’ household, but he continued to be unfaithful to Penelope on his journey on several different occasions. In Book 10, Circe comes across Odysseus and commands him to go to bed with her. Initially he resisted, but once Circe gave him what he wanted, he “went up to the dazzling bed of Circe (Homer 435).” Another example of his astray from Penelope, Odysseus is shipwrecked on the coast of the island of Scheria when he begs Nausicaa for aid. “He wondered, should he touch her knees, or keep some distance and use charming words, to beg the pretty girl to show him to the town, and give him clothes (Homer 389).” Using flattery to get his way, he goes on and on about calling her beautiful and goddess-like only flirting to get what’s best for him. His narcissism is prevalent in terms of his relationship with women and especially with his crew. He …show more content…
People do not know of his actions, only his stories. An honorable person is the type of person who admits when they are wrong or shakes hands when they lose. Being pretentious is one of Odysseus’ not honorable mannerisms of acting as if he is more important than other. In Book 8, Odysseus is put in a conundrum of whether or not to partake in the Phaeacians' games. He decides to compete because he knows that he is the best. He would rather compete in the Phaeacians' games to prove his own egotistical power, even though it meant delaying his return home. Choosing to stay away longer is one of the many selfish choices of Odysseus on his journey, and just proves how pretentious he truly is. His popular taunts on others’ who he thought of as less worthy resulted in many consequences. As Odysseus fled after attacking Polyphemus, he called the Cyclops an idiot and told him "you had it coming (Homer 425)”. His crew replied with, “Why are you being so insistent and taunting this wild man? He hurled that stone and drove our ship right back to land. We thought that we were going to die (Homer 425).” Ignoring their plea for safety and survival, Odysseus shouted out again disregarding the consequences, resulting in the gods had “planned to ruin all of my ships and all of my loyal men (Homer 427).” Odysseus was wrong to have risk the lives of all
This problematic display of curiosity from the epic hero leads him to taunt and insult the imposing one eyed giant saying “‘So, Cyclops, no weak coward it was whose crew you bent to devour there in your vaulted cave…you shameless cannibal…”(9, 531-34) “That made the rage of the monster boil over” (9,537) With Odysseus’s arrogance, would be his fall. This significant detail foreshadows the karma later delivered. Odysseus blinds the cyclops, and in a fit of pride and adrenaline, reveals who he is saying, “‘Cyclops– if any man on the face of the earth should ask you who blinded you, shamed you so–say Odysseus…”(9,558-60) With this outburst of information, the giant called out to poseidon fortelling he will “never reaches home. Or if he’s fated to see his people once again and reach his well-built house…let him come home late and a broken man-all shipmates lost”(9,589-94) Odysseus has now been cursed foreshadowing his future.
Throughout Homer's Odyssey we can see that men specifically Odysseus do not hold themselves to this double standard that they hold everyone else too. Gods and goddesses seen in The Odyssey tend to help Odysseus even after he has been very unfaithful. “ Hard-hearted you are, you gods! You unrivaled lords of jealousy- scandalized when goddesses sleep with mortals,”- Calypso (5.156.130-133).
Regardless, Odysseus was extremely heroic and victorious in the Trojan War, and proved his loyalty once more when he finally returned home to his family. At the time Homer wrote the Odyssey, Odysseus was a loved and favorite hero among the Greeks for years. Which is why it comes as a surprise, as expressed by one writer in “The English Journal”, that modern readers do not see Odysseus as a hero. The author predominantly tributes this to their lack of knowledge of what people in society were like at the time. The first example they use is that modern readers see Odysseus as much less faithful than his wife, Penelope.
Odysseus was used to receiving hospitality back at his homeland, Ithaca, so when he arrived on the Cyclops’ island and did not receive the same treatment, he did not know how to react. But at the end of the day, Odysseus still manages to defeat Polyphemus, who is a god. But then Odysseus faced Poseidon’s wrath because he disrespected his family. Odysseus realized what his fate was going to be when he blinded the water god’s son: “A god may even send a great sea-monster, the kind that famous Amphitrite rears. I know Poseidon wants to do me harm'' (5.421-423).
Being a somewhat xenophobic society the Greeks, in this case the Phaeacians, must guarantee that the visitor is friend and not foe, prior opening their homes in hospitality. If they could not receive proof of his noble lineage, Odysseus ran the risk of execution or expulsion. There plays the role of pride; a hero must maintain his air of pride, and self-acknowledgment in his own accomplishments, tales of glory, and brawn, otherwise he is deemed weak in mind and spirit or perhaps seen as an unknown, and therefore, a
The odysseus unit Essay Have you ever wondered if Odysseus is a real epic hero? Lets see if he Represents one of the most important Ancient Greek values. Odysseus firstly doesn't really represent the Ancient Greek values for example the Ancient Greek value of truth. He doesn't represent it because firstly he lied to multiple people for many reasons, good or bad, not only that but he also lied to his wife and you'd expect an epic hero to be loyal to everyone but not Odysseus.
Even some women were crushing on Odysseus and even held him captive Athena guided Odysseus through most of the journey. There is much cheating in the Odyssey among royalty and gods/goddesses When Odysseus finally returns back to his hometown, he is unrecognizable and rejected among his people Penelope has her doubts and holds and archery contest to prove his worth, which
While Odysseus and his crew are slowly moving away from Cyclopes Island, Odysseus tells Polyphemus that he is “Odysseus, Laertes’ son,” whose home “lies on Ithaca” (Homer 459 and 460). Because of his arrogant decision to tell Polyphemus the truth of his origins, he essentially dooms him and his crew. Polyphemus, who is Poseidon's son, asks of his father to punish Odysseus for his arrogance, whom grants his prayer. In cessation, Odysseus’ haughty decision to tell Polyphemus his whereabouts leads to his utter
In Homer’s epic poem, The Odyssey, some might argue that Odysseus’s dishonesty and deceit cause loss of trust and negative consequences. However, Odysseus’s dishonesty and deceit do not always have bad intentions, it can be seen when Odysseus and his men escaped out of Polyphemus’s cave to get out of trouble and when Odysseus received help from his men to get closer to their objective. While lying is looked down upon, people
He tells them, “I am Odysseus, son of Laertes, know to the world/ for every kind of craft–my fame has reached the skies” (9. 21-22). Odysseus shows his arrogance in this quote. Odysseus is so full of arrogance in the beginning of the book that he cannot let anyone but him get recognition for the stories. Odysseus says himself that he is “known to the world” and his “fame has reached the skies”. These statements show someone who is full of themselves and doesn’t want any point of recognition off of them.
Have you ever felt tempted to cheat on your homework or on a test? Have you been prideful of what your status or accomplishments? In Homer’s epic poem The Odyssey, the brave hero Odysseus encountered these obstacles of temptations and pride that people today still face. Therefore, temptation and pride were Odysseus’ greatest enemy throughout his journey back to Ithaca, as they distracted him on his voyage, prevented him from getting home, and displeased the gods.
This shows Odysseus is honorable because even though it may seem abuse, it was the right thing to do. On page 103, Odysseus promises to keep the secret Helen told him. This shows he is honorable because it is honorable and ethical to keep a secret. Honorable is one trait of a hero Odysseus has. Some may claim that Odysseus can’t be the hero of “Black Ships Before Troy” because he is overconfident.
Many times throughout the book that we have been reading “The Odyssey” we see Odysseus showing great honor to many situations such as battles, fallen friends and even enemies and possibly the most relevant for what I have to say, higher powers and by this I mean kings, gods and even substantial enemies, this causes things to start going his way at least the best that those he shows honor to can apply. So the question is, how does this show up against today's world approximately 3000 years later and how important it is to have lots of honor then and now. Odysseus honors those who he respects and by this i mean that he will honor his crew, his family, the gods, kings and even enemies at times. When odysseus honors people they see that and respect him, putting him on a more level ground with people that he needs as allies, these allies become what i think is one of the most important aspects that he portrays.
Just as Achilles is confronted in the Iliad with the problem of balancing his honor with his pride, Odysseus repeatedly faces situations in which self-restraint and humility must check bravado and glory-seeking. In his early adventures, he fails these tests, as when he taunts Polyphemus, inflaming Poseidon. As the epic progresses, Odysseus becomes increasingly capable of judging when it is wise to reveal himself and when it is appropriate to rejoice in his
This example shows how honor is not necessarily one thing, but a combination of how one acts, treats others and handles situations. It is a reflection of how others see us and something that others determine. In the encounter with the Cyclops, Odysseus is seen as honorable by his men due to his actions. Rather than run away, he stays with his men and finds a solution to save them all. He does not put his life or value himself more than his men.