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 …show more content…
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 …show more content…
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
The Odyssey is an epic written by Homer. In the epic, the hero Odysseus is tested after given the task to get his men, as well as himself back home, while trying to survive the harsh terrain and vicious monsters that they encounter. After analyzing Odysseus's carelessness, lack of truth, and selfishness throughout the epic, the readers realize that he is a horrible leader. Throughout the epic, Odysseus neglected to pay attention to the men’s safety. Before Odysseus and his men encountered Scylla, he made sure that he was safe from the monster, leaving his men to be eaten (The Sirens; Scylla and Charybdis. 728).
In the “Odyssey,” Homer illustrates the lessons learned throughout Odysseus’ journey. This book exemplifies how greed can lead to misfortune through the story of Odysseus and the King of the Winds, Aeolus. Greed is the cause of Odysseus’ delayed travels, causing more to be lost than what was already given at the time. The lesson learned is that you should never desire for something that isn’t going to benefit you if you have to commit terrible acts in order to achieve them.
Odyssey Essay Did you know Odysseus let many of his men die in the Odyssey? Well, Odysseus is also known for his brave and heroic acts, but to further understand him, you have to know about his Greek Values. In the Odyssey, Odysseus’ strength and weaknesses of leadership, intelligence, and his selfishness. This reflects the Greek Values of leading others to success, and accomplishment, outsmarting others, and caring for others.
The Odyssey In Homer’s epic, The Odyssey, Odysseus is bestowed with great abilities. But along with this potential, he is cursed with great arrogance. Conveying that even the labeled ‘perfect’ among us have fatal flaws that causes pain and suffering among the ones closest to them. The author, Homer, uses Odysseus’ arrogance to create a melancholic atmosphere to convey the idea that arrogance is a fatal flaw that will lead those around them to pain and suffering.
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.
There are many lessons Odysseus and is men learn on their journey home in the Odyssey. Unfortunately, only Odysseus makes it home and the rest of men are dead because of their foolish actions. In the Thrinacia and The Cattle of the Sun episode of the Odyssey Odysseus’s men once again disobey him and cost them their lives. The men and Odysseus learn valuable lessons throughout their epic journey, but in the episode the most important lessons they learn are; temptation can lead to death, being obedient can save your life, and trust your instincts. If Odysseus’s men would have been more obedient to their leader Odysseus perhaps all of them would have made it back home alive.
In the book called The Odyssey by Homer, it mainly follows the story of a king of a village called Ithaca, hundreds of years ago-This man, is named Odysseus. Odysseus goes through many adventures after the victory of the Trojan War. However, this is where Odysseus, is not being as strong as a great war hero and a king as he should be. Although Odysseus was seen as a very strong person, physically and mentally, he lacks the appreciation and the care of his crew throughout the trials and didn’t think through many of his actions thoroughly and how they would affect not only his crew but people around him.
Appetites and Their Consequences in The Odyssey In Homer’s The Odyssey, Circe advises Odysseus that in order to survive, he must control his appetite to have a good reputation. On some occasions Odysseus listens to the advice, but at other times his intense appetite blocks him from achieving strong leadership. Odysseus wants to be well liked and perceived as a hero, but as Circe tries to warn him, sometimes survival must come before the desire to be a hero.
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 Homer’s The Odyssey, Odysseus repeatedly shows that he is polytropos, for as Zeus says “There is no mortal half so wise”(3). Using his wits, Odysseus gets him and his men out of several sticky situations in the Odyssey, proving his leadership through his actions that save the lives of his crew member. On the other hand Odysseus’ streak of constantly outsmarting challenges, goes to his head, and unfortunately causes Odysseus to develop a hubris. His pride at times makes him arrogant, believing that he always knows best, which leads to the untimely demise of his crew. While Odysseus proves to be good leader by saving his crew from trouble with his wits, he is ultimately a bad leader because he refuses to listen to advice.
Odysseus only shook his head, as he walked on” (Homer 685). After Odysseus came up with the plan to sabotage them from the inside, he went to the suitors, where he asked for food -disguised as a beggar-. After asking for food, the haughty suitor Antinous, bashfully threw a stool, just to defend for that meager comment, “A pity you have more looks than hearts”. Although Odysseus could’ve ended his life right now and then, he waited patiently; That is the true format of self-control, holding one’s eager covets in the most crucial moments. If Odysseus just gave up and fought back, his plan would’ve failed, for he can’t fight hundreds of men all alone; proving that self-control is
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
The main character Odysseus in the Odyssey written by Homer is generally thought to be a great hero; however, he shows more traits of a quite flawed character on closer inspection. Around the beginning of Odysseus’ journey home after the war, Odysseus decides to take a detour to the home of a cyclops deciding to not listen to his men’s suggestions to leave while they still could; consequently, it does not end well: “Ah, how sound that was, Yet I refused. I wished to see the caveman, what he had to offer no pretty sight it turned out, for my friend” (9.130-132). This thought by Odysseus shows that he realized his decision to go to the mysterious island wasn’t the most rational one and that his men’s pleas to leave were the better option, but he decides to be stubborn and place his curiosity before his men’s safety resulting in a non-heroic
Odysseus’s Traits Throughout the Odyssey, the main character Odysseus goes on an epic adventure with his focus being to get home to his wife Penelope, and his son Telemachus. He faces many obstacles dealing with characters such as the Cyclopes, Poseidon, Aeolus, Athena, Helios, Calypso, Zeus, Hermes, Scylla, and Circe. Odysseus’s men are some of the most valuable people to him throughout the Odyssey. He always puts himself in front of danger for them to protect them even though they all died from an unexpected turn of events soon before he returns home. When Odysseus comes home he greets his twenty year old son and straightens things out on his homeland, Ithaca.
Heroism, tends to be difficult to define and remarkably ambiguous in literary works. In the Odyssey, however, Homer clearly defines a hero as a humble, determined, and loyal individual; thus, according to Homer, it is not enough to claim to be a hero, but it is also important to exhibit those qualities that Homer values as heroism. Odysseus, despite claiming heroism, upholds these traits inconsistently, as seen in his taunting of Polyphemus. In contrast, Telemachus, Odysseus’ overlooked son, dramatically grows up over the course of the epic and ultimately reveals his truly heroic qualities by the end of the poem. Thus, because Odysseus claims to be a hero, but fails to remain humble, determined, and loyal throughout the epic, he is not a hero.