Examples Of Empathy In The Odyssey

Feeling sad for someone or understanding what someone has gone through are two different reactions to people. Those feelings are sympathy and empathy. In Homer’s The Odyssey many characters lack these feelings. When Odysseus encounters Polyphemus, he shows hardly any empathy in the way Polyphemus lives. When Odysseus meets Polyphemus he demands that Polyphemus should give him food and water. Odysseus does not hold any sort of respect for Polyphemus, but he does show empathy in some of his actions that he takes to save his followers.

While Odysseus does not show empathy or sympathy for the people whom are opposing him. However he does show these two feelings for his followers and people willing to help him. Evidence of this can be found on