The Odyssey, an epic poem by Homer later adapted into a play by Simon Armitage, is a narrative depicting the journey of the greek hero Odysseus back to Ithaca after fighting in the Trojan War. His voyage spans twenty years, and throughout the course of his trip back home, Odysseus and his men encounter various obstacles that they need to overcome. Since Odysseus is essentially the leader of his crew, it is most often his responsibility to defeat the enemy and solve the problem at hand. At times, his actions could be classified as violent and unjust, such as him causing unnecessary conflicts with enemies and resorting to killing them. Nonetheless, Odysseus is still a war veteran, and has been exposed to this brutal style of solving issues for…
One thing that caught my eye was the book on Lourie’s following of the trail of Cabeza De Vaca. I found it intriguing because I thought it to be a lot like the well known Homer books Illiad and the Odyssey. To me, the description of On the Trail of Cabeza De Vaca seemed similar to that of Homer’s books. A man, Cabeza De Vaca, set sail to near Mexico, which was like Odysseus journeying to Troy; but in Cabeza De Vaca’s case he was venturing to the Mexico area in order to colonize, conquer, and possibly find gold, while Odysseus was traveling in order to defeat Troy. Also too, both Odysseus and De Vaca were gone for about ten years.…
Loyalty and Change in The Odyssey The Odyssey, by Homer, is an epic tale of a Greek kings return home. Odysseus yearns to return home to his wife Penelope, his son Telemachus, and the kingdom in which he ruled. Over the course of this journey each character must endure many challenges that shape their personality. Although Penelope remains strong in her personal beliefs, Telemachus and Odysseus change greatly throughout the story.…
Penelope and Telemachus are absent to Odysseus because they are back in Ithaca and Odysseus is deserted to travel back alone. Odysseus longs for the family reunion, mourning and grieving over the fact that family is not whole. Ever since the beginning of The Odyssey, Homer constantly pushes the plot by providing motivation for Odysseus: Penelope and Telemachus. Despite the years spent with beautiful nymph Calypso, Odysseus never fails to grieve over the absence of his beloved wife Penelope. Odysseus is impelled to go back to Ithaca because he wants to be with his family, therefore change the absence to presence.…
This song represents Penelope and her son when Odysseus is off to war. In this song Penelope is asking her son Telemachus to take care of her if Odysseus doesn’t come back to Ithaca. At the end of the Odyssey, it had been shown that Penelope still had hope that Odysseus would return, but she has still raised Telemachus as if Odysseus were never to return. Telemachus grew up strong, with no real father figure in his life. He was raised to be his own role model and to take care of his mother while his father was overseas at…
In The Odyssey, Homer presents a double standard to the reader. While the author really applause the men who are unfaithful to their wives, the women remain faithful to their husbands. This concept is shown through the epic's two main characters, Odysseus and Penelope. Odysseus is unfaithful to his wife Penelope. Calypso, a goddess has captured Odysseus, the hero of Homer's epic poem, when his ship is blown off course.…
In The Odyssey, Penelope is the leading cause for Odysseus’ desire to return home. She is the reason he fights and travels through such a peril journey in order to get home. Without Penelope, Odysseus would not have fought as hard as did for twenty years in order to return to his kingdom and his wife; “Only Odysseus still longed to return to his home and his wife” (Homer 15-16). In O Brother, Where Art Thou?…
To start off the subject, Penelope in The Odyssey, a heroic tale from Ancient Greece, has gained guile and cunning through her heroic and cunning husband Odysseus. Waiting for over 20 years for her husband’s…
One of the best relationships you have are the ones at home with your family. These relationships you can never forget and can last a lifetime. In the book The Odyssey, Odysseus struggles for ten years to come home to his family after the Trojan War. At home, in Ithaca, he has a wife, Penelope, and a son, Telemachus that he loves dearly. He is always eager to find some way to get closer and closer to his home.…
True love is very strong and can be rare. With the millions of people in the world there is that person that others know is their one true love. While true love appears in life,it can also exist in literature. In the epic “The Odyssey”, Odysseus and Penelope’s love stays true and pure even while he is away for so long. Penelope greatly misses and aches for Odysseus’ return even though she has the chance to marry again to one of the suitors.…
In the epic poem, the Odyssey, written by Homer, it tells of the amazing feats performed by Odysseus. He goes on impossible adventures for the average man; He successfully leads his crew through the sea, or does he? Even though Odysseus may show that he is clever, he also shows that he does not listen, is very temperamental, and is untrustworthy; Because of these character traits, he cannot be an effective leader. To begin, Odysseus shows multiple times that he does not listen to his crew. His crew tries to warn him of the multiple dangers that were to come from his actions, yet he refuses to listen, putting several of his crew’s lives in danger, and even killing a few of them.…
What if the person one looks up to or longs to return is not the person they expect that person to be? In the Odyssey, by Homer, this is the case for Odysseus. He is not the man everyone thinks he is. To begin with, the epic the Odyssey is about the return of the “great” king of Ithaka, Odysseus, from the Trojan War. He spends ten years fighting the war and is now on his way home where he is creating tension that is prolonging his return to Ithaka.…
In fact, Odysseus’ character and relationships within his roles…
Penelope's Stature "Although Penelope's regular epithet in Homer is περίφρων ("very intelligent"), the rare quality of her intelligence, more elusive than her celebrated loyalty, has not received the attention it deserves." (Marquardt 1) Marquardt, in this quote from Penelope Polutropos, feels that the intelligence of Penelope in The Odyssey overlooked. Penelope's ongoing conflict with the suitors demonstrates her cunning and wity ways, but it also portrays her intelligence as a character in the Odyssey. Through Penelope's schemes against the suitors and her maintenance of her social status, or stature, Penelope has proven that she is equally as important as Odysseus in Homer's Odyssey. Penelope's well-formed tricks on the suitors further…
The Odyssey was written by Homer. The main Character in The Odyssey is Odysseus, a man of advancing age who has earned the glory and worship of his people. Odysseus spent 20 years at war and returning home. With the help of the Greek Goddess Athena and her father Zeus, Odysseus was able to return to Ithaca. Upon returning to Ithaca Odysseus disguises himself as a beggar.…