Matthew Kerins Honors English 4 Heroes Mrs. Luedeke March 14, 2024 Navigating Human Fallibility from Lessons in "The Odyssey" Throughout most of history, heroes are portrayed as the character to come in and save the day at any time. The perfect person in which everyone looks up to and for in times of distraught and danger who makes no mistakes, but this is not the case for most of ancient Greek culture. The Greeks celebrated humanism and knew how important it was to make mistakes. Homer emphasized what it means to be human in “The Odyssey”, by showing mistakes, weaknesses, and vulnerabilities, especially in such a strong character, such as Odysseus. The whole story seemed to just cover Odysseus’ mistakes and his heroic acts. Him and his men
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Odysseus and his crew made countless mistakes throughout the course of this novel. Examples of this are when Odysseus’ crew wanted to just loot the island of the Cyclops and leave before they caused too much trouble, but Odysseus’ curiosity and impulsivity got the better of him. This mistake can also be seen as a cause of overconfidence, because when Odysseus entered the cave of the Cyclops, he thought that he could get out unscathed. This mistake caused many of his men to be eaten by the Cyclops and die, but due to this misstep Odysseus learned that he had to be smarter in his actions and now he had to save his men. Once he saved them, though, he made an even bigger mistake. When Odysseus said this, “‘Kyklops, / if ever mortal man inquire / how you were put to shame and blinded, tell him / Odysseus, raider of cities, took your eye: / Lartês’ son, whose home’s on Ithaka’” (Homer 9.524-529), his overconfidence and impulsive actions allowed Poseidon to reign terror throughout his men and his whole journey home. Another mistake made by Odysseus’ crew was when Odysseus, over and over again, warned his crew not to eat the calf of the sun god
Odysseus and his crew made countless mistakes throughout the course of this novel. Examples of this are when Odysseus’ crew wanted to just loot the island of the Cyclops and leave before they caused too much trouble, but Odysseus’ curiosity and impulsivity got the better of him. This mistake can also be seen as a cause of overconfidence, because when Odysseus entered the cave of the Cyclops, he thought that he could get out unscathed. This mistake caused many of his men to be eaten by the Cyclops and die, but due to this misstep Odysseus learned that he had to be smarter in his actions and now he had to save his men. Once he saved them, though, he made an even bigger mistake. When Odysseus said this, “‘Kyklops, / if ever mortal man inquire / how you were put to shame and blinded, tell him / Odysseus, raider of cities, took your eye: / Lartês’ son, whose home’s on Ithaka’” (Homer 9.524-529), his overconfidence and impulsive actions allowed Poseidon to reign terror throughout his men and his whole journey home. Another mistake made by Odysseus’ crew was when Odysseus, over and over again, warned his crew not to eat the calf of the sun god