Look at where you are today. Reflect on your struggles, obstacles, failures, and accomplishments. Would you be where you are today without the love and support of the people around you? For most, the answer is no. When you think about your hardships in life, there has always been that one person to pick you up, to shake you out of your funk, and to motivate you to keep on persisting and never stop. However, we cannot solely view these obstacles as barriers in the way of our ultimate destiny rather than as stepping stools to a greater more stronger version of ourselves: prepared and fearless of the next barrier. In the Odyssey, Homer demonstrates the extremes of xenia through Odysseus’ encounters with Polyphemus and Eumaeus. Each host held a
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Neither character exemplified a favorable guest or host. Nonetheless, if Odysseus didn’t have the desire for kleos, admitting to his achievement of overcoming Polyphemus, “Odysseus the marauder did it”(Homer 139), and if Polyphemus didn’t have the desire for revenge, praying to Poseidon to curse Odysseus, there would be no long and tragic epic. The Odyssey may have ended up as a dull epic where Odysseus returns home promptly with no complications and everyone lives happily ever after. What kind of epic would that be? It wouldn’t compare to the Iliad. The Odyssey would be comparable to the sequel of a movie that’s never as great as the first. Also, Odysseus learns from his experience with Polyphemus by becoming more humble and resisting the desire for kleos. When he finally lands on Ithaca, he does not recognize his homeland. When Athena, dressed as “a young man out herding sheep”(Homer 199), reveals that the unknown land is Ithaca, Odysseus stops himself from revealing his identity and rather makes up a story in hopes to have an upperhand over the suitors(Homer 200). With this advantage, Odysseus is capable of gaining back the power of his home and the hand of his wife. If Odysseus gave in to his yearning for kleos, he may of possibly never been capable of achieving a prosperous
Neither character exemplified a favorable guest or host. Nonetheless, if Odysseus didn’t have the desire for kleos, admitting to his achievement of overcoming Polyphemus, “Odysseus the marauder did it”(Homer 139), and if Polyphemus didn’t have the desire for revenge, praying to Poseidon to curse Odysseus, there would be no long and tragic epic. The Odyssey may have ended up as a dull epic where Odysseus returns home promptly with no complications and everyone lives happily ever after. What kind of epic would that be? It wouldn’t compare to the Iliad. The Odyssey would be comparable to the sequel of a movie that’s never as great as the first. Also, Odysseus learns from his experience with Polyphemus by becoming more humble and resisting the desire for kleos. When he finally lands on Ithaca, he does not recognize his homeland. When Athena, dressed as “a young man out herding sheep”(Homer 199), reveals that the unknown land is Ithaca, Odysseus stops himself from revealing his identity and rather makes up a story in hopes to have an upperhand over the suitors(Homer 200). With this advantage, Odysseus is capable of gaining back the power of his home and the hand of his wife. If Odysseus gave in to his yearning for kleos, he may of possibly never been capable of achieving a prosperous