The Role Of Odysseus In Homer's Odyssey

Decent Essays
I was walking around the house when I stopped and saw Odysseus in the living room. I ran up the stairs out of breath to tell Penelope that her husband, which has been gone for 20 years, has returned! She would not believe me she thought that he was dead because she has been listening to the suitors. I told her that I knew it was her husband Odysseus that returned because of his scar. Penelope still did not believe me. I told her that if she went downstairs to the living room next to the fireplace and it was not him than she could kill me with a thousand knifes. Thank Zeus I was

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    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…

    • 863 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In Homer’s The Odyssey, Odysseus is a commendable hero because he uses strategy rather than strength to overcome drawbacks in his journey back home to Ithaca. Odysseus thinks into the future when conjuring a plan to conquer the great Polyphem on the Island of the Cyclops. His quick deliberation helps him fool the beast but his hubris ways come back to be a problem for him. Odysseus’ journey home leads him to the Cyclops Island, where his use of creativity helps him defeat the beast that is Polyphemus.…

    • 342 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    "The Odyssey" is an epic poem by Homer, in which the story is focused mainly on the trails the main character Odysseus goes through on his voyage home throughout a ten year span of time. In "The Odyssey", the readers come across six different characteristics, which supports the statement that confirms it is an epic poem. Odysseus has man traits defining him as a Homeric leader, those characteristics are: courage, strength, a thirst for glory, the self-assurance in his authority, and nobility. The most distinguished trait that he holds, however, is his sharp intellect Odysseus’s fast thinking assist him in many difficult situations, some examples are when he is in the Cyclops’ lair, or when he conceals the bodies of the suitors he had previously…

    • 568 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    “Your grandfather, Odysseus arrived at the swineherd’s house and reunited with his old friend, Eumaeus Eumaeus did not recognize him and only saw him as a beggar. Nonetheless, he welcomed Odysseus into his dwelling and fed him food and wine - remember son, we must welcome everyone to our homes, for we cannot anger Zeus, the host god. Eumaeus truly honored your grandfather and he talked on and on about his riches and his heroic journey to Troy. Even though he thought your grandfather will never return home he told him that he was still protective of his riches, and he was furious with your grandmother’s suitors freeloading of all the wealth and food you grandfather had.…

    • 461 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    What makes somebody a good hero , in Homer's story The Odyssey a great powerful hero named Odysseus goes through many difficult trials on his return back home to his family. Odysseus is a hero because he kills all the men who tried to overcome his power. Odysseus kills the suitors because they didn't believe he would return home , when Odysseus was gone the suitors basically moved into his palace and treated his maids with disrespect. The suitors trashed Odysseus place and tried to take his place while he was gone. Odysseus led his men with his smartness and strength , Odysseus and his men won the battle of troy and still returned home after all his trials.…

    • 326 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    When Odysseus and his men were going by the Sirens he was willing to be the one who had to listen to the sirens even though it would make him go mad until he could not hear them so he had his men tie him to a post on the ship with his men ears filled with bee’s wax. One of the other kind of sacrifices that had been hard for him was when was able to come home from the twenty year long journey with all of his men dead he and to lie to his wife to protect her and his son Telemachus. Odysseus knew that if told his wife that the Suitors living with her could know about him being alive so he told his son that his was alive and had gown to Penelope’s house with all the suitor there who want to marry her so they could be king while he was there he had his son go to the armory and take all of the…

    • 627 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    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.…

    • 486 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Anyone who is successful in completing a gallant and courageous act, can be considered a hero. In The Odyssey, Odysseus is an admirable hero because he uses strategy instead of strength to overcome several obstacles. Homer presents this in Odysseus’s use of deception, the route he chooses to get home, his choice of words and his use of disguises. To overcome a hurdle one may wish for a great deal of strength. Yet when Odysseus came in contact with a giant Cyclops, he never questioned nor focused on his lack of vitality.…

    • 1254 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    It is both completely effortless and extremely challenging to return home. This is due to the true meaning of home itself; it is both a physical building and a place where one flourishes. For Odysseus, this was his endpoint as well as his goal, both of which would not happen simultaneously. As Odysseus reached his endpoint, his goal wasn't exactly achieved. He still had an adventure left in and of itself; he had arrived, but he still wasn't quite home yet.…

    • 850 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In the story The Odyssey, Odysseus is seen as heroic because of his determination, and his strategic actions throughout his journey. In the beginning of the story, Odysseus is put in a position where Poseidon is angry with him and his men after they ate some of his sheep on Poseidon’s isle. Poseidon then continuously kept him adrift at sea, which kept him from going home. Throughout the rest of the story, Odysseus endured many different hardships in order to return to his beloved. Through his journeys, Odysseus faced many trials.…

    • 560 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Anyone can be a hero, even if they do not seem like they would be one. The Odyssey, written by Homer, is an epic poem. The story is about Odysseus, King of Ithaca, and his journey home from the Battle of Troy. He encounters multiple gods, goddesses, and species of unknown kind on his quest.…

    • 1294 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    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.…

    • 1053 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The world isn’t black and white. No one is only good or evil. People are not only one thing and nothing else. They change through their experiences in life that they go through and have multiple conflicting and diverse personality traits. In Homer’s…

    • 1188 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    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.…

    • 1948 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Odysseus has been on a long journey trying to find his way home. On his journey Odysseus has changed into a man of loyalty, a man of hope, a man of honesty. Over the journey he experiences many battles that has made him the man he is today. In the Odyssey, Homer uses odysseus’s journey to show how one’s journey can change them as a person. Odysseus has gained loyalty when he and his men arrived in the land of the Lotus-Eaters, three of Odysseus' men ate the intoxicating lotus plant.…

    • 125 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays