Calypso

“Men are so quick to blame the gods: they say that we devise their misery. But they themselves- in their depravity- design grief greater than the griefs that fate assigns .” This one line from Homer’s Odyssey summarizes the epic poem in a whole. The story of Odysseus’ s journey home after war is one of the most well-known poems in history. There have been many variations to the poem including author’s basing their books off the poem and movies that were written to follow the story line. The…

We see Odysseus not giving in to tantalizing temptations. The offer to be immortal and have sex with an extremely beautiful Goddess Calypso for eternity would most definitely be really tempting for a man who spent a long time fighting for his life. Granted, he sleeps with Circe and spends a year on her island. This event actually gives a bit of realism to the story because after a long…

Webster’s dictionary defines the term, “Temptation” as, “a desire to do something, especially something wrong or unwise.” Homer’s the Odyssey highlights the idea of temptation, and how it negatively impacts one’s future. Odysseus, the main protagonist in this epic poem, is known for his mental and physical strength. Odysseus had to leave his newborn son, Telemachus, and beautiful wife Penelope to sail to Troy and fight in the war. The Greeks won the battle against the Trojans, and upon sailing…

Odysseus, the King of Ithaca, is not what people would consider a hero. He lies, cheats, steals, and murders. There is no doubt that most men had to endure what Odysseus but the big question is, did he do any of the things he did with decency or honor. Heroes are supposed to be a good person overall. Meaning that heroes do everything with decency and honor. So does it mean that Odysseus is a villain? No he is not but he is not a hero as well. Odysseus has no respect for anyone, he only has…

The Ancient Greeks have influenced our world today in many ways, but Greek literature is the area the Greeks made the biggest contribution. The first reason why Greek literature has made the biggest contribution to our world today is they formed our alphabet. At about 750 BC, Grecian traders started to communicate with Phoenicians. They used a script called an alphabet. The Greeks changed the alphabet by adding vowels which made it easy to use. The writing was used later on to keep track of…

The theme of women is prominent in both The Iliad and The Odyssey, the several women in both stories are seen through the lives of the heroes told and they are seen in many different ways as the role of women pertains to Homer’s writings. Women can be seen as possessions to the heroes or even something desirable. Women are treated like property who don’t quite have a say, however, some women are treated far better depending on what social standing they hold. Other women are seen as desired by…

While there are many other positive Greek values exemplified by other minor characters in The Odyssey, the one seen in almost all of them is hospitality. This is shown by Telemachus and King Alcinous, as well as other characters such as Aeolus, Calypso, and King Nestor. The reason that Homer chose to include this in almost every good character is that it was the most important value in Greek society at the time. Good hospitality could make the difference between life and death at the time, and…

The Odyssey Loyalty is the devotion towards a person that can bring both prosperity and shortcomings, depending on the actions a person takes to remain loyal or disloyal. Loyalty is like a double-edged sword that can be used to protect loved ones; however, it can also be used to betray close companions. Life offers many challenges and temptations; however, loyalty can be used to fight against these appeals or to fight towards these desires. In epic poem The Odyssey by Homer, loyalty is…

The role of women in "Iliad" varied, the gods had a high position in life, like Athena who was god of wisdom of art, as compared to mortal women, who were sometimes reduced to a prize for men at a fighting war. For example when Agamemnon (leader of Achaeans) captures Chrysies, though he has to eventually give her back to her father. In "Iliad" Helen's position seems to be higher than the maidens Achilles and Agamemnon captured. She was originally Greek Menelaus' (Brother of Agamemnon) wife,…

Later, as I watched the video, I realized that Chris Garcia was actually an Indian man. I also found it unusual that an Indian man was displaying his Hindi culture but was singing and gyrating to a Soca song. Soca music, also known as the soul of calypso, is a genre of music that originated from the Caribbean. It began within a marginalized subculture in Trinidad and Tobago in the late 1970s and developed into a range of styles in the 1980s and subsequent years. The first question raised in my…