Odysseus

Odyssey by Homer, Odysseus demonstrates bravery as a trait of exceptional leadership when he fearlessly rescues his crew from permanently being transformed by Circe’s magical potion. After Eurylokhos, one of Odysseus’s crewmen, leads a search group onto the island of Circe, he returns from Circe’s hall so horrified he is unable to speak, with “blinding tears” pooling in his eyes (Homer 172, 272). By questioning Eurylokhos about the events that took place at Circe’s house, Odysseus learns his…

In the Odyssey, Poseidon perpetrates a horrible string of deeds against Odysseus in his attempt to exact revenge for the justice delivered to his son, Polyphemus. Specifically, he endeavors to ensure Odysseus’s death or at least to make his journey home as painful as possible. Similarly, David exiles his son Absalom when Absalom justly kills his brother Amnon after Amnon rapes his sister Tamar. Both David and Poseidon are unwilling to uphold justice enough to deliver it to their children. In…

Brother, Where Art Thou? through the characters of Penelope and Penny. 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?, Penny is the…

and loyalty, all in a truly classic style that is revered even today. Odysseus’ long journey back home is grueling and harrowing and this fact is only intensified by what his family must endure back home in Ithaka. Though Odysseus may be preoccupied with difficult challenges as he makes his way back home, it is Odysseus’ nearly constant longing for home that enables him to so strongly persevere as he does in The Odyssey. Odysseus relies on his crew in part to keep him on task, and they often…

Two heros that couldn’t be any more different, actually have more in common than one would think. Odysseus, the god-like war hero and son of the great Laertes and Christopher Boone, an autistic teenager trying to solve a murder mystery, go on separate adventures that follow the same common structure. Odysseus’ journey in the Odyssey is the absolute perfect archetype for the monomyth structure. However, Christopher’s journey in The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, is also a very…

fortune and pain to mortals, primarily seen through the help Odysseus receives in his successful odyssey home. The power of Greek Gods and Goddess’ is limitless as their powers are supernatural. Divine intervention is used by Homer to emphasize how Odysseus, without the Gods and Goddess help, would not have made it very far into his journey back home to Ithaka. An example in The Odyssey where divine intervention is used, is when Odysseus came by all the girls on the Phaeacian island, and “only…

variety of characters. During Odysseus journey Penelope and his son Telemachus were trying to fight off the suitors, a group of men who think Odysseus is dead who are trying to marry Penelope. After 21 years of Odysseus being gone he appears home in the form of a beggar and kills most of the suitors ending in a bloodbath. Through the Odyssey Homer makes readers think to themselves about Odysseus and if he is a loyal husband or not. Despite many readers thoughts of Odysseus being a loyal…

Book XI: Odysseus and his men travel from Circe’s island to the house of Hades. Odysseus makes the drink and animal offerings that Circe had ordered him to. He prays to the dead, promising to make more sacrifices when he returns to Ithaca. The ghosts of the dead then begin to appear around the blood of the sacrificed animals, but, just as Circe advised him, Odysseus draws his sword and keeps all of them away until Teiresias drinks of it. Odysseus is first asked by the ghost of Elpenor, a boy…

Throughout The Odyssey, Athena’s love for Odysseus affects his life for the better. Athena disguises herself multiple times to aid Odysseus, or his son, Telemachus. In the beginning of the epic, Athena first disguises herself as “ … Mentes, son of Anchialus…” (1. 194). She does this to give Telemachus confidence to get rid of the suitors. After…

“You are free to choose, but you are not free from the consequences of your choice.”- Ezra Taft Benson. In the Odyssey, by. Homer, Greek hospitality plays an important role in Odysseus’ journey home to Ithaca. If it weren 't for Greek hospitality and the great generosity of others, Odysseus may not have ever made it home. The greeks believed that all guests were godsent and were to be treated with courtesy, meaning I’ve got your back and in return you’ve got mine. While it 's a choice whether…