Telemachus

the great, great grandson of 2 greek gods. This is where it gets confusing. Odysseus was indeed not a demigod. But, Penelope’s mother was an Oceanid. Which was one of the 3000 daughters and sons of Oceanus. Meaning Penelope was a demigod. Meaning Telemachus was ¼ god. Summarizing, Odysseus is not a demigod. He is in fact a very courageous mortal. Odysseus was directly related to the gods through Athena, who guided him throughout his life and journeys. He was also recognized with Poseidon but not…

This epic poem tells the story of Odysseus, King of Ithaca, hero of the Trojan War, and his adventures to find his way back home. Althroughout the story, Odysseus' power and superiority is emphasized, especially over women. When their ships capsized and they were washed into the kingdom of Circe the sorceress, all but Odysseus was turned into beasts. He even used his manhood to convince the sorceress to turn his men back to being human, and to tell him where he could find Tereseias, the dead…

She starts wars and manipulates those around her to attain her desires. In the Odyssey she’s not explored as much as in the Iliad, but she shows her power firstly by drugging her guests, and again by giving Telemachus a dress to give to his wife on their wedding day, telling him to think of her. Through drugging everyone, Helen has the power to mess with their memory, making them believe a story about Odysseus and the Trojan War that is questionable. She is also…

Circe provides from then on, Odysseus stays with Circe for a whole year until his men urge him to start heading back home (164). Back in Ithaka, Penelope is accused of having seduced the suitors and deceiving them with empty hope for marriage. When Telemachus reveals to the Ithakan men of the wrongs that the…

Equality Within the comforts of the modernized human civilization that we all experience upon a daily basis, a person can easily forget how privileged they are to be existing in such a time of human equality and take that for-granted. However, times were not always as pleasant as they currently are; different diversities of people were not only shamed for their race, gender or ethnicity, but they were abused for it. In addition to that, abuse of this kind happened less than a hundred years ago…

Gandhi once said “An eye for an eye only ends up making the whole world blind.” Although embraced today, this philosophy would not have been popular with the ancient Greeks. Homer’s The Odyssey shows the ancient Greek value of vengeance. Many of the characters in the epic exact revenge on another character including Odysseus, Poseidon, and Helios. The ancient Greeks believed that revenge was necessary in order to preserve honor and pride, whether that be stealing back a goat or killing the man…

Women in Homer’s The Odyssey, Euripides’ Hippolytus, Virgil’s The Aeneid, and Ovid’s Venus and Adonis (And Atalanta) often held positions of power, whether it be a dutiful wife and loving mother, a widowed queen, or a goddess. In these Greco-Roman texts, women hold power by embracing their feminine roles, where a man may “name her as [his] own, that she may spend all of her years with [him], to make [him] father of fair sons” (Virgil: 4). She is expected to be as loyal and motherly as Penelope,…

Killing is not always the best choice. However, sometimes it is the only thing that could measure up to what someone deserves. Even though there maybe other options, not one seems as good. In Homer’s Odyssey Odysseus should have killed the suitors because they had overrun the his palace, partied with Telemachus’s inheritance, and demanded that Penelope take one of them as a husband. Odysseus’s palace has been overrun by Penelope's suitors. When Odysseus returns to Ithaca, he has to…

A warrior who fought courageously for ten whole years in the Trojan war. A family man who only wished to return home. A man of glamor and wit that gained friendship through every encounter. This man is Odysseus, king of Ithaca, and a hero of many faces. Following his victorious war against Troy, Odysseus sets out to return to his beloved home. However, this victory has proven to be a double-edged sword since the fall of Troy-masterminded by Odysseus-angered the deathless gods who rule the sky.…

Mortals are flawed beings, as such, even kind-hearted intentions can result in the deadliest of consequences. Society often aims to choose the most viable of opportunities, but rarely does a perfect plan come to fruition. In Homer’s epic poem The Odyssey, many conflicts occur between Odysseus and his enemies, however the entirety of them have legitimate reasons. Odysseus injures Polyphemus out of necessity for the survival of his crew. Also, he kills the suitors as compensation for…