Arrogance In The Odyssey
Epic heroes are ones who go on long journeys, also known as an odyssey, and bring with them the values and beliefs of their society and civilization. The Odyssey by Homer is a story about an epic hero named Odysseus, who is not only a brave, wise, and strong leader as well as a warrior, but he is also an arrogant and vengeful man, who’s downfall is beautiful women. Epic heroes contain characteristics of loyalty, bravery, and arrogance as they are believed to be more than a mortal but less than a god. Odysseus proves his loyalty, bravery, and arrogance as he continues to fight the challenges he obtains from island to island, cursed by Poseidon never to return home. Loyalty plays a key factor in Odysseus’ ten-year journey to return to his homeland of Ithaca. After escaping from the land of the Laestrygonians, Odysseus and his crewman reach Aiaia Island, the home of the witch Kirke, who turns her guests into pigs after she drugs them; he and his crew live there for a year in luxury after Odysseus overpowers her and becomes her lover with the help of the god, Hermes. The epic hero requests
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information containing a way back to Ithaca, and Kirke responds that he must sell to the land of the dead to speak with the blind Theban prophet, Tiresias, who will tell him of the way home. Elpenor, the youngest lad in Odysseus’s crew, intoxicates himself and falls asleep upon the roof of Kirke’s palace. When he is awoken by the men shouting of their departure to the land of the
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dead, Elpenor misses the ladder as he could not see it and falls, his neck bone buckling under and snapping as he hit the ground. Odysseus reaches the land of the dead, and the phantom of Elpenor asks for a proper burial as Odysseus and the rest of the crew left him untouched and unmourned in Kirke’s hall. The loyalty of Odysseus is revealed when he not only promises the young lad the barrow and the burial, but he “… sent shipmates to bring Elpenor’s body from the house of Kirke” (209). To be an epic hero, one must contain bravery even in the most unexpected and undesirable situations. After escaping from the land of the lotus-eaters, Odysseus and his men reach the land of the Kyklops, who are Poseidon’s sons and a species of ruthless one-eyed giants. The hero and the twelve of his best fighters came upon the cave of the Kyklops, Polyphemus, who was away pasturing his fat sheep. The group enters the cave, finding a drying rack to be filled with cheeses, pens crowded with lambs and children, vessels of whey, bowls of earthenware, and pails for milking. Odysseus refuses to leave when the men beg as he wants to catch a glimpse of the caveman. When the Kyklops returns, he eats some of Odysseus’s men and drinks some of the men’s wine, which they retrieved from the land of the Cicones. Once he finishes drinking the wine, Polyphemus asks of Odysseus’s name, who responds with Nohbody. The Kyklops passes out from the amount of intoxication he has drank, and Odysseus “… cheered my men along with battle talk to keep their courage up: no quitting now … I drew it [the stake] from the coals and my four fellows gave me a hand, lugging it near the Kyklops as more as than nature force nerved them; straight forward they sprinted, lifted it, and rammed it deep in his crater eye..” (156). Not only does this show that Odysseus was brave when speaking to the Kyklops but he was brave enough, even with fear, to keep courage in himself and the men. It is also important as the eye of the Kyklops is very crucial as it is the only one they have; stabbing something into the eye would result in going blind.
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However, all epic heros appear to be larger than life and contain not only arrogance but a large alter ego.
Arrogance is an extreme factor in Odysseus’s journey as he has an alter ego bigger than he; Athena is the cunning and positive side of Odysseus’s alter ego while Poseidon makes up his arrogance and negative side. After the Trojan war, Odysseus begins to make Poseidon turn against him in all ways possible – not only does Odysseus exclaim that he does not need the gods but the hero also stabs the god’s son in the only eye he has as he is a Kylops. Odysseus and his men escape the island of the Kyklops and as they are sailing away, Odysseus calls out and exclaims, “O Kyklops! Would you feast on my companions? Puny, am I, in a caveman’s hands? How do you like the beating that we gave you, you damned cannibal? Eater of guests under your roof! Zeus and the gods have paid you!”
(159.)
information containing a way back to Ithaca, and Kirke responds that he must sell to the land of the dead to speak with the blind Theban prophet, Tiresias, who will tell him of the way home. Elpenor, the youngest lad in Odysseus’s crew, intoxicates himself and falls asleep upon the roof of Kirke’s palace. When he is awoken by the men shouting of their departure to the land of the
Fuller
dead, Elpenor misses the ladder as he could not see it and falls, his neck bone buckling under and snapping as he hit the ground. Odysseus reaches the land of the dead, and the phantom of Elpenor asks for a proper burial as Odysseus and the rest of the crew left him untouched and unmourned in Kirke’s hall. The loyalty of Odysseus is revealed when he not only promises the young lad the barrow and the burial, but he “… sent shipmates to bring Elpenor’s body from the house of Kirke” (209). To be an epic hero, one must contain bravery even in the most unexpected and undesirable situations. After escaping from the land of the lotus-eaters, Odysseus and his men reach the land of the Kyklops, who are Poseidon’s sons and a species of ruthless one-eyed giants. The hero and the twelve of his best fighters came upon the cave of the Kyklops, Polyphemus, who was away pasturing his fat sheep. The group enters the cave, finding a drying rack to be filled with cheeses, pens crowded with lambs and children, vessels of whey, bowls of earthenware, and pails for milking. Odysseus refuses to leave when the men beg as he wants to catch a glimpse of the caveman. When the Kyklops returns, he eats some of Odysseus’s men and drinks some of the men’s wine, which they retrieved from the land of the Cicones. Once he finishes drinking the wine, Polyphemus asks of Odysseus’s name, who responds with Nohbody. The Kyklops passes out from the amount of intoxication he has drank, and Odysseus “… cheered my men along with battle talk to keep their courage up: no quitting now … I drew it [the stake] from the coals and my four fellows gave me a hand, lugging it near the Kyklops as more as than nature force nerved them; straight forward they sprinted, lifted it, and rammed it deep in his crater eye..” (156). Not only does this show that Odysseus was brave when speaking to the Kyklops but he was brave enough, even with fear, to keep courage in himself and the men. It is also important as the eye of the Kyklops is very crucial as it is the only one they have; stabbing something into the eye would result in going blind.
Fuller
However, all epic heros appear to be larger than life and contain not only arrogance but a large alter ego.
Arrogance is an extreme factor in Odysseus’s journey as he has an alter ego bigger than he; Athena is the cunning and positive side of Odysseus’s alter ego while Poseidon makes up his arrogance and negative side. After the Trojan war, Odysseus begins to make Poseidon turn against him in all ways possible – not only does Odysseus exclaim that he does not need the gods but the hero also stabs the god’s son in the only eye he has as he is a Kylops. Odysseus and his men escape the island of the Kyklops and as they are sailing away, Odysseus calls out and exclaims, “O Kyklops! Would you feast on my companions? Puny, am I, in a caveman’s hands? How do you like the beating that we gave you, you damned cannibal? Eater of guests under your roof! Zeus and the gods have paid you!”
(159.)