In The Odyssey written by Homer and translated by Richard Lattimore, several themes are made evident, conceived by the nature of the time period, and customs of the Greek people. These molded and shaped the actual flow of events and outcomes of the poem. Beliefs of this characteristic were represented by the sheer reverence towards the gods and the humanities the Greek society exhibited, and are both deeply rooted within the story.…
Aeolus and the Aeolian Bag could have been avoided if Odysseus has inspired a shared vision and encourage the heart. Like the text mentions, leaders cannot expect commitment if you are not putting in the effort to encourage it. (Kouzes and Posner 2014, p. 17) If Odysseus had been more transparent about his decisions, his crew would have been committed to him and probably trusted the fact that he would not save treasures for himself. Odysseus must have not been good about recognizing his crew’s contributions for them to distrust him and open the bag full of wind. Odysseus should have done better at showing his appreciation and recognizing individual successes. (Kouzes and Posner 2014, p. 22)…
The poem begins with four books telling of a future hero, Odysseus's son Telemachus. Telemachus has his father's gift of speech and some of his courage, but needs Athena's encouragement before he ventures forth. Athena makes explicit Odysseus's excellence. Posing as Mentor, she marvels "now there was a man, I'd say, in words and actions both!" (102). Many Greek heroes are men of action, a few others skilled in counsel, but few combine the two like Odysseus. As Telemachus relates it, people say that Odysseus pledged his word and "made it good in action" on the battlefield (110). Telemachus wishes that his father could have had a good death in battle, or in old age at home, either of which would mean great fame for the Greek hero. Instead, he…
The story of Homer’s Odyssey tells the tales of Odysseus, king of Ithaka. He loses his way on his way back from the Trojan war. Odysseus confronts extremely difficult ordeals to come home and routinely wins. Homer uses the differences in the Strength, courage, cunning, and mercy of Odysseus and Telemachus in order to show that Odysseus is more of an hero than Telemachus.…
There are many different characteristics that make a person a true leader. Odysseus is a fictional character from a fantasy epic poem known as “The Odyssey.” He traveled on a twenty year journey with many men along with him but in the end all of his men perished; Odysseus can be classified as a leader and a hero along with a man named Ernest Shackleton. Shackleton is a real life man who went on an expedition to reach Antarctica in the years 1914 to 1916. He also had a whole crew with him for the journey and he saved all of them. When comparing leadership of these two men the three most important traits to take into consideration are confidence, balance between tasks and interpersonal relationships, and the ability to stay on track.…
As great as he was, Odysseus still had some weaknesses his moments of bad decisions (taunting Polyphemus, being tempted by the Sirens, staying on Circe's island, his extreme violence toward the suitors that almost causes a war between himself and his subjects once he returns home). He seems to be a very proud man, given his tendency to taunt or bait his enemies and to feel very offended when his character is put into question--for example, in Phaecia when the impudent youth says that he isn't strong enough to throw a discus and has never worked a day in his life.…
Oedipus the King and The Odyssey share many similarities. The most important and significant similarity is that both epic poems are involved in a conflict when we first encounter the poems. In The Odyssey, we learn that the main character, Odysseus, has been held captive by the nymph Calypso for twenty years. We also learn that Odysseus had finished (and won) fighting a war against the city of Troy and has been held captive by Calypso ever since. During this time, Odysseus' son and wife, whom Odysseus left behind to fight in the war, have been patiently waiting for Odysseus' return to his palace in Ithaca in which Odysseus is king. Telemachus, Odysseus' son, has grown into a young man and he's constantly battling Suitors from destroying and wasting his father's wealth while looking to…
in many different ways from heroic adventurer to a conniving liar. The same goes for Polyphemus. He is referred…
Odysseus is an epic hero because of all the challenging obstacles he had to overcome. He is strong and brave by never giving up, but rather determined to fulfill his accomplishments as a young and adventurous man. Odysseus was also very cunning, knowing how to create and form the ideal way to sabotage the Trojans. Such a bold hero and great father that seeks to win the 10 year war with the Trojans and succeeds. Although, weaknesses lye in every man as a human necessity and even this 'Hero' has one.…
Merriam Webster defines justice as the principle or ideal of just dealing or right action. Humans believe that they should have the right to justice, fairness and proper treatment. A common theme found in much of the Greek literature we’ve read over the course of this semester is the seeking of justice by many characters in an attempt to procure the vengeance they believe they deserve. When these characters feel wronged, they believe that it is up to them to acquire their own justice by any means necessary. However, this attempt to achieve their justice ultimately results in much more tragedy and bloodshed. Both Antigone and The Odyssey contain plots driven by justice and revenge and both of these stories uniquely display that the cycle of revenge cannot be stopped. These…
Morality is the essence of right and wrong and becomes very hard to define because of the different ways people view what is correct and not. It is a common theme in many novels, such as Peace Like a River by Leif Enger, who explores the essence of moral decisions through a young boy whose brother is convicted of murder. Though the moral level of a decision is based on the impact inflicted on surrounding people and the motives best decide the virtue behind an action, no one can be the judge of morality because everyone holds different opinions that can vary three hundred and sixty degrees on the scale of right and wrong.…
What is justice is a question that has plagued philosophers since the time of Plato when he wrote The Republic to present day. In the book, Plato uses the dialectic, between Socrates and other Athenians like Polemarchus, Cephalus, and Glacuon, to try and find the definition of justice. Through the voice of Glaucon, Plato defines justice as a compromise of sorts between advantage and fear, and injustice as the things that we wouldn’t…
A critical event in anyone’s life can change people way of thinking and/or reacting, like Odysseus. In the book the Odyssey, we learned the story about the great warrior Odysseus, who was trying to go home, from a long and brutal war against Troy. He was a great fighter who demonstrated his strength and power in the Trojan War, but his prideful, hubris, and impulsive personality, made his journey back home be extremely long. Throughout most of the story of the Odyssey, there are many examples that demonstrate how Odysseus reacts to certain situation, and how his personality and the way he is, gets him in a lot of trouble. His whole voyage allowed Odysseus to see the outcomes of his reactions, which help him change from being an impulsive person, to a person that strategically plans his actions and waits for the right time to act upon them. The difficult, tedious, and long journey that Odysseus went through just to get to his home town in Ithika, changed him, for the better.…
Socrates meets with some of his friends and begins discussing the meaning of justice and whether the just life is better than the unjust life. First, they contemplate the meaning of justice. Cephalus stated that justice is as simple as telling the truth and returning what you receive, Polemarchus stated that justice is giving each his due, and Thrasymachus stated that justice is the advantage of the stronger. Socrates proves each of them wrong and embarks on a discussion to find out what true justice is, and to find out whether the just man is truly happier than the unjust man, or vice versa.…
When Keawenuiaʻumi and his men stopped to talk to Kūapākaʻa, they were suspicious about how he knew all of the winds. So Kahikuokamoku asked Kūapāʻaka who was the man at the bow of the canoe, and he replied, “Thatʻs my father-heʻs deaf. He enjoys fishing for uhu.” (pg 50, Nakuina) Just like Odysseus, Pākaʻa was able to think quickly and told his son to lie about who they really were for the sake of his plan.…