Preview

The Odyssey, Analysis of Hubris, Ate, Nemesis

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
930 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
The Odyssey, Analysis of Hubris, Ate, Nemesis
The Cycle That Continues Today

Many people get off a plane and think that was a terrible trip because the security lines were long, the flight was delayed, and the food was terrible. Odysseus’ journey is guaranteed to be a hundred times harder. He spends ten years trying to get home after the Trojan War and has a series of mishaps along the way. Homer, who was a famous bard in Ancient Greece, tells Odysseus’ story in the epic poem, the Odyssey. Throughout the poem, many characters go through the cycle of Hubris, Ate, and Nemesis, causing hardships that never needed to happen, and their mistakes teach readers lessons. The cycle begins when a character is arrogant, acts upon it, and then gets punished based on their actions. Iros, a beggar, decides that he doesn’t want to share the space with Odysseus, who he thinks is a weak old beggar, but he pays in the end. The suitor, Antinoos, leads the pack of men taking over Odysseus’ castle; he dies for his disloyal actions toward the king. Finally, Odysseus’ plan to return to Ithaka is slowed by over eight years after he angers Poseidon’s son by being arrogant. Iros isn’t closely related to the suitors or Odysseus but he still goes through the cycle. Iros’ experience with the cycle results in a loss of food and shelter after he commits his Ate. Iros meets an old and weak beggar whom he thinks he is better than because he is much younger and looks stronger. Then, during his Ate, he challenges the beggar to a fight for the castle‘s Great Hall. In his Nemesis, the beggar, who is actually Odysseus, breaks his jaw in the first punch and then hurts his leg with just a quick kick. Readers can learn through Iros not to judge others by their looks or age. Before the fight, Iros encourages the suitors to pay attention and cheer him on. Iros tells Odysseus, “Clear-out grandfather or be hauled by the ankle bone. See them all giving me the wink? That means, ‘Go on and drag him out!’ I hate to do it. Up with you! Or

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Powerful Essays

    | | |Reed placed her in a seldom visited room. It was as if her |…

    • 1112 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Odyssey is about the adventurer and leader Odysseus who is on an epic journey back home. The only problem is his crew that went along on his journey was all met in an untimely demise, the reason being, Odyessus was unfit to be a leader among his crew. This was a tragedy could have been avoided. In this analysis it will tell the reader on why Odysseus was a terrible leader for this epic journey to begin with.…

    • 560 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Gates of Fire

    • 629 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Gates of Fire By: Steven Pressfield Subject Person- Spartan Warriors Place- Greece 480 B.C. Event- Battle of Thermoplae. Concept- Xeones recounts his life leading up to the battle. Object- Greek city-states consisting of 300 Spartan Warriors, 400 Thebans, 700 Thespian Volunteers And around 900 Helots Fought The Persian Empire at the pass of Thermopylae. Reason For Choosing Book Prior to reading this novel I had some knowledge of the Battle of Thermopylae. I watched the movie 300last year and it is based on the battle of Thermopylae and the lifestyle of the Spartan Warriors. Summary Gates of Fire tells the story of a young Greek boy, Xeones, who is the sole Hellenic survivor of the epic battle of Thermopylae in 480 BC. After losing his village and family to the treachery of the Argives, Xeones wanders in the countryside with two companions, and spends his formative years as an outlaw. He eventually is captured and enslaved by the Spartans, who cast him with other slaves, called helots.…

    • 629 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The story, The Odyssey, by Homer is about King Odysseus of Ithaca and his long journey and struggles to get back home. He was known as a strong, courageous and cunning warrior. He left home to fight in the Trojan War that lasted 10 years. On his journey back to Ithaca he meets up with different setbacks that ends up taking him 19 years to return home. While he is gone a group of wooers try to marry his wife Penelope and kill his son Telemachus. Odysseus creates a plan to disguise himself as a beggar and take back his throne. Odysseus almost losses Ithaca and everyone he loved. He is justified in killing all of the wooers to keep his wife Penelope, save his son Telemachus’ life and getting rid of every wooer that hurt his family to take back his…

    • 577 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Throughout Homer’s “The Odyssey,” Odysseus’ actions and choices are the driving point of the plot. When he and his crew encounter Polyphemus the Cyclops, he tries to secure his legacy by shouting his real name, and giving other important information away. The Cyclops prays that a curse befall him and his friends and Poseidon hears him. After this, half of Odysseus’ men are turned into swine when they encounter an enchantress and give into temptation, and though no men are killed, the crew is again delayed in their journey by a year. Misfortune and death are prevalent throughout the consequent chapters, where men are constantly lost, and those that survive begin to lose faith in their leader. By the end of chapter 12, all of the men have died,…

    • 1412 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    In Homer’s The Odyssey, Great Odysseus, King of Ithaca, struggles to get home to his wife and kingship for over 20 years. During his absence, suitors try taking the throne of King Odysseus and stealing his wife, Penelope. Throughout his journey, Great Odysseus encounters Circe’s island, the island of Calypso, the island of Polyphemus, and Poseidon’s torture at sea, that slow down his journey getting home; but these moments show his heroism.…

    • 928 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Odysseus Braveness

    • 325 Words
    • 2 Pages

    In Homer's epic poem, "The Odyssey," the protagonist, Odysseus, has spent ten years fighting in the Trojan War. Due to the gods' anger against Odysseus, he is destined to have a very long and difficult journey home. Odysseus proves to be brave because he overcomes both external and internal conflicts on this long journey home.…

    • 325 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Odyssey Final Essay

    • 923 Words
    • 3 Pages

    In the epic poem, The Odyssey by Homer, The hero Odysseus displays many heroic traits that make him an epic hero. The Odyssey is about Odysseus journey home after the Trojan War. On his way back home, he harms a Cyclops’s eye, so Poseidon becomes very angry and make Odysseus’s trip extremely difficult. Odysseus encounters many monsters and his entire crew perishes. When he finally returns home after 20 years, Athena helps him reunite with his son and kill all on the suitors that have made themselves at home in his house with his wife. Some of the many characteristics that Odysseus shows throughout his journey may include courage, leadership and curiosity.…

    • 923 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    In “The Odyssey” by Homer, Odysseus travels home after participating in the Trojan War. Odysseus goes through many trials and challenges testing his loyalty and wit before he finishes his difficult journey home.…

    • 452 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Odysseus Journey

    • 302 Words
    • 2 Pages

    As Odysseus makes his final steps to returning to Ithaca, the reader witnesses Odysseus’ struggles, achievements, and emotions throughout The Odyssey. Odysseus is a very proud warrior who’s been through a lot of hardship and loss. When he makes his biggest decisions to return home for the duration of books 13-24, the reader begins to recognize this desire and vulnerable side of Odysseus. Disguised as a beggar, due to Athena, he evaluates the suitors and others that are destroying his home before he begins his slaughter; he needs to analyze the situation before diving head first. The reader sees him on the verge of letting go all his rage and longing for home; yet he remains composed and steady-minded. Odysseus’ self control and struggle to…

    • 302 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Odysseus In The Odyssey

    • 343 Words
    • 2 Pages

    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.…

    • 343 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    To quote Ralph Waldo Emerson, “A great man is always willing to be little”. In Homer’s “The Odyssey”, the oldest epic poem known to man, Odysseus, king of Ithaca, is called to the Trojan War. He leaves his home, thinking that he will be back soon, without realizing that the God’s wrath would prevent him from getting home. Odysseus demonstrates many concepts throughout his journey, but the most prominent is his usage of hubris and humility towards the Gods. The hubris he shows towards the Gods is what fuels their rage and makes his journey longer. Although Odysseus shows a great amount of hubris towards the beginning of his journey, as he experiences many humbling experiences, his humility increases.…

    • 1364 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Homer´s Odyssey tells the story of Odysseus, a war hero, and his 10-year voyage back home. After the war ended and Troy was burned down, Odysseus, having offended Poseidon and blinded his son, is set upon his way to Ithaca, his kingdom. For reasons that have not yet been explained, Odysseus ends up at Ogygia, where he is being held prisoner by Calypso, the nymph goddess. In Ithaca, his wife Penelope and his son Telemachus wait for his return.…

    • 500 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Greece is a beautiful Mediterranean-bordering country. People revel in its beautiful mountains and beaches. One would think that nothing bad could ever occur in such a beautiful paradise. However, in the grand epic The Odyssey, written by the Greek poet Homer, a gentleman named Odysseus is put into troubling scenarios which he must surpass in order to be reunited with his love, Penelope. As “People need heroes and epics provide heroes who fight against injustice and immorality” (Baker, 9), Odysseus had to spend years of his lifetime “Fighting monsters, avoiding the Sirens, consulting the dead and even falling into the lily-white arms of Calypso” (Lacarriére, par. 17). Another identifiable potent force in the epic is the aquatic and terrestrial features of Greece and his home, Ithaca. Although the geography of Greece is currently known for its beauty and tranquility,…

    • 773 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Ancient Greeks had a poor and dark view on what happened to them once they died. They did not have a place where they their souls went to rest in peace. Instead, they went to where they were tortured for the rest of their immortal lives. This is shown in both epics, The Odyssey by Homer and The Aeneid by Virgil. In the Odyssey Odysseus into the underworld and you get his count on the awfulness of Hades, and too Aeneas goes to the underworld and you see the different parts and find out the meaning of each section. Both texts have similarities and differences on the interpretations of the after lives of greeks. Throughout time Greeks have changed their understandings of…

    • 1327 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays

Related Topics