The first lesson that Odysseus learns is to follow the laws of xenia. When Polyphemus gets home and sees that Odysseus ate his sheep‚ he eats his men‚ “So I spoke‚ but he in pitiless spirit…sprang up and reached for my companions slapped them against the ground…brains ran all over the floor…he cut them up limb by limb and got supper ready” (144). Odysseus does not follow the laws of xenia because he eats Polyphemus’ sheep without
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powerful god‚ Zeus. However‚ people would often try to leverage their host with this social obligation. Even Odysseus is guilty of this underhanded tactic. For example‚ he unsuccessfully tries to convince Polyphemus to leave him and his crew alone after stealing from him; Odysseus says to Polyphemus “Respect the gods‚ my friend. We’re suppliants-at your mercy! Zeus of the Strangers guards all guests and suppliants: strangers are sacred- Zeus will avenge their rites”(220). This quote exhibits
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war. Of all Odysseus’s bad choices‚ the worst is that he decided to blind the Cyclopes Polyphemus‚ son of Neptune‚ the god of the sea and storms. This causes Neptune to focus much of his rage upon Odysseus‚ and this leaves Odysseus stranded on a remote island with Calypso. “Bear in mind‚ however‚ that Neptune is still furious with Ulysses for having blinded an eye of Polyphemus king of the Cyclopes. Polyphemus is son to Neptune by the nymph Thoosa‚ daughter to the sea-king Phorcys; therefore though
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Catherine Grant English Literature April 29‚ 2011 Mr. Searcy The Odyssey is one of the most famous works in all of Greek Literature‚ even though Beowulf is not as famous as The Odyssey. It is well known for being one of the first epic poems written in England. Odyssey and Beowulf are each examples of both historic and modern ideas of heroism. Beowulf exhibits many obvious heroic qualities. “Heroic conduct especially as exhibited in fulfilling a high purpose or attaining a noble
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when Odysseus and his men were trapped in the Cyclops’ (Polyphemus) cave. It was Odysseus who came up with blinding the drunken monster with a sharpened log and it was he who tricked the great Cyclops with his "Nohbdy" scheme: "My name is Nohbdy: mother‚ father‚ and friends/everyone calls me Nohbdy" (827-828)‚ sang Odysseus to the intoxicated Cyclops. The dazzling intelligence of Odysseus also helped him and his men escape from the evil Polyphemus to safer grounds. He said‚ "I drew on all my wits‚
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Mythology P1 Archetypal Characters As humans we make mistakes‚ but the real power is learning from our mistakes. Often we can learn from others mistakes that way we don’t have to feel the pain ourselves to understand why we shouldn’t do something or be a certain way. Also we can learn from history and past mistakes that lead them into bad times and disputes. From literature we learn morals and lessons through the characters position. “We live with our archetypes‚ but can we live in them?”
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different ways because of perspective‚ the time period‚ and their self morals. In the Odyssey‚ Odysseus has been portrayed as a war hero. His characteristics on the other hand‚ portray a villain. In Book 9‚ Odysseus stole Polyphemus’ sheep‚ as well as blinded him. Polyphemus was considered a villain when he held Odysseus captive‚ yet Odysseus was still a hero when he stole his sheep in the first place. This shows that heroes gained their glory by taking over other regions. Heroes sacked cities‚
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to keep them in line leads to a battle that takes the lives of a number of Achaeans‚ enough to leave six benches empty on each of his ships. Another example of his pitiful leadership is his decision to bring his twelve best men into the home of Polyphemus despite their objections. Odysseus’ desire to speak to the cyclops puts his men in unnecessary harm’s way and‚ as a result‚ costs six of the men their lives. Also‚ on multiple occasions where he chooses to send unsupervised men to explore unfamiliar
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The movie “O Brother‚ Where Art Thou?” explains the story of Odysseus in “The Odyssey” through a more modern storyteller. In fact‚ the movie uses very similar character names so today’s audience can easily relate the movie to the original poem “The Odyssey.” For example‚ Ulysses is Latin for the name Odysseus. Even Odysseus wife’s name is Peggy‚ while Ulysses wife’s name is Penny. These similarities are shown throughout the movie not only with character names‚ but also with the original myths
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unknown island. They find what appears to be an inhabited cave‚ so they bring wine to give to the owner as a gift‚ and in exchange for water. However‚ they learn that the resident of the cave is the Cyclops Polyphemus. Odysseus and his men are trapped inside by a huge rock‚ that only Polyphemus can move‚ as they are feasted upon by the Cyclops. So‚ Odysseus devises the plan to escape. He tells the Cyclops that his name is "Nobody" and that there is magic in his head. He then tricks the Cyclops into
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