Human Condition In The Odyssey

Words: 524

Pages: 3

Nobody is perfect. All of us strive for perfection, but in the end we all have some fine characteristics and several abominable weaknesses. Our greatest moments and our darkest days originate in these different qualities. Not even the best of us can claim to be immune to this very human condition. Not even the great Greek hero Odysseus, from The Odyssey, by Homer, was superior. Odysseus's blend of characteristics brought him magnificence and tragedy. Some of Odysseus's traits are favorable and assist him in his adventures. Odysseus's greatest resource is his intelligence. One example of his intelligence helping him is in the cave of Polyphemus (Homer 111). To avoid being captured, killed, and eaten by the cyclops's siblings, he tells

Show More

Essay Odysseus

Angela Sun Reading Cultures 29 January 2015 Essay One Infidelity and revenge in The Odyssey as explored through a gendered lens In Homer’s epic poem The Odyssey, a war hero by the name of Odysseus attempts to return to his wife and son in Ithaca. Littered throughout the poem are short anecdotes told by humans, bards, and gods. From the suicide of Ajax to the revenge of Orestes, these recounts serve to enrich The Odyssey’s already fantastical and mythical tone. Interestingly, several of these tales…

Words 1271 - Pages 6

Gods In Odysseus

Your own careless actions almost always result in unfortunate events. However, you cannot be held responsible for actions performed as a result of another. The gods in The Odyssey are that someone, causing Odysseus and his crew to encounter unfavorable situations. Although at first glance, it seems like the crewmembers made their own decisions, the gods were really pulling the strings. While Odysseus and his men surely thought they were in charge, it was the gods that manipulated Odysseus and his…

Words 883 - Pages 4

Aristotle Virtue In The Odyssey

Good as a guide to a good, bright human life is inherent in many moral teachings, worldview and religious systems. It is possible to define the origin of the systemic knowledge of good in ancient philosophy, in the character and range of the meaning of the word ἀρετή, first encountered in Homer's Odyssey. The basis of the formation of virtue in the life of man on the conviction of Aristotle is education and upbringing. Aristotle regards virtue as the acquired properties of the soul, dividing them…

Words 389 - Pages 2

Odysseus As An Epic Hero In The Odyssey By Homer

hero, Odysseus of Ithaca. In the epic poem, The Odyssey by Homer, Odysseus is a brave hero who is forced to wander for more than 20 years after the war with troy. Odysseus has many heroic traits that make him the epic hero that he is. Odysseus’s many adventure have captured the human imagination for over two millennia. Odysseus is clever, determined, bold, and overall a great example of an epic hero. Odysseus is clever at many points in the Odyssey in many different ways. For example,one time is…

Words 949 - Pages 4

Odyssey Hero's Journey

Through the Abyss "No one of the Achaeans labored as much as Odysseus labored and achieved" (4, 119-120). Odysseus is the main character in a series of tragic events; the hero. Odysseus is the captain of his crew and leader of his army. He snakes through every presented hardship. Odysseus wants to go back home to his loyal wife and son. The monomyth, or the hero’s journey, is a cyclical quest or adventure undertaken by a hero. Monomyths contain specific parts in order to recognize one from reading…

Words 1316 - Pages 6

What I Learned In Mr. Damiani's Odyssey

Mr. Damiani’s Odyssey If there’s one overarching lesson that I’ve learned in my own life, it’s that to achieve any kind of growth or insight we are required to take a journey into the unfamiliar and the uncomfortable, and that it’s often at the darkest and most challenging places that we are changed and are made to take on heroic qualities. We often don’t choose these journeys. They arrive to us unexpected and uninvited, sometimes catastrophically. Some people are forced to endure more than others…

Words 1158 - Pages 5

Gilgamesh And The Odyssey Comparison Essay

it is better to determine who they really are when reviewing their relationships with the “less important” characters mentioned within. The texts that displayed this the most were: The Epic of Gilgamesh, of Ancient Mesopotamian culture, and The Odyssey, of Ancient Greece. Both of these text have main characters that are viewed as strong figures that go on adventures, or journeys, to reach their ideal destination. This could either be physically or ideally a stable place. When looking into how the…

Words 1880 - Pages 8

Water On Mars Research Paper

Water on Mars exists today almost entirely as ice, though it also exists in small quantities as vapor in the atmosphere and occasionally as low-volume liquid brines in shallow Martian soil. The only place where water ice is visible at the surface is at the north polar ice cap. Abundant water ice is also present beneath the permanent carbon dioxide ice cap at the Martian south pole and in the shallow subsurface at more temperate latitudes. More than five million cubic kilometers of ice have been identified…

Words 1596 - Pages 7

Trigger Warnings Are Necessary Analysis

in cases like Cole, viewer discretion advisories could essentially help heal him, though professors are ignoring the requests of trigger warnings. Another critical reason why trigger warnings are necessary is by the support of an author, from The Odyssey. The author writes, “Trigger warnings are necessary. They could potentially save someone from distress and suicidal thoughts, or worse. Does everyone need trigger warnings? No. But acknowledging them could be the difference between a debilitating…

Words 1438 - Pages 6

Ancient Greeks lacked knowledge on why certain things happened Essay

charge of a certain element of earth. For instance Hades was in charge of the underworld or hell and Poseidon was in charge of the oceans. The gods had human characteristics and had human feeling like happiness and jealousy. The first books about the adventures of the Gods were written by Greek poet named Homer. Homer wrote the Iliad and Odyssey. Ancient ruins and artifacts often show the stories of the gods. The Greeks worshipped these Gods and honored them with different kinds of festivals…

Words 924 - Pages 4