Kendra Jones
The Odyssey The Odyssey is Homer's epic of Odysseus 10 year struggle to return home after the Trojan War. While Odysseus battles mystical creatures and faces the wrath of the gods, his wife Penelope and his son Telemachus force off suitors courting Penelope for her hand and Ithaca's throne long enough for Odysseus to return. Odysseus, the king of the ancient Greek kingdom of Ithaca, is called to service in the Trojan War right after his son Telemachus is born. Odysseus is worried that he may not make it back after the war. The war ends up lasting 10 years, during which Greece’s best solider, Achilles, is killed. Ten years have passed since the defeat of Troy, and Greek hero Odysseus still has not returned to his kingdom in Ithaca. A large group of suitors who have overrun Odysseus’s palace and pillaged land continue to court his wife, Penelope. She has remained faithful to Odysseus. Prince Telemachus, Odysseus’s son, wants desperately to throw them out but does not have the confidence or experience to fight them. One of the suitors plans to kill Telemachus, eliminating the chance of one of them becoming king.
There are many important lessons in the Odyssey that we can all live by. After reading the Odyssey I learned that you should never give up on someone or something that is important to you. You should keep on pushing to achieve a goal that you set for yourself even if people or things stand in your way. With enough effort and determination, you can accomplish the goals and missions in your life. Don't taunt people. After Odysseus and his crew had escaped from the Cyclops, Odysseus decided to tease him. Odysseus had told the Cyclops that he was the one that took out his eye. Along with giving the blinded, one-eyed Cyclops his name, Odysseus told him his home was on Ithaca. With this information, the Cyclops prayed to Poseidon, the god of the sea. Cyclops prayed for Odysseus to lose all his companions and return to bitter days at home. Listen to what you were told to do. When they landed on Thrinakia, Odysseus made his crew promise not to touch Helios' cattle. Odysseus knew what the result of touching the cattle would be. His crew didn't listen. The crew used the cattle as a sacrifice to the gods. As a result, Helios prayed for the gods to punish Odysseus' men. They were punished by death when a thunderbolt from Zeus destroyed their boat. All of the men drowned except for Odysseus. Don't be too curious. While sailing back home Odysseus' men got curious and opened up the bag of winds that made them go off course of their home. Odysseus wanted to see what the Cyclops looked like and they got trapped by one. Another lesson is you should stay faithful. In the Odyssey, Odysseus began his epic journey, unsure of the future. His goal was simply to defeat Troy, and then return home to his family. Just when he thought he had succeeded in his mission, he began coming home and things got in his way. His situation looked bad, but he didn’t give up. He spent seven helpless years with Calypso, but he never gave up hope of home or forgot about his goal. Through
