Odysseus In Homer's Odyssey

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Odysseus, king of Ithaca, is hero with his fame and glory but also makes many human mistakes on his unimaginably lengthy journey from a successful victory at Troy. In the Odyssey, Odysseus shows his ability to fight on and survive in order to see his family again by setting his goal to getting home and never fading from that goal. Odysseus may be a war hero and an aggressive leader, but he is also a caring and compassionate man, looking out for his crew, his home, and his family. Although, along his long journey he makes many uncharacteristic mistakes that affect his return home to a changed Ithaca. In the Odyssey, Homer portrays Odysseus as much of a family many as he is a warrior in battle. For example when Odysseus is trapped on the island …show more content…
For example when Odysseus and his men had just escaped the cyclop, Polyphemus's cave, “Cyclops, if any mortal man should ask about the shameful blinding of your eye, then tell him that the man who gouged you was Odysseus, ravager of cities: onewho lives in Ithaca—Laértës’ son”(pg. 256). Right after Odysseus tells Polyphemus, son of Poseidon, he prayed to his father that Odysseus may not reach his home of Ithaca unless his fate takes him there and that he may have much grief in Ithaca. This mistake is very costly because Poseidon delays there return to Ithaca by swirling up the seas with humongous waves and treacherous winds. Another big mistake Odysseus makes along his exhausting 20 year journey, is when Ino comes to rescue him and gives him the immortal cloak to swim to shore, but Odysseus waits to see if the waves will take him there not listening to the goddess. “That said, the goddess handed him a shawl and then plunged back at once—much like a gull—into the billow. “Ah me! Let it not be that, once again, someone immortal has devised a plan to trap me, urging me to leave this craft” (pg. 150). By not listening to Ino's directions, Odysseus is punished by Poseidon when he swirls up a ginormous wave and knocks Odysseus off his little boat forcing him to swim with the shawl to the island of the Phaeácians. Throughout the book Odysseus makes many mistakes, but his way of rebounding from those mistakes are what makes him a true
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