Odysseus Losses

Words: 728

Pages: 3

Open Document

There are many losses during one lifetime. Someone could lose a family member, or lose a belief in something. The diversity of types of losses is showcased in the Odyssey by Homer. This epic poem takes place ten years after the end of the Trojan War. This is a story of how Odysseus, the main character, gets home. At Odysseus’s home, Penelope and her son, Telemachus, are warding off the suitors who are trying to win Penelope’s hand in marriage. Through Telemachus’s loss of hope for Odysseus’s return, Odysseus’s men losing faith, and the bow and arrow trial Penelope set up for the suitors, the Odyssey shows that a personal loss can lead to a loss of hope. As Telemachus visits other countries, he learns about his father’s bravery in the Trojan War and the …show more content…
In conversation with Telemachus, the king of Sparta, Menelaus, says “Odysseus”. His destiny/suffering, and mine the endless pain/of missing him. We do not even know if he is still alive.” (Homer, 155, 106-109) In saying this, we can see that Menelaus claims to not know if Odysseus ever made it out of the Trojan War. Here, the loss Telemachus is feeling is the loss of his father. The more Telemachus hears about the heroics of his father, the more he feels as though he didn’t make it out of the Trojan War. While Telemachus is learning more about the Trojan War from neighboring kings, Odysseus is making his way across the ocean with his crew. Odysseus’s men were losing faith in Odysseus with every new place they visited. The men believed that Odysseus was not being completely honest with them and was withholding a grand fortune. In discussion with the other men, one of the crew members stated, “It seems everyone loves this man/ and honors him, in every place we sail to./ He also has loot from sacking Troy./We shared the journey home with him, yet we come/ back home with empty hands.” (Homer, 260,

Telemachus Identity In Odysseus In Homer's Odyssey

this state in front of his hosts, but because he is not ready to reveal his name, and consequently, his own connection to Odysseus. In this instance, Menelaus has already suspected his identity, but chooses not to expose his guest in order to follow etiquette, but also respect Telemachus’ private memories. Instead, Helen is the one who outrightly determines Telemachus is Odysseus’ son. Menelaus agrees after, as if this revelation has just occurred to him, as shown when he says, “...now that…

Words 309 - Pages 2

Summary Of Paul Fleischman's Dateline Troy

In the book, Dateline Troy by Paul Fleischman, Agamemnon is the High King and the most powerful of all the Greek rulers. He is power hungry and selfish. He is married to Helen’s sister and has a younger brother names Menelaus. Agamemnon got Helen’s exes to see if they would go to Troy and bring back Helen. He vowed to Menelaus that he will bring Helen back and destroy Troy. Achilles went to fight right by Agamemnon’s side to destroy Troy and bring back Helen. Many ships our lost and the elders…

Words 267 - Pages 2

The Odyssey: Is Odysseus A Hero?

Is Odysseus a Hero The cave rumbles as the giant snores, the sirens singing an irresistible song, the thunderous sound of water as Charybdis brings in another victim. The screaming of the sailors as they are taken by the almighty Scylla. What hero could survive these intense interactions? None other than the almighty Odysseus. Odysseus is one of the most well known characters in Greek mythology. He is known for being strong willed, clever and a great warrior throughout the book The Odyssey By Homer…

Words 1406 - Pages 6

Odysseus Research Paper

Carson Mackowiak Mr. Lovalvo Language Arts 9 2nd hour October 5th, 2023 Odysseus was a Bad Leader In order for a group of people to succeed, it needs to have a leader. In the case of Odysseus, although he has many great traits, his curiosity and careless choices causes him to put many lives in danger. In the Odyssey, Odysseus spent ten years trying to lead his men home from the Trojan War. On this journey home, he made numerous poor choices that resulted in every single one of his men dying. Despite…

Words 1398 - Pages 6

Compare and Contrast of Odysseus and Aeneas Essay

Compare and Contrast of Odysseus and Aeneas Odysseus, the hero in The Odyssey, and Aeneas, the hero in The Aeneid, fought in opposing sides in the Trojan war. Odysseus was the king of Ithaca and was arguably the smartest king and warrior in all of Greece, whereas Aeneas was a warrior from Troy whose destiny was to found the Roman race in Italy. While both men were highly acclaimed by their respective countrymen as heroes, they shared many similarities in respect to their background, their virtue…

Words 2109 - Pages 9

The Legendary Greek Warrior: How Achilles Power Struggle

Achilles the legendary Greek warrior, and his story of rise and fall by Homer. At the start of this story I notice it is one of very few where the hero of the story has a sense of invulnerable power which leads him to his demise. The start of Achilles power struggle begins with the irresistible desire of his mother (Thetis) to grant Achilles with Immortality. The child Achilles is given this power on one of two obsessive attempts, the first Thetis commited a sacrificial ceremony to Burn Achilles…

Words 646 - Pages 3

Drama Research Paper

world need religion, for hope, they need to have faith in something. The unimaginable stories and plays of great Gods, of Jesus Christ saving souls, of the average man receiving blessings throughout his life, of a hero of goodness overcoming evil. Odysseus was a nobel king who was blessed by the Gods to be able to return home to his kingdom and family after his life threatening journey. Hundreds of years later Catholic church rebirthed theater to the public to educate and draw in believers. Even in…

Words 1950 - Pages 8

Death Archetypes

Death is present in Human nature and its representation appears in several fields. Politics is not the exception and, as well as its appearance in other fields are strong enough for being part of general imagery and subconscious of a wide amount of people, death becomes a powerful tool frequently used by politicians. This strategy, used as well by the right-wing and the left-wing, is especially reinforced in the construction and consolidation of nationalist systems. From Ancient times the values…

Words 1943 - Pages 8

Essay on Ansel Adams

father went on to serve as the paid secretary-treasurer of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific from 1925 to 1950.[10] After the death of Ansel's grandfather and the aftermath of the Panic of 1907, his father's business suffered great financial losses. Some of the induced near-poverty was because Ansel’s Uncle Ansel Easton and Cedric Wright’s father, George Wright, had secretly sold their shares of the company to the Hawaiian Sugar Trust for a large amount of money, “knowingly providing the controlling…

Words 8858 - Pages 36