Pride In The Odyssey

The Odyssey by Homer is a timeless classic, read by young and old alike for centuries. Based on Greek myth and oral tradition, The Odyssey is an epic following Odysseus, the king of Ithaca. An epic is a long poem that comes from oral tradition and narrates the deeds and adventure of a hero. This is a tale of adventure, love, and a desperate desire to return home. Odysseus embarks on a hero’s journey and goes through the three main stages of that journey with Separation, Initiation, and the Return.
Odysseus’ ordinary world is with his wife, Penelope, and newborn child, Telemachus, in his kingdom. When the Trojans attack the Greeks, Odysseus is called to adventure to travel to Troy and lead the Greek armies in battle. Odysseus is concerned when …show more content…
The men then grab onto the bottom of the sheep’s stomachs and ride on them out of the cave, without Polyphemus knowing they were there. They reach their ship and prepare to leave when Polyphemus chases them. As they are sailing away, Odysseus cries out his name and reveals his true identity to the cyclops. This exemplifies Odysseus’ hubris, or excessive pride. This is Odysseus’ hamartia, or fatal flaw. Odysseus is so focused on receiving glory for him defeating Polyphemus and that he does not think about the consequences it might bring. He wanted Polyphemus to know who had bested him and to be praised for it. Polyphemus, being the sea god Poseidon’s son, prays to his father to curse Odysseus. Poseidon does exactly that. After facing the cyclops, the crew sails on to the land of the Laestrygonians, cannibalistic giants. Some of the crew is lost, but they are able to escape. Next Odysseus and his crew encounter Circe, a sorceress, who instructs him to travel to the Land of the Dead and consult Tiresias, the dead prophet. While in there, Odysseus encounters three ghosts, Elpenor, one of Odysseus’ crew who had died, Anticlea, Odysseus’ mother, and Tiresias. Elpenor has been left unburied and he …show more content…
Odysseus hears the Siren’s song, and they sail on toward Scylla and Charybdis. Scylla is a monster with six heads who snatches men from their ships and devours them. She lives across from Charybdis on a narrow strait. Charybdis is a sea monster who swallows large amounts of water and then belches it back up. Odysseus makes a smart decision to sail closer to Scylla than Charybdis, as Scylla would only kill a few men and Charybdis would kill all of them. Scylla grabs the men and they are eaten. They sail on and land on an island with the sun god Helios’ cattle. Tiresias, the prophet Odysseus met in the Underworld, warned them about resisting their temptation and not eating the cattle. If they harm any of these sacred animals, they will die. Despite the warnings, the men kill the cattle and eat them. Odysseus is in a deep sleep as the men kill the animals, and when he awakens he is distraught and his men are struck down. Only Odysseus is alive, all his men have died. The hero sails off and lands on Calypso’s island, Ogygia, where he stays for seven years. Eventually Odysseus leaves Ogygia and is, at last, on his

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