Essay The Odyssey

Submitted By almostdonewithschool
Words: 1499
Pages: 6
Open Document
Combining gods and heroes, lust and war, fantastical adventures and heartfelt emotions, the Odyssey is one of the supreme epics of all time. Centered on Odysseus’ ten year journey home, the poem is filled with suspenseful and emotional scenes of the human experience. As a mother and son earnestly await the return of their beloved, Odysseus has to struggle through treacherous trials and tribulation to reach his native soil and his family. But Odysseys’ preparedness to live a life away from home before the Trojan War, his preference for extending his journey after the war, his loss of longing for home throughout his voyage, and finally his eagerness for more adventure once back at home shows that he identifies more with a life of struggle and adventure than a life of passive stability.

Long before embarking to lead his men into battle at Troy, Odysseus was born and groomed to be a traveler and adventurer. While still a nameless babe, his grandfather said, “let his name be Odysseus…the Son of Pain, a name he’ll earn in full” (Od. 19, 463-64). Fearless from a young age, Odysseus proved himself to posses the heart of a warrior while hunting boar on his grandfather’s island. The boar, with its “razor back bristling” and “eyes flashing fire” didn’t give Odysseus a moment of pause as the young hero fearlessly lunged his spear through the wild beast’s chest (Od. 19, 484-514). Some years later back in Ithica, Odysseus prepared himself for the life of an adventurer by making his island independent from himself. He married Penelope, a woman who was his equal in wit and leadership. Referred to as “wary and reserved” (Od. 1 378), “self possessed” (Od. 4, 124), and “wise” (Od. 19, 137), Penelope’s management of Ithica during her husband’s absence is obvious throughout the Odyssey. She maintained an orderly palace with a staff of fifty women (Od. 22, 446), orchestrated a behemoth food supply including fresh baked bread and daily the slaughter of pigs, cows, and goats (Od. 20), and was able to entertain and satiate over one hundred suitors for several years (Od. 1, 184-87). Finally, to firmly anchor his family in Ithica, Odysseus built his palace up around a sturdy olive tree. The crown of the palace was his bed; built atop the massive tree’s branches, it symbolized his unmovable union with Penelope even during his absence (Od. 23, 283-285).

Nearly a decade after the Trojan War began, Odysseus, Nestor, Menelaus, and several other generals loaded up their men and their plunder and set sail for their respective homelands. At that moment Odysseus had the perfect opportunity to sail home to Ithica with a pleasant wind at his back and calm tides ahead but he instead chose to extend his life of struggle and tribulation. With a lust for war that would remain with him throughout the rest of the Odyssey, Odysseus abruptly turned his ships around, preferring to remain on the battlefields of Troy instead (Od. 3, 180-82). When the exploits and spoils of Troy were exhausted, Odysseus and his crew embark on what would become a dazed decade of deathly expeditions. First he drifted to Ismarus where he and his crew “sacked the city” and “killed the men” (Od. 9, 45-49). After settling down and beginning a feast at the beach, the island inhabitants came back with a vengeance and forced Odysseus and his men off the island, killing many of his warriors (Od. 9, 45-84). This strange confusion swapping between lust for war and lust for indulgence followed Odysseus and his men to the land of the Lotus Eaters (Od. 9, 92-117), and the island of the Cyclops, where Odysseus’ poor judgment led to the deaths of five of his men (Od. 118-630). In a blatant attempt to remain away from Ithica, Odysseus took this procession of death and mayhem to Laestrygonian land where he lost every ship in his squadron except for his own (Od. 10, 88-145); then it was on to Aeaean island, home to the enchantress Circe (Od. 10, 146-630), then to the Kingdom of
Show More

Related Documents: Essay The Odyssey

Odyssey: Odyssey and Carley Odyssey Essay

Rachel Carley Odyssey Essay 1/18/13 Period C Divine Intervention Throughout the history of mankind has looked for guidance from a godlike being or beings. In the Greek epic The Odyssey composed by Homer, mortals’ lives are affected by the presence of the gods, who watch over and even intercede…

Words 972 - Pages 4

The Odyssey In The Odyssey And Cold Mountain

The two stories, The Odyssey and Cold Mountain, have many similarities that gave Cold Mountain the title of “the American Odyssey”. The characters portrayed in them share many characteristics that can lead people to believe that characters from Cold Mountain were created to resemble characters from The Odyssey. More specifically, the characters Ada and Ruby from Cold Mountain resemble the characters Penelope and Athena from The Odyssey. Athena and Ruby are similar in the fact that they…

Words 359 - Pages 2

Homer's Odyssey-Aeolus In The Odyssey

Aeolus in The Odyssey Odysseus and his men sailed in search for a floating island in the sea with a palace on top of it. They had come upon the island of Aeolia, which is the home of Aeolus. Aeolus lived with his six sons and six daughters. He treated Odysseus kindly and encouraged him to tell stories about Troy and his travels. Odysseus had so many stories, and Aeolus and his children enjoyed them so much, that Odysseus remained on that island for a month. After a month, Odysseus decided to…

Words 181 - Pages 1

Odyssey And Free Will In Homer's Odyssey

These struggles and solutions can help you build character. Adventures have the ability to show parts of you that have remained hidden throughout your life. You can learn who you are and what kind of a person you are. In the abridged version of the Odyssey, Odysseus is asked for his name by a Cyclops holding him and his men captive.“Cyclops, you ask my honorable name? Remember the gift you promised me, and I shall tell you. My name is Nohbdy: mother, father, and friends,…

Words 714 - Pages 3

Odyssey: Odyssey and Hospitality Essay

During the era of The Odyssey, hospitality played a vital role in the ethics of society. Travel was immensely tiring and many travelers needed places to stay. Therefore people were expected to provide hospitality and in turn, were often rewarded in some type of way. People were expected to treat traveling strangers with food, shelter and entertainment even if they were unaware of the possible danger. Also, people were very wary that if they failed to offer hospitality the Gods would unleash punishment…

Words 1405 - Pages 6

Morality In The Odyssey

Homer’s Odyssey is a Greek epic poem that focuses on a Greek hero Odysseus, who is the king of Ithaca. On Odysseus’s journey back to his homeland you find that the Odyssey implements a plethora of gruesome and violent events filled with monsters and Gods. Despite all of the malevolent events, the Odyssey shows that a true hero must have good morals. The four key factors of morality that are portrayed throughout the story are Loyalty, Self-Restraint, Perseverance, and Compassion. Loyalty the first…

Words 1211 - Pages 5

Archetypes In The Odyssey

to action. This is someone that is both sacrificing and selfless. In the Odyssey, Odysseus—an epic hero known for both his physical strength and his mental guile—through the final stage of the Hero’s Journey. Throughout his journey, the theme: mental strength over physical strength is depicted time and time again. Through the hero’s journey archetype, and other significant character and setting archetypes found in the Odyssey, the reader can comprehend the importance of mental strength over physical…

Words 567 - Pages 3

Loyalty In The Odyssey

later. Loyalty is a big part of The Odyssey, it is represented in all the character relationships. The Odyssey is a book where Ulysses left his family for 20 years. He went to war for 10 and ran into some speed bumps on the way so that took another 10 years. This book tells the story about what he had to do, to get back home to his family. All the time Ulysses was gone, Penelope brought up their child, Telemachus. The most important theme in The Odyssey is loyalty. No matter how far away the…

Words 170 - Pages 1

Penelope In The Odyssey

The Odyssey is an epic poem written in twenty-four chapters, traditionally said to have been written by the ancient Greek poet Homer. The poem tells the story of Odysseus, king of Ithaca, who wanders for ten years trying to get home after the Trojan War. The epic is filled with a multitude of characters, but none quite as interesting as Penelope. Although some readers might say that Penelope is fatuous, Penelope actually demonstrates intelligence because she is able to come up with creative ways…

Words 596 - Pages 3

Loyalty In Odyssey

The Importance of Loyalty and the Consequences of Disloyalty Throughout the epic “The Odyssey” Odysseus, the ruler of Ithaca, experiences true disloyalty and loyalty throughout his twenty year journey and even returning home. His one desire was to get home as soon as possible, no matter what it took. He had setbacks throughout his miserable journey, and those setbacks were because of the difference between loyalty and disloyalty. Even in the years of 750-700 BC, people throughout the universe…

Words 800 - Pages 4