...that a good story like The Odyssey by Homer includes the major emotional theme of love. The idea of love is emphasized throughout The Odyssey in a variety of different ways: Romantic love, familial love, and love within a helping hand of someone. These types of love all come together in perfect harmony to make The Odyssey the amazing story that it is. In life we often look and search for someone to share the love and journey with. Odysseus and Penelope’s strong and powerful relationship was no different when it came to a pure representation of love. Their relationship stayed strong throughout all the hardships they both faced. Odysseus was gone on a journey for over two decades,...
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...The Gods of Hospitality in Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey In Homer’s the Iliad and the Odyssey, much is made of hospitality as a recurring theme. In Ancient Greece the gods demand it. The nature and extent to which society today follows in that tradition has changed in form only, but not in substance. Food, shelter and protection of strangers from cultural norms of today, as the people of Ancient Greece were more inclined to take in strangers worn weary by travel. In the Iliad, the reader sees that in times of war, hospitality is provided to even the enemy. Housing strangers in one’s home was very common then, as many weary travelers trod by foot or sailed by boat to reach far-off destinations, making stops along the way. Moreover, since the Greeks believed the gods walked the earth amongst them, then turning down a travelers request, could mean rejecting a god masked from view. The Greeks took no chances in this regard; and with only a few exceptions, Homer’s literary characters comply with this religious doctrine and cultural norm. Hospitality in Ancient Greece, as portrayed by Homer, accounts, in part, for their longstanding world dominance and aligns itself in many ways with the Christianity enjoyed by many peace-loving nations of today. The guest-host relationship in both The Iliad and The Odyssey remain constant, the differences between the two dependent only on the differing circumstances posed by each tale (Biggs, Joseph, Schrodt & Dustan, n.d.) Today, America’s...
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...The Odyssey Essay Topics We will begin work on the essays once we’ve completed the reading. Between now and then you need to consider the following topics and choose one for your paper. Read over each topic; as we continue to read, listen for lines that will fit with your topic (that you can use in your paper!). You will commit to a topic later. 1. On at least three occasions in the Odyssey, good advice is offered and not taken, and disaster and suffering result. Discuss three such examples. 2. In Part 2 of the Odyssey, Penelope shows that she is a strong woman, and therefore a good match for Odysseus, because she is clever. Discuss three times when Penelope was clever. 3. What is the role of females in the Odyssey? Taking into consideration such characters as Penelope, Circe, Athena, the Sirens, and Anticlea (Odysseus’ mother), discuss how women are portrayed. 4. What is the importance of the father/son relationships in the Odyssey? Thinking about what the story presents about the relationships between Odysseus and Laertes, Odysseus and Telemachus, and Polyphemus and Poseidon, describe what characteristics of this relationship the Greeks valued. 5. The Odyssey contains some very graphic violence, some of which is done in anger and some of which is not. Select examples of each, and explain the purpose of each violent scene. 6. Hospitality, the concept of welcoming visitors and treating them well, was important to the Ancient Greeks. Find examples in the...
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...when it comes to prodigies, history raises the classic words of The Odyssey by Homer, The Epic of Gilgamesh, and Antigone by Sophocles and puts them on a pedestal of perfect implementation. Throughout the course of these stories, there is one uncut emotion that makes today’s world go round: love. Often times in life people search for the perfect partner -- a true love and a happily ever after. In The Odyssey, Odysseus and Penelope could be considered a power couple even in modern-day society. Although Odysseus is gone for twenty years, he never forgets his faithful wife in Ithaca. This love seems to help him persevere through the many hardships that he encounters on his journey home. On the other hand, Penelope, of course, maintains balance in the scale of affection by unraveling his shroud and delaying her marriage to the suitors...
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...Alma Morales Professor Derbyshire English 391 March 9, 2016 The Odyssey: The Power of Gods The epic of Homer The Odyssey is about Odysseus and his 10 year struggle to return home Ithaca where his wife Penelope and his son Telemachus are struggling with the suitors who are waiting to take Penelope’s hand and Ithaca’s throne while they await for Odysseus return. However, Odysseus struggled to return Ithaca for the reason that Poseidon one of the gods that appear during the epic prevent him to return to his homeland. The theme that I considered interesting about the epic The Odyssey is the Power of Gods. Gods were considered ‘supreme’to humans. This was because humans plead to the Gods whenever they need to achieve something, and the gods decided to please or not to please humans according to human’s effort in obtain their help. Through the epic The Odyssey from Homer, in numerous occasions gods interact with humans for example, in Book II ,Athena one of the goddesses interact with Telemachus as Mentor and she advises him to embark in a journey to go to look for his father Odysseus “the journey you have your heart set on won’t be delayed. I myself, your father’s old comrade, will equip a fast ship and sail along with you” (II.309-311). It seems that the power of gods in this epic is a very important part of human’s life. In addition, another aspect of the relationship between the gods and humans is that since humans believe gods have all the power over them, humans...
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...he entwines himself in an affair with Calypso. Another example would be Odysseus’s involvement with Circe, the nymph or Aeaea, whom Odysseus made love to. According to the text, it states: Straightaway she began to swear the oath that I required–never, she’d never do me harm–and when she’d finished, then, at last,...
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...Whether a person is in a bad relationship, being bullied, or just not having a good day, everybody needs a hero at some point. According to Mike Dilbeck, a hero is someone who “transforms compassion (a personal virtue) into heroic action (a civic virtue”). In Homer’s “The Odyssey”, Odysseus is the king of Ithaca, father of one son, and husband of a noble wife. After leaving Ithaca to fight in the Trojan War, Odysseus faces a short journey home, in which he makes bad decisions that cause him to take much longer to arrive back in Ithaca than he should have. Odysseus’s selfishness, disloyalty, and mercilessness eliminated any chances he had of being a hero. Some may argue that Odysseus was a hero because of his extreme cleverness or cunning ways. Yes, Odysseus was clever and cunning, but in most situations he did not apply those skills correctly. Therefore, Odysseus was most definitely not a hero. To begin with, Odysseus’s selfishness is made obvious during his encounter with Polyphemus. Everything he does is for the good of himself. Every action he takes is only taken to build onto his ego. If Odysseus had not decided to provide the Cyclops with all his information, his journey...
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...Through The Odyssey, the theme of hospitality is extremely important. In Grecian culture, being is a good host is highly valued and expected by guests. Hospitality was one of Zeus’s ground rules of ancient society. It is a crime against Zeus to commit an offense against a host or guest. Hospitality is an honorable characteristic. It was believed that not being hospitable would result in punishment from the gods. Throughout the Odyssey, three distinct events show the importance of hospitality during the Homer era. The first is Odysseus and the Phaeacian’s who are honorable hosts. The next is the suitors occupying Odysseus’s house, who are shown as horrible guests. Lastly, Odysseus is the guest of Polyphemus, who is an awful host. By comparing and contrasting these three events, one can show the importance of hospitality. The fear of Zeus compels the characters...
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...Iliad, the theme of the importance of fate is displayed through the different coincidences throughout the story. The theme of fate is illustrated through the different meetings and interactions such as the meeting between Sarah and Nathan, the meeting of Professor Apolland and his son, Aaron, and finally the meeting of all the characters in interactions with Marta. When Sarah wakes up from the entire ordeal and has gained confidence in sitting for her midterm. In addition, the idea of divine blessing is addressed when Nathan and Sarah are rewarded for their assistance from Professor Apolland, when he gave them an extension on their midterm for their help with both Aaron and Marta....
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...EXAMINATION OF DUTY AND SELF CONTROL IN THE ODYSSEY Aashna Jamal INTRODUCTION Under the rule of Zeus, events did not occur in isolation but in interdependence causing there to be a flux in the totality of events and the whole drama being played on a cosmic plane. The central theme of Zeus’s rule is the preservation of his “ oikos” or household management where the prevalence of order over Chaos is of utmost importance. In this paper, using the Odyssey as a case study, I will examine the thematic importance of the decisions taken by a hero in accordance to or defiance of self control and pietas and the consequences they lead to. These expectations are clearly marked out for the reader who waits in anticipation to garner the fate of the hero. I will analyse the themes of self control and pietas or duty in the Odyssey and discuss their special significance in this epic. I will then briefly talk about the Hindu concept of duty or Dharma with reference to the Ramayana. I however do not intend to use the concept of monomyth coined by Joseph Campbell also referred to as the hero's journey(which is a basic pattern that its proponents argue is found in many narratives from around the world.) in comparing these epics. The example of the Ramayana will only serve my purpose of highlighting the theme of duty in mythologies across the world. Lastly, I will conclude with the importance of inspecting these themes because of their significance to the plotline. Georg Wissowa notes that pietas was...
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...The Essential Role of Goddess in Homer’s The Iliad and The Odyssey Just as women were viewed as inferior to men during Homer’s era, a first glance at Homer’s epics The Iliad and The Odyssey portrays goddesses as inferiors to gods. Despite the era’s bias to men, the goddesses are of equal importance to the plot of his stories as the gods. The goddesses play vital roles as either helpers or nightmares to men by often determining the results of an action. Homer did not establish the goddesses in his epics merely as minor structures to blend in the background. Rather, he established dynamic goddesses who were both powerful and intelligent. In fact, in many ways the goddesses controlled the gods by having an influence in their decisions and actions through manipulation, persuasion and guidance. By influencing the gods, the goddesses also played a large role as shepherds for human fate. The goddess’s constant intervention in the mortals’ lives was driven by favoritism, love or sexual desires, and their pity for the weak. Although the goddesses are often restricted from doing as they wish by the gods, they have proven, in many occasions, to overpower the gods through manipulation. Goddesses were often told what to do by the gods. Tasks such as delivering messages from Zeus were often carried out by Athena. Just as Hector told his wife, “Go home, attend to your own handiwork at loom and spindle, and command the maids to busy themselves, too. As for war, that is for men, all we...
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...Greeks had certain rules, expectations and customs as part of their culture. Xenia, meaning the relationship between host and guest was a term that the ancient Greeks used to refer to hospitality. Hospitium, was what the ancient Romans used too describe hospitality it meant the divine right of the guest to receive hospitality and the devein responsibility for a host to provide hospitality. Hospitality towards a stranger or a traveler was an important element in the ancient Greek and Roman culture. The Odyssey and the Aeneid best demonstrate 1) why hospitality is so important, 2) what do the gods have to do with hospitality, and 3) what was expected from the host as well as the guest. There are many reasons why hospitality was so important in those times. It was for shelter, food, protection and most importantly it was a matter of life or death. One example would be Odysseus’s long traveling in the Odyssey. Traveling back then was not as advanced as it is today. The method of traveling was done by boat or on foot. This meant that many nights would be spent away from home and the travelers would have to rely on the hospitality of strangers for food and shelter. There were no hotels or restaurants in the ancient times and if there were hotels and restaurants, the travelers would probably not be able to pay for the many nights that they would have to stay. In Homer’s The Odyssey, Odysseus and his men relied...
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...Emotions at any given moment can cause one to act against one’s own morals because powerful emotions have the ability to overthrow common sense and control. Emotions are part of human nature and may benefit someone, but they become detrimental when they trap a person’s mind. In Homer’s Odyssey, the flawed epic hero, Odysseus, acts against his morals because of his emotions. In one example, Odysseus escapes the island of the Cyclops and taunts Polyphemus as his ship departs. Odysseus loses control of his anger, which fuels his impulsivity. He “began to taunt the Cyclops -- men around me [him]/trying to check me [him], calm me [him], left and right” (IX. 548-49), not realizing his words could kill him and his entire crew. Anger overwhelms all...
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...Odysseus’ Journey: A Path to Redemption In Homer's The Odyssey, the protagonist Odysseus sets off on a 10 year journey to reclaim his throne as king of Ithaca after the Trojan War. Throughout his journey, Odysseus constantly struggles with temptation. Odysseus faces the challenge of overcoming his weaknesses to obtain redemption from the gods. Odysseus' chances of returning home are compromised by his flaws and those of his crew; however, Odysseus possesses the necessary virtues and qualities needed to reclaim his throne. One flaw that dooms Odysseus is hubris. When Odysseus and his crew become trapped in the Cyclops’s cave, Odysseus uses his intelligence and cleverness to escape. After the escape, Odysseus brags and reveals his real name to Polyphemus, yelling from his ship “…if any man…should ask you who blinded you, shamed you so—say Odysseus…he gouged out your eye” (Homer 9.558). Polyphemus is enraged and curses Odysseus' name to Poseidon, praying that his father will delay Odysseus’ return. Poseidon curses Odysseus and his men by causing storms and winds to prevent him and his crew from returning home. If Odysseus didn’t let his pride influence him in this instance, he may have returned to Ithaca earlier and saved the lives of many of his men. Another example of Odysseus’ pride compromising the success of the journey was when the crew was facing the Sirens. The Sirens are dangerous sea enchantresses that lead sailors to their deaths through song. Instead of putting...
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...GREEK MYTHOLOGY Background to Homer’s Odyssey As you read each story, ask yourself: What is most enjoyable, predictable, or bizarre about this story? How would I have responded in this situation? What mysteries or features of the world might this story try to explain? What bit of moral or religious instructions (i.e. don’t disobey the gods) might be contained in this story? How does this story compare with Christian beliefs, or with the values of our culture today? Are there any other stories or fables I’ve heard that follow the same pattern as this story? The Creation Myths Part 1 Before there was anything, there was Chaos, a formless void. This void, this pure nothingness, gave birth to Gaea (the Earth itself), Tartarus (the underworld), Eros (love), Erebus (underground darkness) and Nyx (the darkness of night). The two kinds of darkness joined together and gave birth two kinds of light: the Light of the heavens and the Light of day. Nyx (night) also gave birth to the three Fates, who control the course of the universe and determine the length of each person’s life on their wheel of fortune. Of the fates, Clotho spins the threads of each person’s life, Lachesis measures the length of the thread, and Atropos cuts the thread. The Fates – Francisco Goya (one of the best painters ever!) 1823 – Note the scissors in the hand of Atropos and Lachesis measuring with a magnifying glass. Who’s...
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