...The film “300” depicts a variety of contemporary themes such as brotherhood, betrayal, honor, integrity, and the like. Above all, “300” follows the cultural truth-value of fulfilling one’s own destiny along with illuminating the ideology of a modern day “kleos” myth. King Leonidas, along with the 300 Spartans illustrate these cultural truth-values through their altercation with King Xerxes I and his Persian Empire. We view similar concepts in “The Odyssey”, as well as other classical mythology works. There are many examples in “300” where the Spartans express a common theme of fulfilling their fate no matter the cost. A case in point is during the first half of the film when Leonidas blatantly slaughters Xerxes’s messenger. Thus, starting a war and...
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...The Accepting the Rejecting and the Giant - Chris Haas Per:1 “The friendly and generous reception and entertainment of guests, visitors, or strangers”. That is the very definition of my odyssey topic;Hospitality. Hospitality at the time of ancient Greece was a very big subject in the odyssey because to the people of ancient Greece, guests were thought of as if they were god-sent. Hospitality was among one the thing in ancient Greek history that you were kind of supposed to uphold and just do, as if it were a common rule, which in a way it was. There were times when hospitality is greatly shown to the main character Odysseus, and also times when an antagonist would greatly disapprove of accepting Odysseus into their house or living state. As...
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...In Homer’s The Odyssey, the author tells us of a magnificent story of lust, deceit, greed, and heroism. The Odyssey is a display of a journey of determination, willpower, patience, and virtue. The author tells the tale of Odysseus, on his voyage home to Ithaka. This is happening after the end of the Trojan War. Odysseus, the main character, goes through a series of many unforeseen trials and tribulations in this exemplary journey. This exemplifies his character and displays him as a hero in the eyes of the audience. During these different happenings, Odysseus makes decisions that do not correspond to his character. Odysseus is displayed as not only a hero but also as a good leader to his men. Throughout all their trials such as the Sirens, Polyphemus (the cyclops), and the enchantress Circe, Odysseus is displayed as clever, patient, cunning, and fearless. Odysseus made decisions not only for himself but also for his men as well. For example, he did not leave his men on the island of the Lotus Eaters when they clearly had no desire to go back to Ithaca; he knotted them onto the boat and left the island. He was determined to get home with as many of his men as he possibly could, though they repeatedly disobeyed him. Odysseus is one of history's greatest leaders and this is a vital part of what makes him such an epic hero Another characteristic that stand out and makes Odysseus a hero is his ability to overcome his obstacles in order to reach his goal. Odysseus is faced by many...
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...Loyalty in The Odyssey Many human cultures assign values as well as worthiness to the existence of loyalty. As a Classical culture known for its emphasis of loyalty at home as well as abroad, the faithfulness of ancient Greeks in their relationships is exemplified in many Classical texts, such as Homer’s The Odyssey. In both ancient Greece as well as in The Odyssey, loyalty was the social norm because of the egalitarian nature of the city-state as well as because of the typical ancient Greek family structure. Not only because of social expectations as well as traditions was loyalty expected, but there was also an added pressure by one’s religious conviction such that it was believed that if the guests were in any way or manner mistreated, then the ancient Greek deities would punish the offender(s). There are several passages in Homer’s Classical text The Odyssey which illustrate these aspects of ancient Greek loyalty. In illustration of the faithfulness between Odysseus as well as his crew, there is a passage that notes loyalty in the crew-leader relationship: He saw the town as well as learned the minds of many distant men, as well as weathered many bitter nights as well as days his deep heart at sea, while he fought only to save his life, to bring his shipmates home. But not by will or valor could he save them, for their own recklessness destroyed them all- children as well as fools they killed as well as feasted on the cattle of Lord Helios, the Sun… (651). It would initially...
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...Both The Odyssey and The Aeneid include accounts of games, although not for the same purpose. In The Odyssey, the Phaeacians know little about Odysseus, who has recently arrived, and the king holds an assembly to honor, “the new guest at the palace of Alkinoos--”(125). Demodokos, a minstrel, sings a song about Odysseus fighting Akhilleus, which brings Odysseus to tears. In order to take Odysseus’ mind off his past, the Phaeacians begin to play games. First, they race, then they wrestle, then they broadjump, and finally, they box. Eventually, Odysseus joins the games when he is challenged by king Alkinoos’ son, Laodamas, to throw discus. Odysseus, older and weaker than Laodamas, wins with the help of Athena. Afterwards, another feast is held....
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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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...from various points of view.” In the case of Homer's two epics, this quote holds true. It shows how Homer is able to present many points of views. Both the Iliad, and the Odyssey show how the lives of Achilles and Odysseus represent the crucial differences between a true hero, and a strong soldier. He shows their different views on honor, and how they view the society they live in. In these two epics, Homer uses specific events in the story to define the characters' views of their humanity as exemplified by their actions. Stereotypical heroes are thought of as being perfect beings. Yet, all heroes are flawed. The sign of a true hero is one who overcomes adversity,...
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...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 often fear the gods and therefore they honor them or offer...
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...Noah Schoonveld Mrs. Kelley Bailey World literature December 13, 2016 Xenia in The Odyssey Zeus, the ruler of the Olympians, the God of the Sky and thunder, was at the epicenter of Ancient Greek Mythology. Those who worshiped the many Greek gods and goddesses would try to emulate and embody the many characteristics of Zeus, one of them being xenia, The Ancient Greek concept of hospitality. Xenia plays a crucial role throughout Homers The Odyssey. Starting in the very first book, Telemachus is seen opening up his father’s palace to Athena, And later in what might be the greatest display of xenia, Alcinous opens his kingdom to Odysseus. Xenia is so important In the Greek culture, because it develops a mutual understanding and trust between...
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...The idea of revenge is one closely tied with that of honor. In many instances the two are intertwined in a seemingly delicate balance. On the one hand the idea that one must uphold their honor is a persuasive argument, yet a person pursuing a path to maintain their integrity and status can often become swayed and have their actions dictated by the feelings of revenge. In the case of the Homer’s epic The Odyssey translated by Robert Fitzgerald, we see these two ideas clashing on a canvas filled with mystical creatures and legendary challenges. Odysseus wants to maintain the honor of his family and yet some might argue that that his actions are motivated by revenge. His actions, abrupt as they may have been, were motivated by a keen sense of justice and desire...
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....Homer’s life is a shadow in the mists of ancient history. All that we know for certain about him is that he composed two of the greatest epics in world literature, The Iliad and The Odyssey, as well as several hymns to the gods. The content, ideals, and style of his epics formed the basis of Greek education in the classical age of Socrates, Plato, Sophocles, and Aristotle and influenced the course of western literature for centuries to come. .......The Iliad and The Odyssey stand as two of the greatest works ever composed. They have influenced writers throughout the ages for the beauty and power of their imagery, for their character development, for the universality of their themes, and for their extraordinary stories. They take their place alongside the Bible, Sophocles’ Oedipus the Rex, Dante’s The Divine Comedy, Cervantes’ Don Quixote, Shakespeare’s Hamlet, and Tolstoy’s War and Peace as among the most popular and most highly praised literary works in history. Remarkably, Homer had no authors to imitate, no prototypical literature to guide him, for literature—indeed, civilization itself—was still in its infancy when he composed his works. He was the world's first great writer, a model for others to imitate. .......Scholars conjecture from scraps of evidence that Homer was a blind poet who may have been born on the island of Chios (also spelled in English as Khios) in the Aegean Sea; in Smyrna, a seaport in western Turkey; in Colophon, near Ephesus, Turkey; on Rhodes, an...
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...and have pride in their position in society. Their actions also reflected on their friends and family. Your pride and honor were your identity, it showed your true worth. If your pride and honor were injured your whole identity would be lost. In Homer’s epic poem the Iliad. You familiarize yourself with Greek heros. One of the most famous Greek warriors and most powerful warriors in the Iliad was Achillies. His father was named Pelus also a warrior, and his mothers name was Thetis, she was a sea nymph. Achillies has superhuman strength and he is everything a great warrior should be. But he is human and like humans we have flaws. His pride is everything to him but he can’t control his anger when he feels like his pride has been struck. Many do not see him as a hero because of this flaw. He leaves behind fellow soldiers even praying to the gods that the Trojan warriors kill them all. Achillies is thirsty for fame. He is willing to sacrifice everything as long as his name is remembered when he dies. The true goal of the Greek people is to be remembered after death, to reach fame in the after life. Odysseus’ character is very different than all the others in the Iliad. Odysseus is the one character that moves away from the normal Greek culture. He doesn’t desire glory and honor. In the Iliad Odysseus is seen more of an advisor. In Homer’s other epic poem the Odyssey, Odysseus is trying to make his way home to his family and he...
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...“Her immortal loom, her enchanted web” (237). Here, Homer talks about weaving life and weaving tapestry all in one sentence. He distinctly points out the beauty and “enchantment” of weaving. Additionally, Homer emphasizes the importance of weaving throughout his epic. In The Odyssey, Homer relates the key motif of weaving to it’s importance in Greek culture and life, to wisdom and planning, and to kleos and reputation. Homer makes the value of weaving in Greek culture very clear. On page 183, Homer describes Phaeacia as a place where the women are skilled at weaving and the men are master sailors. For these reasons, their people are highly regarded. Additionally, this skill puts them in close regard with Athena, making their status even more elevated because they are close to a goddess herself. Arete is even compared to Athena and seen as being very similar. On page 432, Odysseus tells his serving women to go back to their quarters and weave. Weaving was clearly a usual thing for women to do and was a everyday activity....
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...Athena was often associated with being the ruler of Athens. To win the patronage of Athens, she engaged in a contest with Poseidon. Poseidon gave the city a salt-water spring, and Athena gave them the first olive tree, which the people of the city could have olive and their oil for consumption and trade. She gained the king's favor with this gift, thus winning the competition and becoming patron of the city. The 5th century BCE temple of the Parthenon was built in her honor. Her adopted son, Erichthonius, one of the first kings of Athens, is traditionally credited with introducing the Panathenaic festival, held every four years to honor the goddess. The festival included a parade through the city, the presentation of a specially woven peplos to Athena, and athletic games. Prizes for the games were amphora painted with a figure of Athena and contained prime olive...
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...Odyssey The Iliad and the Odyssey are two of the world masterpieces that have survived the times . Admired through the ages as the ultimate epics Homer 's Iliad and the Odyssey , was venerated by the ancient Greeks themselves as the cornerstone of their civilization (Nagy , Online . The two epics are the portrayal of early Greek civilization with the spotlight focused on heroism and the heroes ' struggles and triumph Early Greece likewise was depicted in the two epics as a people who believed in the power of the immortals which was clearly shown in how br the gods and goddesses ran the lives of the characters The Iliad and Odyssey are both colorful and dramatic . Not only was Homer able to use vivid s of the different war episodes but he was also successful in portraying supernatural beings that Odysseus met during his journey back home . These styles of Homer likewise characterized the people during the time that the epics were written A very diverse Greek culture was shown in the Iliad and the Odyssey Just like what was previously mentioned , people in ancient Greece revered their heroes . The people then consider men or women who were endowed with superhuman abilities which were believed to have come from the gods and the goddess as their heroes . These heroes likewise embodied the character of the Greek people as a whole . Homer used the different characters in the two epic to give a picture of how society and the people was during the earlier times Achilles was regarded...
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