...Love comes in many different shapes and sizes. Their is no doubt 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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...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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...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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...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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...Lit 13 October 2016 Hospitality Xenia is defined as the Greek relationship between two people from different regions. Hospitality in Homer’s time was essential because in this day and time, methods of travel were less convenient. The communication and technology during this time period was far less advanced than the modern times to come. With the less progressive communication avenues along with longer travel times, more nights were spent away from home in other locations. The most common forms of transportation of this day were boat or on foot which obviously took longer than today’s modern transportation. In addition to this, travelers were not able to afford to stay in hotels or inns every night therefore it was...
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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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...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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...Xenia is the Greek word for hospitality. It is the law that requires both hosts and guests to be polite and respect each other. To be a good guest, one should provide his own stories, or bring trade or gift to the host. On the other hand, a good host has much more things to do than a good guest. He should bathe the guest, give him clothing, food, as well as guest present, and also transportation and protection. Gods might also disguise themselves into human beings to test the hospitality of a host. Xenia is an essential and highly expected quality for both guests and hosts according to Homer. In The Odyssey, he provides several examples: the suitors and Polyphemus (the Cyclops), Telemachus, Nestor, and Menelaus, as well as Calypso and Circe....
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...only prodigies can master. And 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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...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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...Gender Inequality in The Odyssey In Homer’s epic poem, The Odyssey, female inferiority and gender inequality are recurring motifs. As a woman during this ancient time period (approximately 700 to 750 BCE), it was common to be regarded as “a man’s property”, or in other words, to be held to a double standard. In his poem, Homer demonstrates the inferior role of women compared to men, through multiple female characters. One specific character that significantly captures the idea and role of female inferiority is Penelope, Odysseus’s wife. Through close analysis of Penelope’s character and her relationships with men, it is evident that women in The Odyssey are held to a double standard. Penelope’s relationship with the suitors reveals female...
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...small section that could be used to analyze his revenge arc in the Odyssey. A cluster of three samples of methods to use to analyze this piece, which will be shown through the essay, are gender stereotypes/sexuality, structuralism, and rationalism. To explain and make connections for the support of the analyzing methods, examples from previous chapters of the textbook will be brought in and cited to help make the points and contrasts from the selected text. Beginning with the gender stereotypes analysis, the most obvious example is of the female slaves when they greet Odysseus after his revenge. The women were seen kissing and wrapping their arms around Odysseus lovingly (Steele...
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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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...Gender role in The Odyssey, specifically focusing on the women's role and how women's treatment by men can be indicated as sexist. They are usually identified by their looks and treated based on how their physical appearance is, and whether they have power over any men. She makes it clear that throughout Odysseus’ journey to the underworld, he spots and gets a glimpse of different variety of women. She says that throughout the Odyssey, they do not state anything about the women’s accomplishments in their lifetime, but only about their important son's, good looks and pleasingness, and their affairs with gods. She also talks about how women are known for their action and activity towards their sons and husbands, but never for the action and deeds of their own, or how they are, nor what accomplishments they did for themselves. Helene states that it seems in the book Odyssey, the only achievements women could achieve was being pretty and attractive to they eyes of the men. She proves throughout her paper that even Homer made it sound as...
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...like Sacha and Nikon, work together to achieve results and help people. The myth uses details to introduce characters and demonstrate their relationship to Greco-Roman myths and the original group...
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