...Mandela faced the racism that took grip of Africa causing his rise to power to be a long and enduring journey. Even old heros of ancient times faced hardships making them the legends they are remembered as. In The Odyssey by Homer, the brave hero Odysseus, was loved by the people of ancient Greece. He goes through many hardships after winning the war at Troy....
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...Odysseus is not a good man because of disloyalty, poor leadership skills, and violence. Many people say odysseus overcame many obstacles to return home and reunite with his son, and wife. He even made that clear by telling Circe. “Circe, now make good a promise you gave me once- it’s time to help me home, my heart longs to be home” (10.532-533) This quote demonstrates that Odysseus does possibly want to truly return home, Because that is what he told Circe. However, his actions did support the words he shared with Circe. Odysseus mounted Circe’s bed, and according to him it was gorgeous. (10.386) Odysseus stayed with Circe for a whole year. Instead of using that time to return home to Ithaca, he received rich food, and lust from Circe....
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...Many people have various opinions of how to execute a punishment. Some may be more brutal than others. For example, in the Odyssey, when Odysseus returns home he killed every suitor there. Some people may think the suitors did not deserve their fate that Odysseus handed to them, but others think it was reasonable. To start, the suitors had been warned to flee from Odysseus’s palace before he returned home because he was vengeful. They ignored this omen and continued living in the palace. Not to mention, the suitors constantly disrespected Telemachus and Penelope while living in the palace. They not only belittled Telemachus and made him feel inferior in his own house. They also were insolent to Odysseus’s belongs and home. While living in the...
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...Is Odysseus Is a Hero Or Not? Do you think Odysseus is a hero? Does Odysseus’s actions define and symbolize him as a true hero? A hero is somebody who strives for the greatest and shows kindness, integrity, motivation and leadership. Odysseus is not a hero because he does nothing out of the goodness of his heart. Although Odysseus fought in the Trojan war, he's not a hero because he is self-centered and ignorant. He did not demonstrate heroic qualities because he cheats, steals and lies and those are not ideal heroic qualities. In this essay I will be explaining some of the many examples of his ignorance and self centeredness and his disloyalty, risk taking actions that make him who he is. Odysseus is self-centered. He doesn't take people’s advice and assumes he's correct and everything he will do is going to end up being right. He was receiving advice from Circe about fighting Scylla and decided not to take it. Circe said that the crew must pass between Scylla, a terrible six-headed monster, and Charybdis, who creates a whirlpool that sucks whole ship's down into the sea three times a day. Odysseus neglected all advice he was given, from Circe and from other crew members. Also, he doesn't value other people's lives compared than his. He was strongly encouraged not to fight Scylla , and proceeded to try, considering the fact he risked all of his men's lives and had to pay a...
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...Veterans Relating to Odysseus Have you ever realized the similarity of Odysseus to a veteran? Well the Odyssey in how Homer describes it, is just a soldier’s extensive journey returning home from a war that lasted continues ten plus years. Just like a veteran, Odysseus experience back home does not always go according to his plans, Odysseus finds himself stranded in a place that he once called home. Returning to somewhere which you lived all your life, after not witnessing it for ten years can seem like you have never seen it before. Veterans have similar mindsets, their small town, their home, and even their families sometimes become unfamiliar after so many years away from everything. The minds of the veterans returning home were similar to Odysseus; kill everything in my path, protect what’s mine, and solve every problem with violence, therefore Odysseus did not discard the violence and brutality experienced during the war...
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...the Odyssey, Odysseus exhibits his most prominent heroic trait of courage, but unfortunately, also demonstrates the human characteristic of arrogance. Even though Odysseus is seen as a hero, he has bad qualities too. Odysseus has the two main qualities of courage and arrogance which he demonstrates while fighting the cyclops and traveling throughout the seas with his crew. Homer exhibits these traits all throughout the story by presenting Odysseus as a war like hero with no flaws, when further throughout the story you are able to see all of Odysseus most human like qualities. . Odysseus has many characteristics that he portrays all throughout the book of the Odyssey. A couple of his most prominent heroic qualities are courage...
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...Odysseus of Ithaca: Famed or Fraud? Homer’s Odyssey tells the tale of the Trojan War hero Odysseus’s return home to his land of origin, Ithaca. Homer describes Odysseus as being one of, or possibly the greatest hero in all of Greece’s history. He is characterized as being a fearless, heroic man, who, with divine assistance, bests even the greatest monsters, and overcomes the most troublesome and life-threatening situations that he encounters, or the gods throw at him. However, if not for the assistance given to him by Athena, or any other divine figure, Odysseus’s journey would most likely have not worked out in his favor as it did, and he most likely would have perished within the very first books of The Odyssey. If divine assistance is what gave Odysseus his spark, courage and abilities, then are his abilities really justified? Who is the real Odysseus of Ithaca? Throughout many instances of The Odyssey, Odysseus is seen as this “almighty figure of excellence,” that can “never be beat or conquered.” However, despite the recognition that Odysseus deserves for accomplishing most of his feats, most of the work and assistance given to him was crafted by the goddess Athena; who constantly monitors Odysseus’s every move and protects him throughout the course of the tale. For example, on page 175 of the text, when Odysseus confronts the Phaecian princess Nausicaa, Athena personally makes him appear less menacing and worn. By doing this, Athena guaranteed that Odysseus would...
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...share their values. The Greeks saw Homer’s Odysseus as an war hero because of his cunning and great battle skills. His legend still lives on today as people around the world learn about the myths of Odysseus. In more recent times, many people appreciate the work of Malcolm X for his heroic fight against injustice and his tremendous speaking ability. His monumental speeches impact the thoughts and shape the ideals of many activists that advance in the fight for social justice. In Homer’s The Odyssey and Malcolm X’s “The Ballot or the Bullet”, both heroes convey great strength in their battles through Odysseus’s surviving the hurricane sent from Poseidon, Malcolm X’s clear portrayal of the injustices in America, and both heroes willingness while staying persistent and achieve justice. Homer conveys Odysseus’s strength through his survival of the hurricane from Poseidon. For example, while Odysseus struggles to stay alive during the storm, “he’d not forget his craft-- he lunged after...
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...Thus, Odysseus devalues his own wife in order to compliment another woman, which reveals how disloyal of a husband Odysseus really is. In addition, the second quotation captures Odysseus in his infidelity, as he is now sleeping with Calypso, behind Penelope’s back. When Odysseus and Calypso “long in each other’s arms” and “lost themselves in love”, it reveals the adultery and the disloyalty of Odysseus towards Penelope, as 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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...large? After fighting in the brutal Trojan War, Odysseus travels the sea in hopes of returning to Ithaca, his homeland, and his wife and son, Penelope and Telemachus. Homer’s The Odyssey reveals the struggles and obstacles Odysseus and his men face traveling home. As prophesized, twenty years later, Odysseus returns to a devastated Ithaca, alone, penniless and unrecognizable. Odysseus has hubris, a flaw that costs him, as well his men, excessive troubles. Odysseus does not learn from his and others’ past mistakes, again leading him into traps that could have easily been avoided. Odysseus constantly puts his men in harm’s way for selfish purposes. For these reasons, Odysseus is an incompetent leader, and therefore should be criticized. Odysseus has hubris. This excessive pride and arrogance leads Odysseus and his men into difficult situations that would not have otherwise arisen. Towards the beginning of Homer’s epic, Odysseus narrowly escapes from a Cyclops’ cave. In triumphant victory, Odysseus taunts the Cyclops, Polyphemus. His men advise him against further agitating Polyphemus after the Cyclops starts throwing massive boulders at their ship; however, Odysseus displays hubris and does not listen. ‘Godsake, Captain! Why bait the beast again? Let him alone!’ ‘Aye He’ll smash our timbers and our heads together!’ / I would not heed them in my glorying spirit, / but let my anger flare and yelled: / Cyclops, if ever mortal man inquire / how you were put to shame and...
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...Troy the film and myth The myth referenced in the film Troy is about how the Greeks, led by the Greek king, Agamemnon, defeated the kingdom of Troy, whose king was Priam. The story has it that Helen, the queen of Sparta, was seduced by Paris, Prince of Troy, to go to Troy and leave Menalaus, king of Sparta and her husband. Because of this betrayal Agamemnon, brother of Menalaus and king of the Greek city-states assembled a great army to sail across the Aegean to conquer Troy and take Helen back to Menalaus. The legend says, the city of Troy had a thick impenetrable wall that could not be breached by conventional means. Every army that stood to fight in front of the walls continuously failed. After 10 years of fighting, the Greeks finally had a plan to get their armies inside the walls of Troy. They made it appear as they had left. Before they left they built a great wooden Trojan horse. Inside the horse were Greek soldiers, who quietly waited until the horse was brought into the walls of Troy. After the city fell asleep, the Greeks opened the main gate and let the Greek armies into the city. After the city was sacked, Helen was taken back to Menalaus, and Achilles, the Greeks greatest warrior was killed in battle with a poison arrow to his heal. The movie revolves around Achilles and his struggle with Agamemnon which is documented in the myth. The movie had only a few similarities to the character of Achilles. He was definitely portrayed as a great, and inspirational...
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...name be Odysseus… the Son of Pain, a name he’ll earn in full.” We could tell that throughout the whole book, the ultimate purpose of Odysseus’s adventure and suffering was to return home. He endured so much pain which lived up to his name and matured through all that he overcame. So that through suffering, he became the hero the ancient Greek admired and advocated, but he still remained a flawed being. The principle thing Odysseus learned was that God can control fate and he was destined to go home. In book 12, Odysseus’s crewman ate the cattle which disobeyed his orders of not eating the cattle while he went off to pray. They later died of eating the Sungod’s finest cattle since the crewmen at the same time disobeyed god. (Page 281-282) And what was interesting was that God put Odysseus to sleep while the crewmen ate the cattle. So God gave the people free will to decide what to do, but at the same time let it happen while Odysseus could have saved them. So I may say that the God made the crewmen die. The end of the book was the most amazing part to me. When Odysseus and the avengers for suitors were fighting, they only stopped fighting because the Gods would be angry. They were not actually in peace but pretended to be in order not to enrage Gods. I think Odysseus learned well that God can control fate. Just all the oracles and prophecies along Odysseus’s trip home, it became clear to Odysseus that it was his fate to return. On page 153 “Odysseus journeys...
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...Gilgamesh and Odysseus were two heroes from two completely different time periods that were both in search of the meaning of life, or what could be done in a lifetime. Gilgamesh and the Odyssey are both categorized as hero myths. This is because both hero's go through growth and change throughout out their conquests. The epics that the two characters are featured in Gilgamesh, was developed from early Mesopotamia and the Odyssey in early Greece. Gilgamesh was a very popular and it was very valuable to the historian of Mesopotamian culture because it reveals much about the religious world, such as their attitudes toward the gods, how a hero was defined and regarded, views about death and friendship. The Odyssey was also very popular in its era. It was set in ancient Greece where in its culture; mythology was the heart of everyday life. Gilgamesh, the hero from the epic Gilgamesh, was the historical king of Uruk in Babylonia, on the river Euphrates. He lived about 2700B.C. Odysseus, the hero from the epic the Odysseus, was the ruler of the island kingdom of Ithaca. He was one of the most prominent Greek leaders of the Trojan War. Both of these men were granted certain strengths, Gilgamesh had physical, while Odysseus had mental strengths. The journeys of Gilgamesh and Odysseus are two incredible stories written long ago; these two heroes have many similarities, but also many differences. The differences are between these two great heroes are slim, but significant. Gilgamesh was...
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...advantage.” There is no real historical background on competition as it is ingrained within our DNA the day we are born. We are taught at a young age to win, not lose. This is echoed within every culture and seems to be a main similarity within all cultures. Learning the word competition and how to “win” a young age is not always a good thing. Teaching children that winning is the only way is not as helpful to their future as parents may be lead to believe. Competition is prevalent in many situations from test taking to elections. A debatable quote that one may hear is “If you aren’t first, you are last.” Obviously, this isn’t the most accurate picture we should be painting about competition and teaching children but it is what it is and is throughout all cultures. One glaring similarity in regards to competition throughout several cultures is that parents want their children to succeed at any cost and to be the best at everything they do. What we are a culture are not realizing is that the high standards parents set on children at a young age hurts them more than helps. Competition is always going to play a factor in a person’s life ion one aspect or another. It is something we cannot run from. How a culture embraces competition is another thing. The Olympic Games is the biggest competition there is that pits...
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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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