...Cosmic Justice in The Odyssey In the epic poem The Odyssey, Homer supports the Greek tradition of cosmic justice through the wrath of Helios and Zeus and Poseidon’s reaction to the violence towards his son to reveal the thematic understanding that all actions have consequences. In The Odyssey, Helios, with the help of Zeus, punishes Odysseus and his men. Odysseus tells his men not to eat Helios’ sacred cattle but when they do it anyway, “a thunderbolt from Zeus destroys their boat and all the men drown” (Homer 768). Helios becomes very angry when his sacred cattle are eaten. When Zeus sees how angry Helios is, he uses his godly powers to punish Odysseus and his men. Zeus uses his powers to make sure that the men get what they deserve. After...
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...Homer’s The Odyssey, Homer presents a perplexing and complex dilemma revolving around the ambiguity and problematic language used to describe the ideology of justice and vengeance. Moreover, it is the returning of equivalent harm for harm that seems to run through the heart of the archaic Greek culture that allows for crimes to merge with and become their own punishment. The relationship between crime and punishment is a tight linkage that seems to be arranged by Homer in an attempt to justify the moral positions as well as the actions of many major characters throughout The Odyssey. Distinctively, the role of justice and vengeance can be exhibited in the interactions between Polyphemus, Odysseus, Poseidon and the suitors. The conflict...
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...When Odysseus came back to his home there was a great battle between him and the wooers. Odysseus served justice the wooers by massacring them and liberating his home from them. This was the fate they deserved because of entering another man's home. Odysseus brought justice on the people who invaded his home. Odysseus' actions were completely justified. They shouldn't have come into his home like he did. He defended was was rightfully his in the most honorable way possible. The wooers had it coming for them, they knew he would kill them if he came home with them there trying to do what they were doing. Odysseus was right in what he did to them people. The punishment that Odysseus wielded was not too severe, it was perfect for the actions...
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...“Those in power write the history, while those who suffer write the songs.” -Frank Harte. In The Odyssey, readers learn how most of the events unfold from Odysseus’ point of view or as the center of attention. He has power and therefore readers are easily influence by what he, and Homer, want them to see and focus on. The minor characters become backgrounds, objects that are simply “there” to add bits to the story and are without much attention or empathy from readers. The Penelopiad relieves this shameful act of the readers, forcing them to see the humanity of the minor characters, more specifically the twelve hanged who mostly tell their stories through song. While reading The Odyssey, the event of hanging the maids is shared in such a cold,...
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...Andrew Forero Ms. Kaye English 1, Section 6 1/6/14 Odyssey Book and Movie Comparison In life today many movies are based off of books and vise versa. In fact more people tend to watch movies and read books that are based off each other. The Odyssey by Homer, is a famous piece of literature that depicts a hero’s way home from a war. It is arguably one of the greatest pieces of literature ever written, so there is obviously a movie that bases itself off of this book. There are many similarities between the book and movie due to the fact that the movie wants to stay true to the book. Furthermore, there are also many differences between the book and movie due to many factors that take place when making a movie. The book and movie The Odyssey are very similar and alike, but they do share their differences as no movie and book can be a hundred percent the same. To begin with, The Odyssey book and movie have many similarities. Since the movie is copy of the book, many of the plot points and events are the same. For example Odysseus and his men go on the same journey. The movie includes most of the important places the go to. These places include the land of the Cyclops, island of Aeaea (Circe), the land of the Dead, and the area of the Sirens and Charybdis. Another example is the characters. Both the book and movie include the same charcters such as Odysseus, Telemachus, Penelope, Antinous, etc. The last example is the same plot ending. They both end with Odysseus killing...
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...A Women's Role in The Odyssey "So by day she'd weave at her great and growing web- / by night, by the light of the torches set beside her, / she would unravel all she'd done.", stated Antinous in book two on page 21 of The Odyssey. By saying this Homer, the author of this epic poem, shows that women used their wits to out smart men. Women mortal and immortal show great influence over the men in the poem. The women not only seduced and guided the men in The Odyssey they were also over looked and forgotten. The Odyssey is mainly describing a mans long journey home after the Trojan War, but women play an important role in the story. Different roles women present in The Odyssey can be explained by looking at Athena, Calypso, Circe, and Penelope. Athena, the Goddess of Wisdom, used her knowledge and abilities to guide Odysseus. Throughout all of The Odyssey Athena majorly impacts Odysseus and his son, Telemachus. In the book one of The Odyssey, with Zeus' consent Athena disguised herself as Mentes, one of Odysseus' old friends and seeks out Telemachus....
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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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...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 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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...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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...Throughout human history, society has put standards for what is known as a hero, and just as society puts standards, so do authors. Homer did such a thing when writing the epic poem The Odyssey, where he exhibits through the main character Odysseus’ certain actions that portray what current society believed a hero is meant to be. However time goes on and ideals change, and so does society. In current day society, Odysseus would not be a worthy example of an epic hero in the twenty-first century. This unworthiness can be witnessed by his destructive, blood-thirsty, and dishonest behavior portrayed throughout the story. Blood and chaos is the result of Odysseus’ destructive behavior, and being so, he is not a worthy example of a hero today....
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...and an introduction of differing perspectives. Homer’s ‘The Odyssey’ was written almost 3000 years ago, and is considered to be part of canonical literature....
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...A summary of Civilization: Greek Era What really is education? It is not literacy, nor information. Education is a logical attempt towards human learning. There are two types of leaners, passive learners and purposely engaged learners. Purposeful engagement is said to equal successful learning; so instead of spending time getting interested, find what is interesting. Making connections is what creates learning. Everything we learn may not be interesting, but it is important to make connections to something that is. Find meaning in what is taught and interpret the idea, thinking deeply and meaningful about ideas helps discover new learning and interest. Intellect performance shows what we know what we are trying to portray. During the highest peak of the Greek era the society valued body and mind intellect; creating some of the most famous philosophers known to time. Main Ideas and Values of Ancient Greek Civilization Ancient Greek civilization has contributed too many parts of today's society. The teachings and doings of Ancient Greeks have contributed important lessons that many societies still use to base their own laws and ethics on. The Ancient Greeks realized values of loyalty, glory, intelligence and hospitality were important to incorporate into everyday life. Ancient Greek civilization valued dualism, truth and “good society”. Helping your fellow man was an important aspect of ancient Greek society. They offered food, shelter and protection to travelers without...
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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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...Kendra Perkins Matt Fox Eng 112 14 December 2011 The Odyssey: Comparison of Genders in Greek Mythology The Odyssey by Homer may be seen by many as a heroic story of a man on his journey home; however, there is an underlying story of the trials in the roles of men and women and the relationships between them. Men and women are portrayed differently in Greece, as in other societies. Men are considered to be the more powerful of the two and are responsible for the protection of their home. Women, on the other hand, are thought to care for the children and are also responsible for the supervision of both the interior and exterior of the home while the men are away. As a man, Odysseus showed great leadership in the war at Troy and was considered the hero at the Trojan War. His wife Penelope, on the other hand, exemplified the role of a woman and leadership in her daily duties of caring for the home and all of their possessions within. In her attempts to do so, she was overcome by suitors and was unable to stop them from partaking of all of their meat and drinks. This essay will explain the underlying roles of men and women in ancient Greece as well as modern day. The beginning of the novel takes place in Ithaka at the home of Odysseus. Suitors have overrun his home in the pursuit of marrying his “widow” Penelope. Telemakhos, son of Odysseus, felt it was a shame that these men would come into their home and eat and drink their house empty. Athena, daughter of Zeus, came to Telemakhos...
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