...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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...The Odyssey Haleigh Pavy O’ Brother where art thou is a great representation of the Odyssey. It shows great representation of the characters and mood and also of each other. It turns a fiction epic to a real life story. The Odyssey is a epic about how this king named Odysseus went over seas to the Trojan War. He was there for ten years, on his journey back he got cursed by a cyclops, he got all his men killed and he got stuck on circes island for seven years. Then after twenty years of being gone he finally returns home to suitors, impersonators, and he returns disguised as a beggar. O’ Brother where art thou is about how three escaped prisoners go off to find “treasure”. Everette who represents Odysseus really just wants to get home with...
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...on the important difference of the Iliad and Odyssey against the Aeneid for the citizen readers. Here, we found that the value of empathy is crucial in one’s life because it shapes us to become more rational and mindful citizen. Within our argument, we will justify the significance of both Homer’s Odyssey and Iliad as well as Virgil’s Aeneid for the citizen readers to create a supportive community. Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey exemplify the lack of empathy in the protagonists’ attribute which is different to Virgil’s hero that show more mercy in making decision. Many Trojans in Iliad died in Achilles hand with no mercy even being given advice on not to do so by his own mother (9.423-28,21.123-29). Even after killing Hector, he abuses the corpse by fastening it to the back of his chariot, and drags him around Patroklos's burial mound (24.17-20). On top of that, in Odyssey, Odysseus also illustrates the behavior of lack of empathy during the bloodshed happens in the hall where he killed the suitors mercilessly. Odysseus killed Antinous, who is the leader of the suitors by firing up an arrow straight to his throat (22.437). Even though Eurymachus already offered Odysseus to...
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...In 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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...In Homer's the odyssey there is a character named Odysseus. Odysseus goes on an amazing journey and along his way he goes through many things that mold him into an epic hero. Odysseus also proves his heroism through his behavior. During the story Odysseus often presents us with his great intelligence, his superhuman strength, and also his great leadership and bravery. However though Odysseus does not always act like a hero and does immoral things but when the time is right, the true heroic side of him will come out and we will see how heroic Odysseus really is. Odysseus is a true epic hero and has the the personal characteristics to prove it. Throughout the Odyssey Odysseus presents us with examples of his superhuman strength. That is characteristic...
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...Sirens are creatures infamous for their beautifully deceptive song. Homer's "Odyssey" and Margaret Atwood's "Siren Song" portray the sirens as fatal and alluring. The authors' employment of point of view offers both the victims and the perpetrator's perspective, allowing the audience a glimpse into the Sirens' nature. Diction plays a key role in dictating the connotation (and therefore, the representation) of the Sirens' behavior. In addition, Homer's Odyssey is written in the victim's perspective. The victim, Odysseus, describes the compelling force of the Sirens' song, and how they called out to him. They directly addressed him, using flattery to entice him into hearing their song. This demonstrates the Sirens are intentionally seeking...
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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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...The pain of parting is nothing like the satisfaction of meeting again. In Homer’s epic The Odyssey, Penelope waits twenty long years for the return of Odysseus as the suitors plague her home and struggle to marry her. By devising a contest, with a two-fold plan, she ensures the safety of her home and husband. With each challenge Penelope faces, she continues to demonstrate her mêtis. The emotional pain Penelope feels from being separated from her husband, and being plagued by suitors, forces her to use her mêtis. There are many ways Penelope is forced to rely on her mêtis in the absence of Odysseus. By using her mêtis and great weaving talents, Penelope tricks the suitors. Before Book One of The Odyssey, Penelope devises a plan to keep the...
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...The decieving Sirens with their chanting but deadly songs have lived many sailors to their death. In Homer's epic poetry, "Odyssey" the portrayals of the Sirens differ than Margaret Atwood's "Sirens Song." Atwood utilizes first person point of view while Homer incorporates Odyssey's point of view. Thus, this results affecting their diction and mood in which they demonstrate different behaviors from the Sirens. Homer introduces a solution to avoid the calls from the Sirens. He explains the situation his characters will have to endure. Thus, the Sirens would have to take a different approach to lure in the sailors. Homer's application of first person point of view only exhibits the affect it has toward one person. Sirens only approach is to...
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...In Homer’s epic, The Odyssey, Odysseus, the main character, goes through years of trials and terrors along the seas to return home to Ithaka. Although he does make the treacherous journey to his kingdom, he still has to empty out his castle of cruel suitors. Therefore, he can’t yet be reunited with his wife and son. To prevent an assassination on arriving at the castle, the goddess Athena resolves to mask Odysseus as a poor, unfamiliar, and elderly beggar and commands him to visit the swine herder. Eumaios, a swine herder to a disguised Odysseus, who is perceived as a stranger, is amazingly hospitable by acting courteously to his guest and is willing to sacrifice the best of the little he has for the benefit and satisfaction of his company. First, Eumaios’s...
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...wear a cape with tights because heroes are judged by their actions and nothing more. Qualities that I associate with a hero are vigilant, selfless, and the willingness to take risks. Homer from the Odyssey suggests that Odysseus is made a hero by exemplifying qualities of being bold, savior, and sly. However, the characteristics that Homer equates with Odysseus are not always required for someone to be considered a hero. In Homer’s epic poem, the Odyssey, bold is a quality that makes Odysseus heroic. The act of being bold is the willingness to take surprisingly brave risks, which Odysseus demonstrates in his adventures. In the Adventure of the Cyclopes, Odysseus states that “we climbed, then, briskly to the cave. But Cyclops had gone afield, to pasture his fat sheep, so we looked round at everything inside.” This is an example of being bold because Odysseus and his crew are unaware of the contents inside the Cyclopes’ cave and entering his land without any signal to the “louts.” Odysseus is taking on a big risk because from what Homer tells us, the Cyclopes are uncivilized giants and can be very unpredictable. Entering into the cave without permission might have been a risk that got Odysseys into trouble later because the Cyclopes starting feasting on his crew. As a result, Odysseus plans...
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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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...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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...Philosophies (Women)- Women play either a motherly role or that of a seductress. They are weakened along with being lost without a guide and a support. An example would be Penelope, wife of Odysseus since she is a mother, but while Odysseus is gone, and when suitors come along, in a way she tempts them in terms of power (of the role of king) and as a woman, but she actually never gives in to any of the men. The purpose of women was mainly to lament the losses for their men and also persuading for their safety. Criticism- Homer had written the Odyssey with a bit of over-the-top reiteration, along with the missing component of a sense of unity. However, even when Odysseus wasn’t on a scene, the lines of the story still indicate that he is...
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...CORC 1110 Paper # 1- Character Analysis of Odysseus’ Godlike/Human Status Homer’s The Odyssey may feature several heroes, but none are as prevalent as Odysseus. Odysseus has proved himself to be a magnificent hero in various ways. He has shown the heroic traits of courageousness, loyalty, and he saved thousands of innocent lives. However, Odysseus is not necessarily a godlike figure. He is in fact a role model, with a goal to reach his home through resisting temptation and using his intellect and physical strength. While he is brave, clever, and demonstrates self restraint the faults in Odysseus’ character bring him back to being a mortal man. Odysseus is godlike in both a physical and spiritual sense. Physically, he was created handsome as his creation is described: “Then Athena, born from Zeus, made him look taller and more muscled, and made his hair tumble down his head like hyacinth flowers…So Athena herself made Odysseus' head and shoulders shimmer with grace” (6.236-244). Aside from his godly physique, Odysseus is physically strong and capable as he overcomes the extreme dangers that occur throughout the journey and comes out alive after it all. Being able to face dangerous people and creatures is evident that he is a courageous man given that any mortal man wouldn’t have been able to survive a journey after so many challenges. From the spiritual aspect, Odysseus demonstrates godlike behavior by remaining faithful to his wife and family during the voyage. Remaining...
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