...What is a hero? A hero is someone who is admired for their courage, bravery, and noble qualities. Heroic acts are often celebrated because they show the strength of the human spirit and the ability to overcome challenges. In literature, we often see characters put to the test in various ways to determine whether they are truly heroic. In Homer's epic poem, The Odyssey, we see the protagonist Odysseus facing numerous challenges on his journey back home to Ithaca. In this essay, we will explore what constitutes a heroic act and whether Odysseus acted heroically on his journey. First, one of the key aspects of a heroic act is courage in the face of danger. In Book 9 of The Odyssey, we see Odysseus and his men facing the danger of the Cyclops Polyphemus. Odysseus shows bravery as he devises a plan to blind the Cyclops and escape his clutches. He says, "I tied them [ram's wool] silently together, then slung a man under each middle one to ride there, shielded right and left by the others" (Book 9.). This shows Odysseus' quick thinking and bravery in taking on a giant who could easily overpower him and his men....
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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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...Odysseus: Hero or Not In Homer’s epic The Odyssey, Odysseus is a true thinking man’s hero. He faces many obstacles in his journey home from the Trojan War, with a curse from the sea god, Poseidon. Odysseus battles monsters, makes tough decisions, and fights with his integrity to get home, but through what some call “bad luck” and the size of his pride Odysseus finds himself in a pretty difficult predicament. However, like any other heroic tale, in the end he’s able to go home to his wife and son. The question is did he come back as a heroic legend or a selfish punk? Believe it or not, Odysseus is the demanding hero in this poem. Through tough decisions, sacrifices, and his humble attitude…at times; Odysseus shows the reader he is still a human...
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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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...Legend of Troy). In Homer’s the Iliad it takes place in the tenth year of the Trojan War....
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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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...In Homer’s Odyssey the Sirens, offering false promises of joy through seductive song, challenge Odysseus’s position of power in the Ithacan hierarchy by attempting to evoke the sense of unrestrained joy. Sealing his crew’s ears with wax, Odysseus mutes the crew’s senses and skews their perception of truth, contributing towards a reinforcement of social stability; Odysseus maintains his dominant status among the crew through his denial of complete submission to pleasure by binding himself to the ship mast; Ultimately, the measures Odysseus takes to sail past the Sirens serve to reinforce his seat of authority. Odysseus, on his quest to restore his throne over the Ithacans, encounters the irresistible call of the Sirens, hoping to plunge Odysseus’s...
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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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...Your heros may not what you thought they were. In Homer’s epic poem, “The Odyssey,” Odysseus needs to sail of to war, and on his way back home he got cursed to sail for twenty years. Throughout his journey he was put to the test with monsters and trials, which revealed his strengths and weaknesses Odysseus possessed. It revealed that Odysseus is disloyal, like to brag , but clever. This is shown throughout his twenty year journey to get back home. For starters, a weakness that Odysseus showed his that he was disloyal. When him and his men landed on the the island of helios and his cattle he told them that something terrible would occur if they mess with the cattle. Odysseus said, The cattle here are not for our provision or we pay dearly for...
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...Odyssey Argumentative Essay As Christopher Columbus once said, "By prevailing over all obstacles and distractions, one may unfailingly arrive at his chosen goal or destination." The journey, and how those obstacles and distractions are overcome, is what holds the valuable life lessons that help us reach the destination. Ultimately, it is not the overall goal, but the decisions we make and the turns we take during the journey that help shape and define who we are as people. In Homer's The Odyssey, the theme of the epic is about how war can change a person. It is evident that the journey is more important than the goal to the development of Odysseus's character and the theme of the epic when Odysseus learns the importance of humility, the value...
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...vividly and clearly the content of their incubation”. Another way to grasp how important the oneiric world was during the Ancient Greece era is found in literature. It is remarkable that in the vast majority of Greek stories there is always a role for dreams that either predict the future or deceive the mortals, who are often tricked by the gods. We can find examples of this in Homer’s Iliad,...
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...tremendously painful. In Homer’s epic The Odyssey, devoted husband and wife are in the position to part for twenty years. While separate, they face challenges that possess enough power to make or break their relationship. Odysseus must stay faithful to Penelope while also doing what is necessary to ensure his arrival home. Meanwhile, Penelope is stuck living with persistent, selfish suitors who exploit their power over her. She has no choice but to allow their abhorrent behavior. In order to prove their loyalty and love, the two must make arduous sacrifices causing excruciating pain. Therefore, Homer highlights the value of loyalty in this epic through the painful sacrifices characters undertake...
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...determines your reality.” In Star Wars IV and Homer’s The Odyssey, the heroes, Odysseus and Luke Skywalker, show themselves as focused,intelligent, men. Luke and Odysseus are both determined but Luke is more focused on his mission because of the situations, courageousness, and motivation. Unlike Odysseus, Luke is more focused on his mission because of the situations he was put in. An example of why Luke is more focused is because of the family troubles. His parents are unknown so he was forced into a family. He may feel like he has to be focused so that he can live up to his father's expectations. Odysseus has some key focusing points like when he had to figure...
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...Biography of Homer (?-? BC) Beyond a few fragments of information, historians and classicists can only speculate about the life of the man who composed the Iliad and the Odyssey. The details are few. We do not even know the century in which he lived, and it is difficult to say with absolute certainty that the same poet composed both works. The Greeks attributed both of the epics to the same man, and we have little hard evidence that would make us doubt the ancient authorities, but uncertainty is a constant feature of scholarly work dealing with Homer's era of Greek history. The Greeks hailed him as their greatest poet, as well as their first. Although the Greeks recognized other poets who composed in Greek before Homer, no texts from these earlier poets survived. Perhaps they were lost, or perhaps they were never written down‹Homer himself was probably on the cusp between the tradition of oral poetry and the new invention of written language. Texts of the Iliad and the Odyssey existed from at least the sixth century BC, and probably for a considerable span of time before that. These two great epic poems also had a life in performance: through the centuries, professional artists made their living by reciting Homer, performing the great epics for audiences that often know great parts of the poem by heart. It is impossible to pin down with any certainty when Homer lived. Eratosthenes gives the traditional date of 1184 BC for the end of the Trojan War, the semi-mythical...
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...What is the definition of a true hero to you? Each hero has a different meaning and role to play in order to accomplish a task. A hero doesn’t have to a be a buff person like many people think today. Famous or not, big or small, anybody in this world can be a hero. They just have to sacrifice themselves for what is right and say what they know is righteous. In the epic The Odyssey, I consider Odysseus a hero. An example of a situation Oddyseus was an actual hero was when he helped his men escape the Cyclops. According to The Odyssey, Oddyseus “tied then silently together, twinning cords of willow from the ogre’s bed; then slung a man under each middle one.” Oddyseus tied each of his men together under a sheep and tried his best to make sure...
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