...poem The Odyssey. Through both of these stories we find a multitude of similarities between the journey of Odysseus and the journey of Inman. Both Inman and Odysseus begin their journeys in the same way. The two main characters are returning from very important wars for their home. Inman is returning from the Civil war. Although he fought for the losing side in the end Inman still fought in a war that is very important for his nation. Odysseus fights for the winning side in The Trojan War and it has an equal importance for his homeland. This sets the scene for both of their journeys home. Meanwhile both of our main characters have a lover who is struggling without them at home. Odysseus’s lover is penelope who must deal with all the suitors who think that Odysseus is dead because he has been...
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...During both of their adventures, Krakuer and Odysseus both face hardships. Some of them are similar, but they aren’t the same. They have both face guilt, upset about their peers, and they are both feelings selfish for similar but different reasons. Odysseus set out with 6 ship full of men to fight a war, his plan was to come home to his wife and son to his village. Similarly, Krakauer set out to summit the highest mountain in the world, Everest. Both Krakauer and Odysseus have faced situations, whether it’s controlling gods or weather difficulties. Along their way, they both had some of their peers who had died. Odysseus had lost his men, and Krakuaer had lost his men and his guide. Both men felt guilty that they had survived; but their peers had not. They wanted their people there with them to celebrate their victory, but they were not there. Both men were grieving, but in different ways. They both cried. But Odysseus had kept moving forward because he wanted nothing more than to see his wife Penelope. But, Krakauer, had used drugs to cope with it, and had...
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...Rowing through rough seas, trying to keep all of his 12 ships alive, Odysseus, King of Ithaca, headed home from the long war with Troy. Odysseus, now considered a war hero, had the task of getting himself and all of his men back safe to Ithaca. The only problem was that he faced many difficult challenges along the way. A cyclopes, giants, and a beautiful sorceress were some examples of these. Although Odysseus had some shining moments, he also made some bad ones. Odysseus was strategic in navigating obstacles, however, his arrogance clouded his judgement, leading to his crew’s demise. Odysseus had many great strategies while navigating back home to Ithaca. His arguably best strategy was praying to Athena early in his journey. When Odysseus...
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...127-128). This is what Odysseus says to Penelope when he first saw her after 20 years of separation. In The Odyssey, there is a big question that many people have. Is odysseus loyal to penelope though the whole book? Although Odysseus slept with different goddesses, he is still loyal because, he took the hard way home, he risked his life on his way home, and lastly he protected penelope when he finally made his way home. In The Odyssey, Odysseus tries to return home and comes upon many people and obstacles on the way home. The whole way home Odysseus has one thing on his mind and that is to return home and see his dear family....
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...double wedding and enjoying a feast in the palace.Telemachus and Nestor’s son had waited outside of the palace waiting to be invited by Menelaus.Once invited inside of the palace Menelaus had told his guests to eat and enjoy the feast.After they were done eating Menelaus was talking about how he misses his brother Agamemnon.He then was they talking about one of his dear friends which was Odysseus he said it was ashamed that he died.Telemachus started to cry and Menelaus looked over to him than he had realized that he was Odysseus son. Menelaus’s wife appeared she has asked who the guests were he has said that he was certain Odysseus son was here.Nestor's son said indeed his is Odysseus son.Pisistratus Nestor’s son tells Menelaus that Telemachus has come far away because he is looking for word about his father Odysseus being alive.Menelaus shares stories about his time with Odysseus making everyone cry.After he then suggest everyone have diner.Helen decided to drug the wine with "heart's-ease" to prevent lighten the mood and stop everyone's tears. Helen and Menelaus shared stories about Odysseus until Telemachus suggested they go to bed....
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...heros, monsters, creatures, and gods. This poem is about a journey taken by Odysseus. On his way home he faces many obstacles making his journey home much more complicated. While he is facing obstacles he is faced by 4 gods Athena, Zeus, Helios, and Poseidon. These gods help him throughout his journey home. Athena, the most powerful god, helps Odysseus make his journey home by providing him with guidance and beauty. Athena is the goddess of wisdom, warfare, crafts, and is one of the most powerful of the 12 olympian gods. Athena created the potter's wheel, vase, horse bridle, the chariot and the ship....
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...Megan 9/24/14 Gods to Ithaca The Trojan War has ended and all of the remaining Greek heroes have returned to their home of Ithaca, except for one important hero, Odysseus. Trapped on an island, after ten years, Odysseus makes an effort to return home and leave Calypso’s island. His journey has been a long one, leaving wife Penelope and son Telemachus at home fending off suitors. However, it seems the time has come for him to take another long journey home, but not without the guidance of the gods. Of all the ideals and customs that the Greeks share in this story, particularly Odysseus, their religious beliefs and ideals are the most important and defining of their culture. The religious beliefs and ideals that the Greeks hold of the Greek gods are what guide the individuals in this story over any other ideal or custom of their culture. As seen from early on in the book, The Odyssey, the gods play a heavy role in the lives of the Greeks. Athena, goddess of wisdom and battle, is the main goddess who is master of disguises. In The Odyssey, Athena comes to Telemachus as “Mentes” and explains that the “great Odysseus is not dead” (Fagles, pg. 85). Athena disguises herself as this lord of the Taphian men as to convince Telemachus that she is friend of his father’s not just a stranger. Unaware that “Mentes” is in fact Athena, Telemachus prepares to leave for Pylos and Sparta to not only set a name for himself but to seek information of his father. Telemachus was given a lot of...
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...Loyalty is like a shadow it’s something that’s with you all of the time, but sometimes it’s hidden. Most people don’t show their loyalty hidden, but loyalty is something that’s not supposed to be hidden .To me loyalty is when someone is there for someone else. Loyalty is a characteristic many people should strive to have; it earns the trust and respect of many. A loyal person would never be able to fail someone because they are trustable. Loyalty is everywhere and there are many different kinds of loyalty. Loyalty to strangers is one of the many different kinds of loyalty. We have all showed loyalty to strangers at least once. When people follow rules somewhere either at school, work etc. This shows loyalty. Loyalty doesn’t only earn the respect of someone, but being loyal to a stranger show that you respect them even if you don’t know them. When we follow rules at some place it shows we are staying honest to the rules and the rule makers. Our honesty shows loyalty. Another type of loyalty is to friends. We all have friends, but there are many components to being loyal to your friends. When your friends tells you something and they expect you to keep it a secret, keeping this a secret shows loyalty. Not keeping the matter a secret will show disloyalty. Disloyalty will lose a friend’s trust and it will be really hard to regain a friend’s trust when it’s been lost. When a secret, which is supposed to be kept, gets out the friendship itself is in danger of breaking. Helping...
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...The post-war treatment of veterans has changed immensely throughout society from showing disrespect and not realizing they need treatment, to coming up with effective ways to treat vets and giving them the respect and gratitude that they deserve. Many soldiers stay in combat mode after a war, often suffering from the effects of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). In Homer’s The Odyssey, Odysseus, after fighting in Troy, tries to go back home, but the gods give him a long and dangerous ten-year journey back to Ithaca. While Odysseus and his crew are on the island of Ismarus, they decide to celebrate, but are still in combat mode: “I stormed that place and killed the men who fought… we took, and we enslaved the women, to make division, equal shares to all…” (Homer lines 44-46). Although welcomed as heroes to Ismarus, Odysseus and his men prove to be dangerous and war-like. This is the last...
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...short that has no sleeve holes and her reasoning behind it is so that when they attack him, he cannot fight back. She decides to draw him a bath and she plans to try and get him to wear the shirt and to kill him in the tub. It is very ironic because ancient Greek warriors are always known for dying with honor and integrity and going out with a fight and in this case he could not do that because she killed him so easily. Odysseus travels down to the underworld in order to seek answers to some of his curiosity; in the underworld he meets Achilles and Agamemnon. The whole time he is down their he notices that all Achilles does is whine and complain about why he hates being dead and says how much he would rather be alive as someone else’s servant than to be the ruler of the underworld. The only thing that Odysseus says is that he knew he would face some life or death obstacles while sailing to Troy. Once Achilles killed Hector, a warrior from Troy, it was clear that he would die soon after, but he would be remembered for all eternity. After Achilles is reminiscing, Odysseus starts talking with...
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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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...broken wine glass.” So many stipulations just to get a beer! Why struggle when all you need to do is order a cold one? Man vs. Self has its roots in Greek mythology, and has been a common theme in modern-day media. Man’s inner struggle is as common today as it was in the past. In the Greek epic, “The Odyssey” by Homer, the movie “Rocky” starring and written by Sylvester Stallone, and “Just Kids” by Patti Smith, each main character pursues an improbable goal with pitfalls along the way. However, he or she who overcomes so many obstacles becomes the person they want to be. “The Odyssey,” tells the story of the Greek hero Odysseus and his 20-year journey home after the fall of Troy. The epic poem begins with Odysseus trapped on the island of Ogygia by the nymph Calypso. After escaping he attempts his journey home, telling people along the way of his adventures. After ten years of fighting in the Trojan War, it takes him another ten years to get home to his kingdom of Ithaca. Since it takes Odysseus so long to get home, his family believes he is dead. This ancient narrative poem and its theme, Man vs. Self, is one of the oldest known written narratives. Odysseus struggles physically and mentally and overcomes obstacles he faces day after day. Life is uncertain, the future is an unknown, do we keep going despite the massive amounts of crap and negativity, literally and figuratively, that gets in our way? Do we give up? Why does one person keep going and another give up? What is Man...
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...This simply does not mean you give up and stay in your mom’s couch all day, instead, you should work harder and keep pushing towards your goal again. Persistence is an important skill to have in our personal journey because when we fail to reach our goals, we need persistence to keep us moving and find ways to reach that goal. In the article “Five Steps to Positive Life Change” by Jim Taylor, a section called “Forks in the Road,” talks about problems down the road and what we need to do to deal with those problems. It says “Taking the action steps and achieving… depends on recognizing important forks in the road. I make the distinction between the bad road and the good road.” This means that it’s important to know that your in a ditch and stuck trying to get your goals, what you need...
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...Polyphemus: The Living Legend To man, anything not human is a monster, and to them, I had fallen in that category. For centuries, I had lived happily in my cave off the coast of Sicily. That is, until Odysseus of Ithaca came along and drove a stake into my eye. For over 30 centuries, I lived in my dark cold world. Without sight, I was not been able to enjoy the colors of the world. I was not able to see my face in the water. I was not able to look upon my few sheep that hadn't escaped with Odysseus, my children. They were all I ever had. After my blinding, I began to pray to the gods more. My father, Poseidon, would often beach a whale for me to feast on as he could not stand to watch his child starve. Zeus, my uncle, did not show me any...
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...The Illiad Book 1 People to Remember: * Chryses – Priest to Apollo * Chryseis – Chryses Daughter * Agamemnon – Leader of Greek Forces * Apollo (Sminthesus) – God of Mice * Achilles – Warrior of Greeks * Chalcas – Camp Prophet * Briseis – Daughter of Achilles * Athena – Wife of Achilles, Goddess of Warriors * Nestor – From City of Pylos * Thetis – Achilles’ Mother, Sea God, Sea Nymph * Zeus * Hera – Wife of Zeus * Hephaestus – Son of Hera and Zeus, Sun God * Aphrodite – Sex Goddess of flower, candy * Aeneas – Hero of Troy * Ares – War God Summary: 1. The story is the Anger of Achilles and how it brings consequences to the Greeks. 2. Agamemnon abducts Chryseis. Chryses prays to Apollo. Apollo sends plague to Greeks. Achilles calls a meeting. 3. Chalcas tells everyone what is going on so everyone tells Agamemnon to give back Chryseis but he says okay if I do I get to choose whomever I want and he chooses Briseis. 4. Achilles is angered and tries to fight Agamemnon but his wife stops him from killing him because she knows he will regret it. 5. Nestor tells everyone to calm down. Thetis goes to Zeus for help. Zeus tries to sneak behind his wife but gets caught and Hephaestus says no fighting. Says what the Illiad is about. Not about Trojan War, talks about an event that happens in the 9th year of the war. The anger of Achilles. Death because of anger. Achilles vs. Agamemnon...
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