Preview

Argumentative Essay On Homer's Odyssey

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
895 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Argumentative Essay On Homer's Odyssey
Odyssey Argumentative Essay

In the epic poem Odyssey by Homer, Odysseus encounters many obstacles around the Greek islands on a struggle to get back home to his country, Ithaca. Through many hardships and hurdles, Odysseus as the main “hero”, proves to more sturdy, durable, and enduring than the rest of his crew. Though getting back to Ithaca was the main complication, it is more important to recognize the experiences along the journey and how Odysseus has grown and developed through it. In order to get back home to Ithaca, Odysseus had to show many heroic qualities and learn many lessons on his journey in order to outwit the monsters he meet and even the gods who had tried to stop him. In Odysseus’ journey, he had to learn to deal with problems,
…show more content…
When his crew leaves the island of Polyphemus, he could not resist taunting the cyclops and revealing his name to be Odysseus. “Cyclops—if any man on the face of the earth should ask you who blinded you, shamed you so—say Odysseus, raider of cities, he gouged out your eye, Laertes’ son who makes his home in Ithaca!”(Book IX Odyssey)He is then cursed by Polyphemus and later receives the wrath of Poseidon. Odysseus also has too much pride of his crew to act alone. Odysseus being too trusting of his crew does not warn them of the bag of wind he receives from Aeolus. Because his crew thought he received gold and silver, they open the bag, and restart their journey again. Finally, at Thrinacia, he trusts his crew with an oath not to eat any of the cattle.”Father Zeus! the rest of you blissful gods who never die—you with your fatal sleep, you lulled me into disaster. Left on their own, look what a monstrous thing my crew concocted!”(Book XII Odyssey) Later, Poseidon and Zeus both destroy his ship, and Odysseus is cast off hanging onto a piece of wood. Odysseus through his journey learns the results of his …show more content…
There are many examples of this in the epic poem. When his crew were turned into pigs by Circe, Odysseus climbed the high steep cliff onto Circe’s residence. This mission he was on seemed impossible at first, because Circe would just turn him into a pig. Even great Eurylochus warned him. Luckily, Hermes was there to help him. Odysseus cared for his crew. Another example of Odysseus showing and learning endurance is when his ship was destroyed by Zeus’ wrath after his crew consuming Helios’ cattle. He held onto whatever object he found, finally floating onto Calypso’s island to be saved. He probably had a lot of fatigue, but he still valued his home, family, and country, so he held on tight. He even had to row with his own hands as oars. “I rowed hard with my hands right through the straits ...And the father of men and gods did not let Scylla see me, else I’d have died on the spot—no escape from death. I drifted along nine days. On the tenth, at night, the gods cast me up on Ogygia, Calypso’s island” (Book VII Odyssey) Odysseus shows endurance and perseverance for those who he loved and cared

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    How Is Odysseus Prideful

    • 444 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Imagine being in the face of death everyday for twenty years trying to make it back home to your family, this is what Odysseus faced on his journey home in The Odyssey that Homer created. In The Odyssey Homer depicts Odysseus as a prideful yet cunning hero.…

    • 444 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    The Odyssey

    • 997 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The Odyssey, one of the most well known epic stories Introduces Odysseus, the King of Ithaca. This story demonstrates Odysseus’s physical and intellectual strength. Striving to return home after 20 years of his treacherous journey, he uses strength, skill, and superior ability to overcome his troubles. Although he faced numerous obstacles and fought many battles, he made it appoint to get home to his kingdom through his physical ability, intellectual insight, and overcoming his epic flaw.…

    • 997 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Odyssey Final Essay

    • 923 Words
    • 3 Pages

    One of the traits that Odysseus demonstrates is courage. This is displayed in many situations such as when Odysseus demands hospitality from the Cyclops: “It was our luck to come here; here we stand beholden for your help, or any gifts you give- as custom is to honor strangers. We would entreat you, great Sir, have a care for the gods’ courtesy; Zeus will avenge the unoffending guest.”(Page 1052) This is courageous because the Cyclops is a giant that towers over them and demanding anything from a beast of that size takes much courage and bravery. Another display of courageousness is when Odysseus comes up with the plan to make a weapon out of a stake with a sharp point and puncture the Cyclops’s eye out with it. This takes a great deal of courage and bravery for Odysseus and his remaining men to complete because it is a very difficult and risky task that could end in disaster at any moment. Odysseus also demonstrates courage when trying to avoid the Sirens, the Wandering Rocks, the Scylla, and the Charybdis while trying to sail home. He overcomes these obstacles with courage and intelligence that allows him and some of his men to escape alive. There are countless events in the Odyssey that…

    • 923 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Odysseus: Hero or Villain

    • 663 Words
    • 3 Pages

    In the epic poem “The Odyssey” by Homer (translated by Robert Fitzgerald) Odysseus, the King of Ithaca embarks on his journey home after the Trojan War with his crew men. On his way home Odysseus gets caught in storms produced by Poseidon and end up traveling to many islands to survive. Meanwhile his son and wife stay at home dealing with over welcomed sutors in their home who are trying to marry Penelope. He is not a hero because he is stubborn, disrespectful, and, unfaithful. Some people think that Odysseus is a hero because he tries to come home as quickly as he can, but with more in depth analysis of his characteristics and actions he is in fact a villain.…

    • 663 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    9th grade odyssey essay

    • 771 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Odysseus, from the epic poem The Odyssey written by Homer, is a classic epic hero. Although he has admirable qualities, he also has faults like any other human being. His cleverness and leadership make him a hero. Not all heroes being perfect, he has a very overactive curiosity.…

    • 771 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    As a man polytropos, Odysseus undergoes many trials and tribulations on his circuitous return to his homeland of Ithaka. Though physically of stalwart build, Odysseus is known among the Homeric heroes for his mental craftiness and emotional fortitude. It is these prized attributes that enables Odysseus to adapt, coping with impediments to his survival with self-possession and cunning. However, it is also Odysseus’ limitations that cause the exacerbation of his grievous situation. Throughout Odysseus’s time at Troy and his long voyage home, he grows as an individual, learning through these experiences and encounters about human nature and survival, the importance of home and family, and about character and the true meaning of Arete.…

    • 1201 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The actor, Christopher Reeve once said, “I think a hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles.” This quote can be applied directly to Odysseus, the leading character in the epic Odyssey by Homer. Odysseus endures ten years of war, explained in The Iliad, encounters treacherous monsters, enchantresses, and beautiful goddesses. Odysseus is strengthened by his hankering to return home and to his wife and son. In the Odyssey, Homer uses Odysseus’ s character journey to show how one’s journey can change them as a person.…

    • 651 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    When Odysseus and his men venture into the cave of the Cyclops Polyphemus, they become trapped when Polyphemus comes back and finds them hiding in the shadows. Odysseus is then asked what his name is. Odysseus then replies by saying, “My name is Nobody. That is what I am called by my mother and father and by all my friends.”. pg 119. By saying this, Odysseus is protecting himself and his men from Polyphemus ever trying to seek help to smite Odysseus. After blinding the Cyclops with a sharpened tree trunk, Odysseus puts the next part of his escape plan into action. While Polyphemus is sleeping, Odysseus manages to tie he and his men underneath the sheep so when Polyphemus lets the sheep out the next morning to graze, Polyphemus wont be able to tell that the men are escaping. So when the Cyclops wakes up the next morning, Odysseus observes, “O my friends its Nobody’s treachery, not violence, that is doing me to death.” pg 120 .By using this technique, Odysseus almost completely led most of his men safely off the island.…

    • 415 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Homer´s Odyssey tells the story of Odysseus, a war hero, and his 10-year voyage back home. After the war ended and Troy was burned down, Odysseus, having offended Poseidon and blinded his son, is set upon his way to Ithaca, his kingdom. For reasons that have not yet been explained, Odysseus ends up at Ogygia, where he is being held prisoner by Calypso, the nymph goddess. In Ithaca, his wife Penelope and his son Telemachus wait for his return.…

    • 500 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Obstacles in the Odyssey

    • 540 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The Odyssey, written by Homer, shows many triumphs and frustrations of human life. Odysseus, the hero, endures battles and obstacles on his twenty year journey home. There is tragedy and victory throughout. Inevitably, some of these obstacles are caused by his men and their desires while others are caused by Odysseus himself. From physical obstacles to emotional obstacles, many parts of The Odyssey represent the challenges in life, such as decision making, temptation, and self restraint.…

    • 540 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    In the Odyssey, Odysseus goes on a journey that lasts twenty years. He is faced with many challenges and must overcome these challenges if he is to get back home to his son and wife he has left behind. Along the way Odysseus learns about himself and learns many truths. When he returns home he is a wiser man because of what he has seen and also by what he has done himself.…

    • 557 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Odysseus Character

    • 523 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Being a hero is a very difficult task; although some are born to do it, most of us need guidance to be heroic. In The Odyssey by Homer, Odysseus, the main character, goes on an Odyssey- an adventurous journey with unexpected outcomes of fortune. There, he undergoes many challenges and dangerous situations and changes into a more wholesome individual. As a result of this Odyssey, it takes Odysseus twenty years to come home. During this period of time, Odysseus becomes more trustworthy, cautious, and responsible.…

    • 523 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Odyssey Essay

    • 631 Words
    • 3 Pages

    A heroic person is who does courageous acts for the sake of his family and peers. In the epic poem, The Odyssey by Homer, the protagonist, Odysseus, has not been a heroic person throughout the poem. Odysseus, Son of Laertes, has journeyed off with his crew in search of returning home but has not met the requirements of being a hero. Instead he shows insensitivity toward others, disloyalty and untrustworthiness.…

    • 631 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Odyssey, an epic poem written by Homer, is about the journey of the epic hero Odysseus to return to his home after the Trojan War. Odysseus must endeavor through many ghastly challenges, because the Cyclops Polyphemus afflicted him with a curse, to get him to his wife and son, and uniting his kingdom. On his journey home, Odysseus shows multiple traits of an epic hero, the two most related to that title is bravery and cunning. However the characteristic that stands out the most are his abilites to get his way out of difficult situations; cunningness and cleverness. One of the challenges Odysseus must overcome is outwitting a giant Cyclops who had killed most of his men, while simultaneously finding a way out of the cave they're trapped in. The Ithacan king must also keep his men from falling under the trance of the deadly…

    • 900 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The Odyssey by Homer is an epic about the king Odysseus trying to get back home after 15 long years in the war. In Homer’s book The Odyssey, the main character Odysseus clearly develops as a epic hero. A great warrior, he is faced with leading his country to war against the Trojan Army. This war has him away from his kingdom Ithaca for fifteen years. But through his great determination and courage, he completes his mission and restores honor to Ithaca.…

    • 82 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays

Related Topics