Temptations In The Odyssey

The Odyssey is the epic story of a warrior named Odysseus and his ten-year journey home after the Trojan War and being held captive by Calypso, a passionate nymph, for seven years. The epic recounts the many encounters and adventurous endeavors Odysseus and his men are involved in during the long return to Ithaca. During his odyssey, many laudable adversaries, primarily in the form of temptations, karmic justice and arrogance, that confront him and his hubristic, fatuous men.

Earlier in the story, there were many tempters that distracted Odysseus and his men, such as the natives of an island they found that offered them sweet lotus flowers, which only served to hinder their progress and ensnare many of the men with their saccharine flavor and addictiveness. Another major temptation is the very nymph that trapped Odysseus and held him on an island for seven years. He wanted to leave due to his wife and son waiting for him, but was tempted to stay longer than he needed to, as the nymph was a skilled temptress.
There are many instances in which he appears to be blissfully ignorant of his surroundings and the mammoth, prominent peril that he is consistently surrounded by. He meets most of his adversities with a sense of confident uncertainty, which creates many situations of danger and difficulty, primarily for his men, due to their cowardice in comparison to his brave