Oddyseus started to seak to the spirits of the promising to sacrifice his best cow before she had her calve. Then he promised to sacrifice a black lamb whick was the finest in his heard. After promising to sacrifice the animals he did it. The spirits started to gather at the edge of Erebus, the place where the dead reside. The spirits included those of the young and the old; male and female. There were also many warriors who were still in possesion of their armor and weaponry. The spirits started to try to escape from the pit of Erebus. Oddyseus told his men to skin the animal that they had killed and make them into offering for Hades and Persephone, the god and godess of the dead who reside in the underworld. He sat waiting with his sword out to defend himself from the from the spirits until he noticed te presence of Tieresias, a blind prophet from Thebes, who came forward and spoke to Oddyseus.…
In the epic poem, The Odyssey by Homer, The hero Odysseus displays many heroic traits that make him an epic hero. The Odyssey is about Odysseus journey home after the Trojan War. On his way back home, he harms a Cyclops’s eye, so Poseidon becomes very angry and make Odysseus’s trip extremely difficult. Odysseus encounters many monsters and his entire crew perishes. When he finally returns home after 20 years, Athena helps him reunite with his son and kill all on the suitors that have made themselves at home in his house with his wife. Some of the many characteristics that Odysseus shows throughout his journey may include courage, leadership and curiosity.…
In ancient Greek religion, one belief was when someone dies he needed to receive at…
During the Odyssey alot of good advice is given to one another. Unfortunatley this good advice is usually ignored and results is disaster. Due to this theres many unfortunate events during this story just on the act of stubborness.…
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.…
In 2000, American military historian Victor Davis Hanson wrote that “any time the Western way of war can be unleashed on an enemy stupid enough to enter its arena, victory is assured.” Beyond idolizing Western civilization’s military performance throughout history, Hanson’s statement raises several questions about the development of this particular approach to warfare and its various consequences and implications at local and global scales. This evolutionary process traces back to Ancient Greece (c. 800 BCE), of which the main if not only written accounts of the time were Homer’s epics. Both the Iliad and the Odyssey not only stand as the prime works of literature of antiquity —and, thus, entertainment—, but also illustrate the archetypical…
A personal virtue that is a major theme in the epic, The Odyssey, is loyalty and perseverance. The best example of loyalty in of the epic, Penelope, who waited faithfully in Ithaca for 20 years for her husband, Odysseus’, to return. Odysseus’ son Telemachus, who also showed loyalty by standing by his father against the suitors who are after the throne. The two analytical lenses that I will use to interpret this epic, is the Psychological and the social class lens. The psychology lens focuses on the internal struggles of a character in a text. This could be seen by the three main characters, Odysseus, Telemachus, and Penelope. All three character, psychologically, have their mind set on their longing reunion throughout the epic which ties to…
In order to underscore the circumstances behind the death of Homer, it would be quite significant to first underscore that fact that the entire is bestowed with the themes of change and death. However, the theme of death takes the center stage in this paper. Death and change are actually the factors holding the underlying message in the story. The author clearly brings out the idea that it is actually better for an individual to accept the instances of death rather than to ignore the episode through the simple accounts he gives on the lives of Miss Emily (Faulkner 15). She chooses not to accept the fact that her father is dead by clinging on the father and extremely controlling the instances in which the fate of her father could be well versed…
The Odyssey is one of the most well known stories about war and its effects on the survivors. Homer goes out of his way to share the names and families of fallen soldiers for many reasons. The deaths in The Odyssey are exceptionally bloody and gore-filled, which allows the reader to vividly see the scenes depicted and understand the true horror that violence holds. The war scenes are particularly gruesome and filled with death. The only part of The Odyssey that Homer has left to the reader to venture in to is what Odysseus has going on inside his head. How did the Trojan War affect Odysseus mentally?…
The Odyssey by Homer is a classic epic poem that is popularly studied centuries later to describe the harsh reality of how simple people and things can move on without someone in their life; catholic social teachings have a principle called life and dignity of the human person that is mainly violated in this epic poem. Homer sets this epic poem in the city of Ithaca who at the time is under the rule by the fierce warrior, Odysseus, and his wife, Penelope. However, Odysseus has been missing for about ten years after he was last seen assisting in the battle of Troy; sources reveal that he was seen with his best friend, Agamemnon, on a beach sacrificing animals to Poseidon in hopes that they would both arrive home in their countries to their…
The Odyssey is the epic that has been read time and time again, by varying ages, digging its way into our hearts, becoming an instant classic. Odysseus and the adventures of his homecoming create a much different tale than Homer’s other work, the Iliad, provided. The epic is not about bloodthirsty men trying to get their hands on kleos anymore; it is about the homecoming of a man who uses his wits, not his weapon. In the Odyssey, the characters balance – Homer provides contrasting characters to show the readers the traits that Odysseus holds and how it builds his character development and even those who are foils to him. Odysseus’ own son, Trojan War companions, and wife create the man that is called Odysseus, highlighting the various facets of his personality throughout the epic.…
In the Odyssey, temptation is defined as hunger- both literal hunger (temptation for food) and figurative hunger i.e. temptation for luxury, ambition, wealth, women, power, glory etc. This “hunger”, whether literal or figurative keeps Odysseus’s men from reaching their homes and uniting with their families. However, longing for family or grief for loved ones drives away “hunger”. Odysseus is the only man among his crew to reach home to Ithaca because his longing for his family and native land surpasses the “hungers” he encounters and experiences.…
The Odyssey shares similar propaganda to The Aeneid, although it is not as immediately apparent given the historical backgrounds that led to the creation of each, in regards to the political and social changes being experienced around the time The Aeneid was written. The type of propaganda that is emphasized in The Odyssey is based around the dominance and traditions of Ancient Greek society and culture, the necessity of honoring the gods and goddesses, and maintaining virtues that are universal throughout society while emphasizing the importance of the individual. It is demonstrated through the journey of Odysseus, which begins with the Trojan War and follows with each adventure that he experiences on his return to Ithaca, ending on a message of the importance of homecoming when he reaches the shores of his island.…
To create a descriptive representation of when the troops attacked Troy, Homer writes, “troops of Achaeans broke from cover, streaming out of horses hollow flanks to plunder Troy - he sang how left and right they ravaged the steep city.” These two selections from the passage convey an aggressive nature and strength by describing the attack and Troy’s inevitable loss with vivid imagery. In the second paragraph, Homer uses an epic simile to describe the extent of Odysseus’ anguish and heartache by comparing Odysseus’ emotional state as that of a deeply heartbroken woman. Within the epic simile, Homer uses imagery to describe the crying woman. He writes, “her arms flung around her darling husband, a man who fell in battle, fighting for town and townsmen, trying to beat the day of doom from home and children. Seeing the man go down, dying, gasping for breath, she clings for dear life, screams and shrills.” This quote displays deep emotional pain and turmoil, as it portrays an image of a woman grieving a devastating loss. This is quite different from the image created in the first paragraph, they contrast in terms of how they both convey different effects to the reader. One is conveys strength and power, especially that of Odysseus, as he is the one who led the battle. But in the other paragraph, the reader sees that Odysseus is no longer that strong warrior, as he is shown displaying deep pain and…
The engrossing story, The Odyssey, tells the tale of the heroic Odysseus’ journey to reach home after the Trojan War. In the first four books, the reader learns about Odysseus through other characters eyes. They follow the footsteps of Telemakhos, the son of Odysseus, and his awakening to save his father. Telemakhos’s house is being overrun by his mother's’ suitors, however dear Penelope can’t help change that. Telemakhos is then visited by Athena, in which she arouses him and gives him the confidence and steady mind to search for word on his father. Telemakhos and the reader can interpret from the stories told about Odysseus that he was an important warrior and is thought to be dead. Therefore he is held to a higher respect than most Trojan…