In The Odyssey, Odysseus embarks on a prolonged journey home in which he endures many trials that exhibit traits the Greeks revere. Meanwhile, at home his wife Penelope resists suitors who plunder her resources and Odysseus’s wealth. This epic exemplifies qualities and characteristics, such as bravery, hospitality and cleverness, embodied by Odysseus in an environment where the Olympian gods and goddesses are intertwined in Greek life. When the Greeks value a quality in a person, they hold that person
: In the epic The Odyssey, author Homer represents main character Odysseus as a hero despite his weaknesses, illustrating that heroes, although best known for their admirable qualities, can also have flaws. Odysseus, in several scenarios throughout the epic, demonstrates courage, quick thinking, and leadership, characteristics of a hero. For instance, when Odysseus and his men were trapped in Polyphemus’s cave, Odysseus led his men to safety by formulating and executing a plan to intoxicate the cave’s
The Mesmerizing Story of The Odyssey (A discussion over the entertaining qualities of The Odyssey) The enticing tales of the Odyssey have captured the attention of millions throughout the centuries. Homer uses elegant writing style mixed with captivating tales to create one of the greatest stories of mankind. The Odyssey has been entertaining readers for thousands of years. Certain elements of the epic have stood the test of time. The mesmerizing tales of Odysseus have remained such an enduring
there are also heroes in ordinary life. These everyday heroes are people such as firemen, paramedics, and others you stroll past periodically. One hero is the protagonist of Homer’s Odyssey, Odysseus. Odysseus performs many acute heroic deeds on his way home to Ithaca from the Trojan War. Anne Frank is another immensely
An invocation to the Muse, a conference of Gods, games and banquets, heroic encounters, and epic similes—these are some of the characteristics that compose an epic poem. In Paradise Lost, Milton echoes images and passages of Homer’s Odyssey and Virgil’s Aeneid, which he deepens and elaborates, creating a masterpiece that overshadows the silhouettes of the classics. The fashioning of the underworld is one quality that Milton, Dryden and Pope use to make their own versions of the epic. John Milton’s
In tales of Greek myths, the stories center around the feats and accomplishments of heroic figures. There are characters with immense strength and invincibility like that of the hero Heracles and the warrior Achilles, and there are those whose cunning outsmarts enemies like the hero Perseus beheading the Gorgon, Medusa, and Odysseus overcoming countless endeavors so he may return home. These myths are abundant with male protagonists, but lack a female heroine. The Hunger Games, written by Suzanne
encountering dragons, facing death, having an all-out struggle, and gaining wisdom. Homer’s famous epic, The Odyssey centers on the exploits of Greek “hero” Odysseus as he journeys back home to Ithaca after the Trojan War. Though the Greeks may have deemed Odysseus a hero, he fails to achieve a true hero’s journey because he is unsuccessful in gaining wisdom; his actions remain a reflection of his egocentricity. Although Odysseus starts out as the Greeks’ hero by winning