Turning Point In The Odyssey

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Homer’s epic poem The Odyssey begins at a point equivalent to the middle of a horrific basketball season. The team has yet to have one victory, more than half the men are down for the count, and the high hopes everyone started with have officially been demolished. Odysseus is on his journey home from the Trojan War a hero when he faces numerous hardships that eventually keep him from his homeland of Ithaca for twenty years. When the despairing Odysseus is introduced he has lost his entire crew and is being held captive on Calypso’s island while the god Poseidon is working to be sure that he never returns home. A packed gym filled with a rambunctious crowd is the most exhilarating way to start off a season. It’s the first game, the players…show more content…
But, of course it’s not just any player, it is the leading scorer, easily the most talented teammate. Losing him for the season is comparable to losing three regular players; a crucial part of the team is missing and this severely threatens its chances of success as the season progresses. This unfortunate event serves as a turning point for the team, foreshadowing what will be a grueling rest of the season. In The Odyssey, this turning point took place when Odysseus and his crew landed on the land of the Cyclops and came face to face with the mighty Polyphemus. During this encounter not only was a great deal of Odysseus’ men devoured, but he also developed a contemptuous relationship with the god Poseidon, who becomes a constant hardship throughout the completion of the journey. When his ship stopped at the land of the Cyclops, Odysseus gathered some of his men, and a skin of the irresistible wine that had previously been gifted to him by Maron, the son of Euanthes, and ventured into the cave of Polyphemus, hoping to find some hospitality. Immediately upon laying eyes on the Cyclops it became clear that he would not be a friendly host. Odysseus stated, “But I will not give way—and how much better it would have been—not till I saw him, saw what gifts he’s give. But he proved no lovely sight to my companions.” (Fagles, lines 256-259, p. 218). When…show more content…
These actions often cause animosity between teammates that shows on the court. Before you know it, player A is taking a shot every time he touches the ball because he thinks he is the only one talented enough to score, and player B refuses to pass to player C because he thinks player C doesn’t put enough work in at practice. The usual voice of reason, the captain, becomes a nonfactor because the team’s lack of success thus far has caused many of his players to lose faith in him. These types of relationships amongst teammates leave a team with a reputation no one wants, a team that lacks teamwork. It is common knowledge that no matter how much or how little talent a team possesses, nothing positive can be accomplished without good teamwork. As can be expected, Odysseus’ crew reached this point during the journey, and it ultimately had fatal consequences. Odysseus had been warned by Circe and Tiresias not to eat the cattle of the Sungod. It was cautioned, “Then you will make the island of Thrinacia…where herds of the Sungod’s cattle graze…Leave the beasts unharmed, your mind set on home, and you all may still reach Ithaca—bent with hardship, true—but harm them in anyway, and I can see it now: your ship destroyed, your men destroyed as well! And even if you escape, you’ll come home late, all shipmates lost, and come a broken man.” (Fagles, lines 137, 148-153, p. 275). Odysseus
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