Illustration of Odysseus tied to a ship's mast

The Odyssey

by Homer

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In The Odyssey, in what incidence(s) does Odysseus show qualities of greed, envy, or laziness?

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As far as laziness goes, I'd suggest you look into the episode with Circe. See Odysseus's own account of himself, where he relates the following:

So she enticed and won our battle-harded spirits over. And there we sat at ease, day in, day out, till a year had run its course, feasting on sides of meat and drafts of heady wine . . . . (lines 513-515)

Additionally, I would note that Odysseus has some severe character flaws. Greed is one of them, and in fact, it is one of the major sources for his suffering. Another (and one which you don't note in your question) is pride. Of course, you need to view these things from the perspective of Greek heroic literature and ask whether, in that value system, something like arrogance would be condemned the same way it is today. Nevertheless, these qualities do get him into trouble.

This is perhaps most strongly expressed in his episode with the Cyclops, where Odysseus seeks to take advantage of the rules of hospitality (which insists that hosts provide gifts to their guests). Later, his pride gets the better of him. After keeping his anonymity for much of this encounter (he famously introduces himself as "Nobody"), just as he makes his escape, he gives Polyphemus his name, so that the Cyclops would know who bested him. This decision draws Poseidon's ire, and is the source of much suffering on the part of Odysseus.

In addition, you could note the incident at Ismarus, where Odysseus and his companions temporarily pause in their travels for the purposes of sacking and looting the city. This illustrates a brutality shocking to modern audiences (especially given how casually it is discussed in the poem), but it also shows poor judgment on Odysseus's part and backfires on him when his men insist on staying too long, while their victims rally assistance from the rest of the island and drive Odysseus off by force.

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This is a good question. As you can imagine, no character is perfect, that is, without flaws. Odysseus is no exception. There are several instances where this is clear. 

First, we can say that Odysseus was a bit lazy when he did not want to get off the island of Calypso. To be sure, he was a captive to some extent, but in the end he did not show great desire to escape. It would have been much better if he showed more effort to leave. 

Second, when Odysseus kills all the suitors without remorse or mercy, this shows that that Odysseus was greedy for revenge. 

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