Odysseus
Odysseus, son of Laertes and Anticleaia, is the king of Ithaca and hero of The Odyssey. After playing an instrumental role in the victory of the Achaeans at Troy, he struggles to return home. He roams the seas for almost two decades, encountering monsters and other perils along the way. When he finally arrives on Ithaca, he must reckon with the wicked suitors who have overrun his household.
In some ways, Odysseus is a prime example of a Homeric hero: he exhibits strength, skill, determination, courage, and moral responsibility throughout the epic. His most valuable skill, however, is his intellect, which allows him to manipulate and triumph over situations that would confound a hero like Hercules, whose power lies in physical strength only. While Odysseus is physically powerful, it is primarily his wit that enables him to accomplish feats such as escaping from the Cyclops Polyphemus in book 9 and fooling the suitors near the end of the epic.
Odysseus’s intelligence makes him the favorite mortal of the goddess Athena, who guides him on his journey and aids his revenge upon the suitors and reunion with his family. His pride, however, incurs the wrath of the god Poseidon, who attempts to keep Odysseus lost at sea. By the time he reaches Ithaca, Odysseus seems less inclined to act on his pride, instead choosing to remain patient until the time comes to reveal himself and reclaim his estate.
Expert Q&A
What challenges did Odysseus face on his journey home?
2 Educator Answers
Quick answer:
Odysseus faces many challenges on his journey home. To name a few: his sailors are captivated by teh lotus-eaters, he engages in battle with Polyphemus the cyclops, he is caught in a storm sent by Poseidon, and he is captivated by the Sirens. His entire journey home is ridden with challenges.
Odysseus faces a number of challenges on his way home, including:
- sailors captivated by the lotus-eaters
- a battle with Polyphemus, a cyclops
- a storm sent by Poseidon
- an encounter with a witch
- being captivated by the Sirens
- encounters with the monsters Scylla and Charybdis
- punishment by Zeus
On the way home from war, Odysseus's soldiers are captivated by the lotus-eaters, who try to feed the men fruit that will cause them to forget their desire to go home.
Next, Odysseus and his men get trapped in the lair of Polyphemus, who eats some of the men. Odysseus blinds Polyphemus, and the cyclops calls out to his father Poseidon, who sends a storm to punish Odysseus. Later, Odysseus refers to the encounter with Polyphemus when he tries to encourage and bolster his men, saying,
Dear friends, surely we are not unlearned in evils. This is no greater evil now than it was when the Cyclops had us cooped in his hollow cave by force and violence, but even there, by my courage and counsel and my intelligence, we escaped away. I think that all this will be remembered some day too. Then do as I say, let us all be won over.
Odysseus's ship travels to the island of a witch named Circe, who turns many of his sailors into swine. He goes out to find an herb that counteracts her magic and convinces her to turn his men back into people. After that, Odysseus and his men choose to stay on the island for a long time.
Once it is ready to continue the journey to Ithaca, the crew is forced to sail by the land of the Sirens, beautiful monsters who sing to attract ships toward rocks where they will be smashed. The men plug their ears and tie Odysseus to the mast to help avoid the danger and temptation. They also avoid the whirlpool of Charybdis, but this forces them to sail near Scylla, who lives across from Charybdis. Consequently, six men are killed.
On the island of Thrinacia, Odysseus's men hunt sacred cattle that belong to Helios, the sun god. Helios demands his father Zeus to punish Odysseus and his men for the action. Zeus obliges, sending Odysseus's ship into Charybdis. Odysseus is the only survivor. He says,
At this time Charybdis sucked down the sea's salt water, but I reached high in the air above me, to where the tall fig tree grew, and caught hold of it and clung like a bat; there was no place where I could firmly brace my feet, or climb up it, for the roots of it were far from me, and the branches hung out far, big and long branches that overshadowered Charybdis. Inexorably I hung on, waiting for her to vomit the keel and mast back up again. I longed for them, and they came late; at the time when a man leaves the law court, for dinner, after judging the many disputes brought him by litigious young men; that was the time it took the timbers to appear from Charybdis.
He spends the next seven years as the prisoner and lover of Calypso. He is only able to continue his journey home when Athena intervenes with Zeus and convinces him to free Odysseus.
What challenges does Odysseus face on his journey back to Ithaca?
Odysseus's journey back to Ithaka at the end of the Trojan War is fraught with seemingly endless difficulties, which he describes to his Phaiakian hosts in Book IX of the Odyssey.
- After leaving Troy, Odysseus and his men land at Ismaros and raid the city there. They stay long enough for the inhabitants to muster a counterattack, and Odysseus loses many of his crew before they can flee the island.
- They sail for nine days, buffeted by storm winds, until arriving at the island of the Lotus Eaters. The lotus was used in the ancient world as a powerful narcotic, and the Lotus Eaters are addicted to it. Anyone who takes the drug becomes completely indifferent to life, and wishes only to have more and more lotus, forever. Three of Odysseus's men eat the lotus and he has to drag them back to his ships to get them off the island.
- The crew sail on to the land of the Kyklopes, where they encounter Polyphemos, who eats several of Odysseus's men before Odysseus manages to blind the giant by stabbing him in his one terrible eye. Unfortunately, as Odysseus makes his escape, he can't help letting Polyphemos know exactly who outwitted him, and Polyphemos calls upon his father, the god Poseidon, to curse Odysseus. Poseidon's wrath towards Odysseus causes Odysseus to eventually lose all his ships and crew and remain trapped on Calypso's island for years.
- The crew then sails to the island of Aiolos, the King of the Four Winds, who gives Odysseus a leather sack containing the winds, which Odysseus can use to drive his ships directly back to Ithaka. They are within landfall of the island when one of his men opens the leather sack and lets all the winds out at once. A terrible storm arises and blows the ships all off course, so Odysseus limps back to Aiolos and asks him if he can fill the leather sack again, but Aiolos refuses, saying Odysseus has clearly incurred the wrath of the gods.
- Making their painful way back toward Ithaka, this time with no winds at all in their sails, Odysseus's crew sails up a strange fjord in a silent country. Odysseus sends a scout out to see if there are any inhabitants who might spare them some food. Alas, they've come to the land of the Laistrygonians, vicious cannibals who pour out of the seemingly silent landscape and manage to kill most of Odysseus's crew before he can escape with just one ship.
- Odysseus and his remaining men next land on Aiaia, where the beautiful witch Kirke turns some of the men into pigs. Odysseus manages to overcome Kirke and forces her to undo her enchantment, and she becomes a friend and ally to him. They stay on Aiaia for a year to rest and recuperate before sailing onwards.
- Their next destination is the land of the dead, for Odysseus must speak to the ghost of Tireisias, the old blind prophet of Thebes, in order to determine how to get home to Ithaka. Odysseus speaks to many ghosts, including Tireisias, who warns him that whatever happens, his men must not eat the Cattle of the Sun.
- On their way back from the land of the dead, the crew stops at Aiaia again, and Kirke warns Odysseus of the perils of the Sirens, the monster Skylla, and the whirlpool Kharybdis.
- Odysseus takes Kirke's warnings to heart and manages to get past the deadly Sirens by blocking his men's ears with beeswax so they cannot hear the Sirens' song. The monster Skylla manages to eat several of Odysseus's men as they skirt the edge of the whirlpool Kharybdis, but this fate cannot be avoided.
- Having passed the monster, the ship lands at Thrinakia, where the Cattle of the Sun dwell. Odysseus warns the men never to kill these cattle, no matter how hungry they are, but once the food stores run out, the men get desperate, and kill the cattle and eat them. Odysseus immediately sets sail from the island, but his ship is destroyed by a lightning bolt, and he is the only survivor.
- Cast adrift on the ocean in a terrible storm, Odysseus washes up on the island of the nymph Calypso. She takes care of him and falls in love with him, and keeps him prisoner on her island for seven years. She only lets him go when the gods order her to. She gives Odysseus a raft and provisions, and Odysseus sets sail once again. He nearly drowns in a storm sent by Poseidon before washing up on the Phaiakian shore.
The Phaiakians give Odysseus food, shelter, and many gifts and take him safely back to Ithaka in one of their own ships. It has taken Odysseus ten full years to reach Ithaka's shore.
Examples of Odysseus's pride and boastfulness in Homer's The Odyssey
5 Educator Answers
Summary:
Examples of Odysseus's pride and boastfulness in The Odyssey include his taunting of the Cyclops Polyphemus after blinding him, revealing his name and thereby incurring Poseidon's wrath. Additionally, Odysseus's confidence in his own cleverness often leads him to take unnecessary risks, such as when he insists on hearing the Sirens' song despite the danger it poses to him and his crew.
Can you provide examples of Odysseus being boastful in Homer's Odyssey?
If we look strictly at the text of the Odyssey, we find Odysseus moving back and forth between responsible and irresponsible words and deeds. As mentioned by lsumner, perhaps the key moment in Homer's Odyssey comes in Book 9. After Odysseus has managed to escape from the Cyclops' cave, he reveals to him his real name (earlier he had told the Cyclops that his name was "Nobody"):
So they argued, but could not daunt my ardent spirit, and I shouted to him again in anger: “Cyclops, if any man asks how you came by your blindness, say that Odysseus, sacker of cities, Laertes' son, a native of Ithaca, maimed you.” (A.S. Kline translation)
Although Odysseus' cunning and trickery had managed to help him and his men escape from the Cyclops' cave, Odysseus, earlier in Book 9, had ignored his men's pleas to leave the Cyclops' cave before the monster returned because HE wanted to "see the giant himself, and test his hospitality".
We also find some suggestion in Odyssey 10 that Odysseus stays with Circe for an entire year out of self interest. Eventually, his crew has to persuade him to leave. Thus, Homer writes that "My proud heart yielded to their words." (A.S. Kline translation)
Whereas Odysseus' revelation of his name to the Cyclops results in Poseidon's wrath against him, in Odyssey 12, Odysseus' own self-interest leads him to have his men stuff their ears with wax and bind him to the mast of the ship so that he can hear the Sirens' song.
Of course, at the conclusion of Odyssey 21, we hear Odysseus utter the ultimate boast, but in this instance, who can blame him? He is about to slaughter the suitors. It is a boast James Bond himself could be proud of.
"The guest in your hall has not disgraced you. I have not missed the target, nor did it take me long to string the bow. My strength is undiminished, not lessened as the Suitors’ taunts implied." (A.S. Kline translation)
Can you provide examples of Odysseus being boastful in Homer's Odyssey?
At the end of the Trojan War, Odysseus declares that he himself won the ultimate battle. He declares that he alone thought of the the idea of creating a Trojan Horse. Odysseus is filled with excessive pride. He refuses to acknowledge the gods as having any direct connection with his human affairs, even though Poseidon sent a sea monster to destroy the Trojan who did not believe the Trojan Horse was a gift.
Truly, Odysseus does not acknowledge the gods along his journey. He is self sufficient and filled with pride. He does not need help from the gods. He is a strong, self-willed man. He uses his wit and strength to make it through each obstacle along his way while trying to reach Ithaca:
In the Odyssey, however, we are given an opportunity to see Odysseus at the center of the stage, doing what he does best—getting out of difficult situations as easily as he seems to get into them—but in a much different light.
Odysseus uses his wit, guile and intelligence to overcome each obstacle found in his path. He does not need the gods because he is self sufficient. He is smart. He understands how to overcome each obstacle. He refuses to acknowledge the gods as resources.
Proudly, Odysseus shouts out his name to the Cyclops as he is leaving his territory. While it would have been better to keep his identity unknown, Odysseus proudly yells out his name to further torment the Cyclops. Odysseus and his excessive pride cause more problems for Odysseus and his men. Now Poseidon, the father of the Cyclops, is angry and determined to destroy Odysseus.
Truly, it is clear that Odysseus is being tested by the gods. He has one struggle after another struggle while trying to reach Ithaca. For years, Odysseus encounters major problems while trying to reach home.
Some argue that Odysseus is all about himself. He does have so much pride until he endangers himself as well as the lives of his men:
Some have argued that too much of the "human" side of Odysseus shines through, that he is nothing more than a grasping, greedy, selfish, disreputable man who simply bides his time, does as little as possible to help anyone else, and always makes sure he takes care of Number One first.
Ultimately, Odysseus has no choice but to cry out to the gods. Stranded on a raft in a stormy sea, Odysseus cries out to the gods. He finally admits that he needs help. He acknowledges the gods by crying out in a frustrated tone of voice, asking what do the gods want from him. In this moment, Odysseus admits that he cannot make it on his own. He needs the gods to finish his journey. Athena comes to his rescue.
What is an example of Odysseus's cockiness in The Odyssey by Homer?
Odysseus is the protagonist of The Odyssey by Homer, and in many ways he is an exemplary character. He is generally selfless and noble and brave and wise; however, sometimes he does get a bit too full of himself, which of course is another way of saying that he is occasionally a little cocky. The perfect example of both sides of Odysseus can be found in Book IX of the novel.
This book relates, among other stories, the tale of Odysseus and his men landing on the island of the Cyclopes, crude and uncivilized giants who do nothing but tend sheep all day. When they discover a deserted cave, Odysseus's men want to steal from it, but the more prudent Odysseus prefers that they act more civilized and makes the logical but false assumption that the owner of the cave will welcome them when he returns. So, they wait for the cave's owner who eventually arrives.
The monster Cyclops arrives with his sheep and herds them into the cave; behind him he seals the cave's entrance with a giant boulder. Things do not go as Odysseus had planned, or at least hoped. The monster is already angry, but when Odysseus says they are on the island because Poseidon cased them to shipwreck there, he gets even angrier and eats two of the men. (We discover soon that Poseidon is Cyclops's father, which explains a lot.)
The men are helplessly trapped and several more men are eaten. Odysseus works hard to devise a plan, and he comes up with something ingenious. He and his men sharpen a pole, get the monster drunk, and poke him in his eye with the burning sharpened log. Odysseus has cleverly told the creature that his name is "nobody," so when Cyclops screams out in pain and his fellow Cyclopes ask who is hurting him, that is what he screams: "Nobody!" Genius, right?
The plan continues, and Odysseus is able to get his men out of the cave blocked by a giant boulder by tying them to the undersides of the sheep so they cannot be detected but will be freed from the cave. He saves the biggest ram for himself, which might be considered a bit cocky. The men manage to get to their ship as the Cyclops, named Polyphemus, furiously throws a giant rock at the ship and nearly hits it.
Of course this puts the ship in some danger since it is still pretty close to the shore, but things get worse as Odysseus gets more full of himself (cocky). His men try to stop him, but he throws one last taunt at the giant monster, and he holds nothing back:
"Cyclops, if any mortal man ever asks you who inflicted upon your eye this shameful blinding--tell him that you were blinded by Odysseus, sacker of cities. Laertes is his father and he makes his home Ithaca."
Polyphemus does what any son would do--he tells his father what Odysseus did to him. Of course the result of Odysseus's bragging and taunting is that Poseidon really does now have it in for Odysseus and his men, and he promptly begins giving Odysseus and his men almost ten years worth of payback. Better for Odysseus if he had not felt the need to taunt the one-eyed monster and simply been thankful that his wits had saved him and at least some of his men.
What is an example of Odysseus's cockiness in The Odyssey by Homer?
Odysseus shows considerable arrogance after making his cunning escape from Polyphemus, the Cyclops. Previously, our hero had demonstrated one of his more admirable traits in devising an ingenious plan whereby he and his remaining crew escaped the Cyclops's wrath by clinging to the bellies of his flock of sheep. Once safely aboard his ship, Odysseus lets arrogance get the better of him, and he taunts the hapless Polyphemus, revealing his true identity. There's really no need for Odysseus to rub it in, but he's so proud of himself for having put one over on the Cyclops that he just can't help himself. The consequences of Odysseus's arrogance will be dire. A furious Polyphemus prays to his father, the sea-god Poseidon, to exact terrible vengeance on Odysseus.
In Homer's The Odyssey, how does Odysseus express his pride?
Homers' Odysseus is a literary hero of legendary proportions. But it isn't his physical prowess that makes him so formidable. Homer portrays Odysseus as a relatively average man in terms strength, but as a man unequaled in terms of intelligence and cunning. But, like many heroes, Odysseus has a character flaw, and that flaw is hubris, also known as excessive pride. Sometimes we see his cunning and his pride occur almost simultaneously, as in his conflict with the one-eyed Cyclops.
Odysseus and his men find themselves trapped in the cave of the giant monster, Polyphemus. After several men are killed and eaten, Odysseus comes up with several clever ideas to fool Polyphemus and win the Greeks' freedom. As the men run for their lives for the ship and then row away, Polyphemus nearly hits the ship with a boulder, which could have killed more of the men.
Nevertheless, Odysseus' pride asserts itself, as he can't resist taunting the cyclops:
Cyclops, if ever mortal man inquire how you were put to shame and blinded, tell him Odysseus, raider of cities, took your eye: Laertes' son, whose home's on Ithaca!
Polyphemus then appeals to his father, Poseidon, God of the Sea, to keep Odysseus from reaching home for years, and then only after losing all his men. This request comes true. Odysseus appears to have cost his men their lives with his foolish pride.
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