Although Odysseus is the main character of this epic poem, he should not be viewed as a hero and sometimes is indeed presented otherwise; failing his crew many times, disrespecting Poseidon, showing his stubbornness, selfishness with his pride, all extend his return home. Odysseus wants to go back a lot, but while he is on his journey he rarely asks or takes his crew’s opinions on the occurring situation. His confidence is also a big obstacle for a fast return home. The angered god Poseidon is tormenting him while he sails, but Odysseus is not even thinking about apologising and once again shows too much pride in himself.
There are very few traits of a good leader which Odysseus possesses, and they aren't the most important ones. He is brave
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He is very quick to make irrational, dangerous, opposite of what he was told decisions. When Kirke tells him to choose a path, on his way there would be a terrible sea monster Scylla. Kirke warned Odysseus that the monster would take his best men, and that if they would start fighting her they would lose more men if not all. But in the moment of rage which Odysseus was unable to control he took the arms and started fighting the beast. This action is unbelievingly selfish of him because he put his men into more danger than needed by not following Kirke’s directions. “No, no put all your backs into it, row on”, here Kirke is clearly stating that they have to let her take the men that she wants but then just leave. Another example which is very frustrating to both the reader and Odysseus was when his crew members opened the …show more content…
But again we see Odysseus not in avery heroic way. His pride as well as his selfishness got him even more obstacles than he already had. When Odysseus killed the Kyklope, son of Poseidon, he angered the God greatly, which created terrible sailing catastrophes. But even then he never thought once about apologizing, and that way saving time and lives. Throughout the Odyssey Homer emphasises a lot on the theme of temptation, specifically on Odysseus’s inability to resist it. Multiple times the protagonist is unable to resist his temptations towards women and is reminded of home only after no further interest in his lovers. This also shows his disloyalty not only to his crew but towards his wife. By his enemy- god’s will, he is held on Kalypso’s island. It takes Zeus’s messenger, Hermes, to convince her to let Odysseus go. But in the beginning of the book, he is not as sad when all the beautiful women on the island were surrounding him, as when Hermes arrived to rescue him. “ Tear on tear brimming his eyes. The sweet days of his life time were running out in anguish over his exile, for long ago the nymph had ceased to please.” (p. 85) This tells us that Odysseus is no longer interested in his mistress. A similar situation happens later in the poem as well, when he accidentally meets Circe. Odysseus did not stay faithful to Penelope in this case either, and stayed on her island for a year! Although Homer clarifies that his close
One bad decision that Odysseus was made when he decided to sail towards Scylla and Charybdis when he could have sailed the other option, “One ship alone, one deep-sea craft sailed clear,/ the Argo sung by the world, when heading home/ from Aeetes’ shores” (12. 76-78). This quote shows that there was one ship that sailed past the Clashing Rocks unharmed. Odysseus could have chosen to sail this path, but he didn’t. A real hero would have taken the route that wouldn’t have killed any of his crew like the route with Scylla and Charybdis did.
“... Odysseus looked around him, narrow-eyed, for any others who had lain hidden while death’s black fury passed”(Homer 613).This expresses how much power and determination Odysseus use when it comes getting revenge on something important. The ordinary man would not remain standing in a world full of Gods, Goddesses, and Monsters. His connection with his crew members were valuable to him and from the men that died in different locations, he realized that he could not lose
Penelope is the only reason that Odysseus wants to go home, and the only reason that he is able to establish his home once he arrives. Penelope’s cunning compliments that of her husband’s, because it highlights the fact that they are of one mind, which affirms Odysseus’s excellence in knowing. Penelope knows that no man can achieve this feat she has asked the suitors to perform, except
Although Odysseus occasionally does something for the short-term benefit of his crew, he does not deserve their loyalty because he does not sincerely care about them, trust them, or listen to them. Even when Odysseus is in the middle of nowhere in a boat with his comrades and crew members for twenty years, he still manages to not care about them and think of his own life as more valuable than any of theirs. An example of this is when Odysseus sends his men into danger instead of being a leader and going first: “All I spied was a plume of smoke, drifting off the land. / So I sent some crew ahead to learn who lived there -- / men like us perhaps, who live on bread?”
The natives there gave Odysseus and his men an intoxicating fruit of the lotus. After Odysseus and his men eat the fruit, they forget all of their thoughts about home and decide to eat more of the fruit. The only way that Odysseus can get him and his men back home is by dragging his men back to the ship and lock them up, Odysseus decides to go along with it. When Odysseus went back to Ithaca, He made the wise choice to go and see his wife Penelope. Odysseus was so brave to go see his wife because he didn’t know if she was going to recognize him at all or want to be with him for the rest of her life.
Penelope, his wife, is greatly affected; as many greedy suitors disrespect her and move into their home to try and win her hand in marriage. Throughout ‘The Odyssey’, the greed and folly of men play a huge part in increasing the difficulty and severity of Odysseus’s situations and ultimately change his fate and the directions of his journey. The greed and folly of men are largely represented by Penelope’s suitors. In the very first book of The Odyssey, the disgusting actions of the suitors were introduced to the readers.
In the epic story the Odyssey by Homer, Odysseus is returning from the Trojan war, and on his way home he finds many obstacles ahead of him. Odysseus is the ruler of Ithaca and he is trying to return home to his land. Many creatures try and stop him from achieving his goal of returning home, but he and his crew have to push through and get home. Odysseus portrays bravery and courage leading his crew through these tough challenges. Odysseus heroically leads his crew and himself through dangerous obstacles, but also foolishly endangers them during the journey home.
Odyssey Essay Did you know Odysseus let many of his men die in the Odyssey? Well, Odysseus is also known for his brave and heroic acts, but to further understand him, you have to know about his Greek Values. In the Odyssey, Odysseus’ strength and weaknesses of leadership, intelligence, and his selfishness. This reflects the Greek Values of leading others to success, and accomplishment, outsmarting others, and caring for others.
In the epic poetry, “The Odyssey,” by Homer, Odysseus exhibits his arrogance, foolishness, and his lack of leadership in which it leads to him going home by himself.
Overall, Odysseus is often portrayed as a “model hero”, but in reality he has many faults such as being untrustworthy, arrogant and
As a leader Odysseus should be careful to do exactly what will benefit his crew the most. The lack of communication throughout the whole journey home will eventually lead to mistrust and betrayal of Odysseus by his crew. Following Scylla and Charybdis they reach the island of the god of the sun, and because of the crew’s spite for Odysseus they don’t follow his directions not to harm the cattle of the Sun. Just in the events of the journey back to Ithaca alone the reader can see how Odysseus’ inability to be a strong leader leads to the dismantling of a good relationship between him and his crew, which leads to a much more difficult trip. Odysseus’ inability to be a great leader for the group leads to a lot of conflict among the crew members.
Odysseus Odysseus is able to show Alkinoos how loyal he is by expressing his faithfulness to his wife and town. His goal is to convince Alkinoos that he will be loyal to the people of Skeria if he is granted a ship to send him to Ithica. When Odysseus is telling the Phiakins about his journey, he says, “...I have long been detained by Kalypso, loveliest of all goddesses, who held me in her smooth caves, to be her heart’s delight, as Kirke do Aiaia, the enchantress, desired me, and detained me in her hall. But in my heart I never gave consent.
In the book called The Odyssey by Homer, it mainly follows the story of a king of a village called Ithaca, hundreds of years ago-This man, is named Odysseus. Odysseus goes through many adventures after the victory of the Trojan War. However, this is where Odysseus, is not being as strong as a great war hero and a king as he should be. Although Odysseus was seen as a very strong person, physically and mentally, he lacks the appreciation and the care of his crew throughout the trials and didn’t think through many of his actions thoroughly and how they would affect not only his crew but people around him.
During these situations, Odysseus gains leadership and tactical skills from fighting in the war in Troy, which costs him 10 years of his life and another 10 years of sailing out on the sea from Poseidon 's curse. Odysseus is therefore a heroic and efficient leader because he plans his moves ahead of time and is vigilant at all times to ensure his safety. Yet, though Odysseus possesses these heroic leadership qualities, his arrogance sometimes leads to his downfall and inability to lead. While Odysseus is a little arrogant, he can also be a great leader because he is able to trust his second in command, Eurylochus, and give him more power while he is away. When Odysseus is away from Circe’s island, Odysseus has a change of heart and suddenly wants to go back to Circe’s island to retrieve his crew.
I think Odysseus is not a hero. Most people would say he is but I think this because he is a selfish man and kills people. At first he sounds like an okay person who is a nice man. Wait till you find out what he has done. Odysseus is a very Selfish man.