How will odysseus repay the hospitality shown by alcinous. But he cant keep up the charade for long, and during a performance of a song about the trojan war, odysseus is unable to hold back his. What are weaknesses displayed by odysseus in the odyssey by. You must consider consequences beyond the immediate. His one weakness seems to have been pride everything would have gone much smoother if he had just learned to keep his. In books 912, odysseus relates to the king his adventures. He asks his father poseidon to destroy odysseus and his ships, or at least make sure that odysseus, if he makes it home, gets there all alone and finds trouble awaiting him there. The men and odysseus were able to escape the island because of odysseus cleverness.
Odysseus can but regret and lament at their fate, knowing he is the indirect cause of their death, since the rest of the crew would never have followed eurymachus, another crew member, in his folly had he been present. Odysseus does, all the while pretending to be an old beggar. The theme of hospitality that began book nine also begins book ten on aeolia, domain of the wind king aeolus who takes pity on odysseus and gives him a bag of winds, perhaps an appropriate gift for the tactician. Odysseus is a combination of the selfmade, selfassured man and the. At the beginning of book 23, eurycleia goes to the womens quarters to tell her mistress that odysseus has returned and has killed the suitors 5 9. In book ten odysseus is still recounting past adventures to the phaecians. The monster in the odyssey by odysseus 14 words 5 pages. A case of polumetis against the singleminded two eyes give us depth, profundity.
Odysseus has flaws and negative character traits like the rest of us, proving that no one in the crib of humanity is perfect. His greed gets him trapped in the cyclops cave, and his pride causes him to reveal his name to the. This is shown in an act of hubris in book nine of the odyssey, when odysseus. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. Physical strength apart from odysseus traits, he also possessed strength of body. Diomedes is for me, besides achilles, the most brave, valiant warrior in the greek formation. He wanted to prove to everybody that he was a smart guy. One example is in book 9, his main obstacle that he is trying to face is to escape from being held hostage in a cave by a cyclops better known as polyphemus. In the beginning of the journey, he and his men sacked the city of the cicones and carried away many spoils. Years after the end of the trojan war, the greek hero odysseus still hasnt come home to ithaka. He was able to steer a boat all by himself while passing. In book 9, odysseus greatest weakness as a leader of men. The episode resembles odysseuss encounter with the cyclops, whom he defeats using cunning despite his inferior strength. Odysseus wanted to leave, but his men decided to stay and plunder and feast.
All of the traits described above exemplify odysseus heroic qualities for which he is known and admired. This meant that the suitors who wanted to marry odysseuss wife penelope did not know odysseus was home. Featured audio all audio latest this just in grateful dead netlabels old time radio 78 rpms and cylinder recordings. After leaving the cyclops, the men travel to the islands of aeolus, the god of winds, who gives odysseus a bag containing all of the bad winds so that his journey will send him directly to ithaca. When it is compared with his arrivals at the lands of the phaiakians and the hands of the cyclopes, a fuller picture of odysseus and the customs of his time emerges. Everyone encounters their own cyclops a formidable opponent whose weakness is their selfrighteousness. In book fourteen odysseus goes to visit a swineherd named eumaeus at athenas request. In the book the odyssey by homer, the hero odysseus has many humanlike flaws like excessive.
What are examples of odysseus weaknesses in the odyssey. Our first encounter with odysseus confirms what we have already learned about him from menelauss and helens accounts of his feats during the trojan war and what homers audience would already have known. Though odysseus has his strengths he also has his weaknesses. Then he ordered his men to bind themselves to the undersides. In this lesson, we will first recap book 20 of the odyssey. Odysseus offered the giant a quantity of wine from his ship, which gets polyphemus quite drunk. Certainly odysseus does grow in wisdom and judgment throughout his ventures. What do the details in these lines reveal about odysseus feelings. When escaping from the cyclops, everything would have gone smoothly for. Thats why he took credit for poseidons trojan horse, and started the whole odyssey.
When odysseus meets the sirens in book 12, they immediately sense his presence and knew everything about him. Strengths and weaknesses of odysseus free essay example. List the ten story elements that are common to all stories of a heros journey, such as star wars, the lion king, the wizard of oz, or the odyssey. In the prologue to book ix, milton says that his work must now take a tragic tone and that this christian epic, though different, is nonetheless more heroic than earlier epics like the iliad and the aeneid. Several themes and scenes from book nine are paralleled in book ten. The first flaw of odysseus that causes several setbacks in his endeavor to get back home is hubris excessive pride. What excerpt from part 2 of the odyssey best establishes odysseuss weakness. Odysseus strengths and weaknessesthe odyssey by homer is a metaphor for one mans spiritual quest. In book 9, odysseus greatest weakness as a leader of men has to do with. Yet, just in site of home, his crew, another parallel of their imprudent natures, wait until odysseus is asleep. Perfect for acing essays, tests, and quizzes, as well as for writing lesson plans. While odysseus clearly longs for his homecoming when we are introduced to him, he is held back not only by the perils he faces in his journey, but by the consequences of his own hubris and. Everyone fails to string odysseuss bow, except odysseus, who then wins the contest with his. Allusions are made to connect the two epics together.
Meanwhile the cicones called their neighbors for backup, and the expanded army killed many achaeans before the rest. He was a greek hero, the son of anticlea and laertes, a great leader and eloquent speaker. Odysseus promises him a proper sailors burial back on circes island. Get an answer for in books 912 of the odyssey, name one of odysseuss strengths and one of his weaknesses. However, along with odysseus heroic qualities, the odyssey also reveals three major flaws of his. Eumaeus shows his hospitality by welcoming the stranger, feeding him, and giving him a place to sleep for the night. Chronologically, the odyssey takes place after the iliad since odysseus is on his return trip from the trojan war. Though hephaestus is similarly cunning, his physical weakness disqualifies him from glory, so the gods laugh at him instead of praising him. However, along with odysseus heroic qualities, the odyssey also reveals three. Odysseus faced a number of obstacles on his way home from the trojan war that poseidon, god of the sea, placed in his way. He is also a convincing, articulate speaker and can win over or manipulate his audience with ease. Book 1 book 2 book 3 book 4 book 5 book 6 book 7 book 8 book 9 book 10 book 11 book 12 book book 14 book 15 book 16 book 17 book 18 book 19 book 20 book 21 book 22 book 23 book 24 themes all themes fate, the gods, and free will piety, customs, and justice cunning, disguise, and selfrestraint memory and grief glory and honor.
Odysseus has weaknessesa tendency to give in to temptation, for exampleas well as strengths. Both characters act in ways that would be frowned upon today, as well as, back in the time of the greeks. This is politically significant in this time of war. Odysseus has the defining character traits of a homeric leader. Odysseus disastrous encounter with the laistrygones is a useful reference point for analyzing the nature of guesthost relationships in the odyssey. After the end of the war, odysseus was standing on a cliff, overlooking the sea, praising himself for his cunning in fooling the trojans with the. Although the nurse is laughing, penelope shows no emotion in response to this report. But odysseus has given the cyclops enough information to call down upon him and his men a curse, and that is exactly what he does. Above all, odysseus must battle his own weaknesses. How odysseus fooled a cyclops the great courses daily. To link to this the odyssey books 1012 summary page, copy the. Homer alludes multiple times to characters and events from his other epic, the iliad.
Odysseus could almost always find a way out of difficult situations using his wits. In the book, the odyssey by homer, there are many internal and external conflicts that affect odysseus from getting back home to ithaca. Because poseidon is god of the sea, offending him caused numerous delays in odysseus sea voyage home. They know how to draw on his insecurities and how to tempt him to come closer. After reaching ithaca after having been gone for 20 years, odysseus, with athenas help, disguises himself as an old man. Odysseus inquires about the rumors eumaeus has heard of his jouney and decides that this man would make a good ally. Get an answer for what is odysseuss weakness in the odyssey. Odysseus and his crew sail to the region of the men of winter and, per circes instructions, make a ritual sacrifice for tiresias. Odysseus names himself and begins telling the story of his long travels after leaving troy. What is nestors opinion of odysseus in the odyssey. Odysseus is a archetypal hero, he is also a role model, with an ambition to get to his homeland ithaca.
Get an answer for what are odysseus strengths and weaknesses and how do they show on helios island. In book 9, odysseus describes his adventures with polyphemus, the cyclops. Intelligence, and strength, are both great traits that describe odysseus, and his weaknesses. At the end of the book about odysseus escape from the cyclops capture, odysseus takes too much pride in himself and announces his. She immediately answers eurycleia with skepticism and even abuses the old nurse for telling lies 1124. Odysseus is on the long journey home from taking part in the. Third, and most important, the cyclops polyphemus was the son of poseidon. Odysseuss quick thinking helps him out of some very tough situations, as when he escapes from the cave of the cyclops in book 9, or when he hides his slaughter of the suitors by having his minstrel strike up a wedding tune in book 23. Although pride can be a good thing, he is claimed to possess too much of it. Once polyphemus fell asleep, odysseus blinded him with sharpened staff burning in the fire.
The odyssey books 912 summary and analysis gradesaver. While waiting for tiresias, odysseus cuts down the other phantoms that emerge, including elpenor, who had fallen from circes roof. You should be able to cite examples of a few of these in. The odyssey essay guesthost relationships in homers. Three times and four times happy those danaans were who died then in wide troy land, bringing favor to the sons of atreus, as i wish i too had died at that time and met my destiny on the day when the greatest number of trojans threw their bronzeheaded weapons upon me, over the body of perished achilleus, and i. Homer lets us know right away that odysseus is being held as a willing sex captive on the island of the goddess kalypso. In books 912 of the odyssey, name one of odysseuss.
One of the swineherds here would lend a wrap now they spurn me, dressed in filthy rags 377. In books 5 of the odyssey, the significance of nostos in odysseus eventual return to ithaca is brought into question. Learn exactly what happened in this chapter, scene, or section of the odyssey and what it means. In book 9 odysseus greatest weakness as a leader of men has to do with. 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. Strengths and weaknesses english 9highmoreharrold hs. Odysseus learns how to use his brain instead of hishands. Between the interactions of odysseus and polyphemus you can see some of the ways both characters break the rules of hospitality. His selfcontrol while dealing with the suitors insults is exemplary and contrasts, for example, with his earlier irresistible urge to announce his name to the cyclops in book 9. Odysseus should have kept his mouth shut because odysseus and his men were in the sea brilliantly. Thus, odysseus characterizes eumaeuss lending of a cloak as a hospitable charity but also a denial of odysseuss disguise of weakness and old age. He says oh make me young again and the strength inside me steady as a rock. When diomedes i don know the translated name ran to fought againt all the fuck1n troy, even against hector, odysseus was one of the cowards who ran away.