Month: February 2017

In the Odyssey, Homer’s depiction of the father-son relationship reflects the Ancient Greek culture, that the father is an important figure in a young boy’s life. Although Telemachus, Odysseus’s son, never really spent time or experienced his fathers presence, he always looked up to him and fully respected him. Once Athena gave Telemachus an inclination that his father was not dead, he set out and devoted all of his time to go and find out as much information about him as possible. He loved listening to how great of a man his father was, and yearned to be just as great as him. Also, once he knew that there was a possibility that his father would return, he began thinking about ways to regain control of his estate and kicking out all of the suitors who were trying to take over his possessions. On the other hand, Odysseus, who had wasted many years of his life fighting a war, still found himself fighting to make it back home even though about ten years have passed him by. Instead of just giving up on his family back home, he insists on getting back and ruling his land again and being with his loved ones.

In an other scenario, we can see the theme being portrayed through Poseidon and his son Polyphemus. One of the main reasons Odysseus goes through most of the troubles on his voyage back home, is because he stabbed Polyphemus in the eye while he was trapped on his island. Polyphemus then called out to his father, Poseidon, to punish Odysseus. Poseidon, who was very angered by his son being blinded, destroyed Odysseus ship, killing his remaining soldiers, and causing him to land on Calypso’s island where he was pretty much imprisoned by her for years. This proves that the Father-Son relationship is very strong and significant in Homer’s work.

 

 

After going over the text properly I believe that Odysseus is not sure whether he wants to return home or not. Although the author focuses on the fact that Odysseus loves his wife and is loyal to her, I think otherwise. Odysseus is an opportunist. During his stay at the Island of Ogygia with the nymph Calypso, Odysseus did have sexual intercourse with her but still claims himself as loyal. He is an opportunist because he saw that Calypso desires him and he took advantage of that. He wanted to make his stay at the island very pleasant and the only way he could have achieved it was by giving into his sexual desires.

Odysseus shows that he desperately wants to return home but I think that he wouldn’t mind staying in Ogygia forever. He is getting everything he wants. He is being taken care of by a Goddess who wants to make him her immortal husband. What else could someone ask for? I think Homer believes the same thing. He also believes in the fact that Odysseus wouldn’t mind staying with Calypso.

In Ancient Greek, the role of Xenia played a huge role in society. Both the guest and host bore responsibilities. The guest must be courteous and not be a burden. The host must be hospitable to provide food, drink, and shelter. In the Odyssey, there are examples of both good and bad guest-host relationships. A bad example of Xenia was with Polyphemus and the cyclops. Polyphemus was not a good host because he was not hospitable and tried to eat his guests. Odysseus was not a good guest because he killed his host, but this was to save his own life. A good example of Xenia was with the Phaeacians. Odysseus followed Nausicca’s instructions and found Queen Arete. Arete recognized Odysseus’ clothes and investigated further. After Odysseus explained his story, Alcinous was so impressed by him that he offered Odysseus his daughter’s hand in marriage. Alcinous also provided a ship for Odysseus so that he can return home to Ithaca. Afterwards, the Phaeacians threw a feast and celebration of games in honor of their guest.

In my opinion as a reader of Homers great work, I am not convinced that Odyssey wants to return to his home. Odyssey is not only depicted as a hero, but he believes himself to be one too. He is described as a family man who loves his family, but also a hero returning from war with a great need to express his own heroism. As discussed in class, he has hubris and constantly has to state his heroism because of his pride.

As the story moves along, one starts to contemplate whether his expressed wish to return to his family is genuine or not. The great amount of time and obstacles along the way makes one wonder whether he is seeking new adventures or is trying to find his way home. One may even question if Odyssey is making an effort, or is in fact welcoming these obstacles with open arms to prove his worth instead of focusing solely on the journey back to Ithaka.

In my opinion as a reader, Odyssey is indeed a man of many turns (polytropos) and this hinders the reader from truly believing that Odyssey wants to return home. Perhaps this was something that Homer always intended to make the reader feel, as well as making the reader encouraged to follow Odyssey to find out if he will do. To conclude, the constant question of Odyssey doing what he considers to be right and return home, even without him necessarily wanting it, is something the reader will continue to ask throughout the story and it is something one can never fully trust.

Prompt: Is Odysseus or anyone else in The Odyssey a hero? If so, what does this tell us about western ideas of heroism? Do any of these ideas remain in place today or have they changed? If so, how or how not and why or why not?

In my opinion, true hero is someone who can stand up for what is right and who can lead other into right direction even in situation where everyone else remains silence for various reasons. One of the most common reason would be security risk. Sometimes, people lose their jobs, friends and trust among others as a consequence of standing up for righteousness. In this respect, I believe Athena is a true hero in the story. She was a vehicle that enable Odysseus to escape from captivity in Ogygia and encourage Telemakhos to begin his journey to find his father and to oppose to suitors by giving them courage, advise and opportunity. Although she knew that her assistance might provoke a storm of Poseidon’s anger, she led father and son into right direction and motivated them to do the right things. However, unfortunately, there are less true hero in modern world. Fiercer competitions in this dog-eat-dog society put so much burden on individuals to survive and make people not to care about society. We are living in the world where people need only successful outcomes rather than right procedures. This is a generation that whistle blowers, who are brave enough to stand up for what is right, are blamed by majority and must be protected by the law.

I personally do trust in Odysseus’ desire to return home, even though I can see why some readers may think otherwise. Odysseus (and his men) do get placed in some “sticky” situations during his voyage home, and sometimes they make stops that may be unnecessarily long. However, I believe that this showcases the “polytropos” concept that we talked about in class. Yes, Odysseus does have sexual intercourse with Calypso and yes,  Odysseus does have emotional and/or physical relationships with other females (Nausicaa, Circe, etc.) – but Odysseus made the best of every situation he was in. He was just saving himself and tried to use his abilities to get himself out of tight spots. He went on the good sides of people/goddesses that could have hurt him, but chose not to because of Odysseus’ charm and cleverness. At the end of the day, I still believe that Odysseus wants to get home to his wife and son. Otherwise, he would stay with Calypso or just not show an interest in returning.

I also believe that Homer himself trusts in Odysseus’ desire to return home. The reason why there is such a delay in his return is because Homer wants to show his readers how much of a heroic figure Odysseus is. By showing what Odysseus overcomes throughout his journey home, it makes  the readers feel a great sense of relief when he finally makes it home. The stops that Odysseus makes are necessary because they record his journey and showcase his persistence and strength.

The position of Odyssey is characterized by strength, courage and self-confidence. Telemachus is very proud of his father and looking up at him sees the hero, who he wants to be one day in the future. They both proud of each other. However, their relationships have a physical distance which makes them missing each other. Odyssey tries to get home, while Telemachus takes matters into his own hands and goes in search of his father, which makes him stepping into his fathers shoes. Homer shows a deep relationships of ancient Greek society between a father and a son. Despite the fact that they did not see each other for a long time and how many obstacles they faced, they have not lost this deep connection between each other.

I think that Odysseus wanted to return homeland at first time but he changed his mind because of some situations. He did not want to give up his journeys. I feel that he loves his adventures. He might not be ready to go home. So I do not totally trust in Odysseus’s desire to return home. I think Homer felt like Odysseus.