The Journey Of Odysseus Essay Research Paper

The Journey Of Odysseus Essay, Research Paper

The Journey of Odysseus and TelemachosIn The Odyssey written by Homer and translated by Richard Lattimore,several themes are made evident, conceived by the nature of the timeperiod, and customs of the Greek people. These molded and shaped theactual flow of events and outcomes of the poem. Beliefs of thischaracteristic were represented by the sheer reverence towards the godsand the humanities the Greek society exhibited, and are both deeplyrooted within the story. In the intricate and well-developed plot of The Odyssey, Homerharmonized several subjects. One of these, was the quest of Telemachos,(titled “Telemachy”) in correlation with the journey of his father. Inthis, he is developed from a childish, passive, and untested boy, to ayoung man preparing to stand by his fathers side. This is directlyconnected to the voyage of Odysseus, in that they both lead to the samefinale, and are both stepping stones towards wisdom, manhood, andscholarship. Through these voyages certain parallels are drawn concerningOdysseus and Telemachos: the physical journeys, the mental preparationsthey have produced, and what their emotional status has resulted in.These all partake a immense role in the way the story is set up, stemmingfrom the purpose of each character s journey, their personal challenges,and the difficulties that surround them. The story commences when Odysseus, a valiant hero of the Trojan war,journeys back home. Together with his courageous comrades, and a severalvessels, he set sail for his homeland Ithaca. Fated to wander for a fullten years, Odysseus s ships were immediately blown to Thrace by apowerful storm. The expedition had begun. Upon this misfortune, he and his men started a raid on the land ofthe Cicones. However, this only provided them with temporary success. TheCicones had struck back and defeated a vast majority of Odysseus s crew.This was their first of many disastrous experiences to come. Storms then blew his ships to Libya and the land of theLotus-eaters, where the crew was given Lotus fruit from which most losttheir entire memories from home. Odysseus, and the others who had nottasted it, recovered the sailors by force, and set sail again, westward,this time to the island of the Cyclops, a wild race of one-eyed giants.Leaving most of his men in a sheltered cove, Odysseus then entered theisland with one crew only. They wandered around, encountering, andfoolishly entering an immense cave, awaiting the owner. Moments later, aCyclops named Polyphemos, son of Poseidon, entered and pushed a hugebolder covering the entrance to the cave. Upon this, he immediately atetwo sailors, and promised to eat the others in due time. The morningcame, and Polyphemos had promptly eaten two more seamen, against the willof Zeus. Odysseus, soon realized that killing him asleep would do no goodsince the mouth of the cave was still inescapable. The captain had thendevised a new plan. When Polyphemos returned that evening, Odysseusshowered the monster with wine until he had fallen under a drunken spell.Then, with the help of his companions took a sharp pole and rammed itinto his large eye, blinding him instantaneously. As the crew sailed awayinto the vast dimensions of the sea, Odysseus had unwisely revealed hisname in taunting the poor beast, boasting his excessive pride. Polyphemosthen made a prayer to his father, asking to punish the man who had causedhim this harm. Several days later Odysseus and his men arrived at the island ofAeolus, keeper of the winds. There, they stayed for about one month, anddeparted, in sight of the long-awaited Ithaca. However, before they left,Odysseus was presented with a container of winds, carrying each but theneeded West wind. As Ithaca approached, the crew not knowing thecontents of the “skin”, opened it up and released all of the winds,depositing the ships back at the island of Aeolus, who refused to helpthem any further. Setting sail once again, the group headed back west, where they hadcome across the Island of the Laesrtygonians, a savage race of cannibals.Everyone, but Odysseus, lined their ships at the harbor, covered withrocks. The entire party was attacked and eaten by the Laestrygonians, whohad bombarded them with giant boulders. Having but one vessel left, Odysseus sailed his ship to the Island of Dawn, inhabited by thesorceress Circe. A group of men were sent to explore the island, who were then lured,feasted, and the turned to swine by Circe. Knowing this Odysseus wentafter her, and on his way encountered Hermes who gave him a potion towithstand the spell. Circe tried, and then she failed. Odysseus had thenrequested for his crew to be turned back to normal. She complied, andeventually housed Odysseus and his shipmates long enough for him tofather three children. Homesick and distraught, Odysseus was then advisedby Circe to search the underworld for Teiresias, to tell him his fortune,and how to appease Poseidon. Odysseus agreed and made a trip to the underworld, where hediscovered many of his dead companions from Troy, and most importantly,Teiresias. With his new knowledge, he returned to Circe, which hadprovided him with just the information he needed to pass the Sirens. Theythen departed from the island and continued on there journey, earsfilled with wax. What Odysseus was about to encounter next would be a very difficulttask. He needed to direct his ship through a straight, between twocliffs, on one side t