5 weakness of odysseus in book 9

Odysseus could almost always find a way out of difficult situations using his wits. What excerpt from part 2 of the odyssey best establishes odysseuss weakness. Certainly odysseus does grow in wisdom and judgment throughout his ventures. They know how to draw on his insecurities and how to tempt him to come closer. He was a greek hero, the son of anticlea and laertes, a great leader and eloquent speaker. Allusions are made to connect the two epics together. His greed gets him trapped in the cyclops cave, and his pride causes him to reveal his name to the. Eumaeus shows his hospitality by welcoming the stranger, feeding him, and giving him a place to sleep for the night. Everyone fails to string odysseuss bow, except odysseus, who then wins the contest with his. What are weaknesses displayed by odysseus in the odyssey by.

He says oh make me young again and the strength inside me steady as a rock. Chronologically, the odyssey takes place after the iliad since odysseus is on his return trip from the trojan war. 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. While waiting for tiresias, odysseus cuts down the other phantoms that emerge, including elpenor, who had fallen from circes roof. 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. Odysseus wanted to leave, but his men decided to stay and plunder and feast. Get an answer for what is odysseuss weakness in the odyssey. This meant that the suitors who wanted to marry odysseuss wife penelope did not know odysseus was home. 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. This is shown in an act of hubris in book nine of the odyssey, when odysseus. In books 912, odysseus relates to the king his adventures. When escaping from the cyclops, everything would have gone smoothly for.

What do the details in these lines reveal about odysseus feelings. 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. Odysseus offered the giant a quantity of wine from his ship, which gets polyphemus quite drunk. The odyssey books 912 summary and analysis gradesaver. In book 9 of the odyssey, odysseus and his men blind polyphemus. Once polyphemus fell asleep, odysseus blinded him with sharpened staff burning in the fire. In the book, the odyssey by homer, there are many internal and external conflicts that affect odysseus from getting back home to ithaca.

The men and odysseus were able to escape the island because of odysseus cleverness. Although the nurse is laughing, penelope shows no emotion in response to this report. In book fourteen odysseus goes to visit a swineherd named eumaeus at athenas request. One of the swineherds here would lend a wrap now they spurn me, dressed in filthy rags 377. 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. In books 5 of the odyssey, the significance of nostos in odysseus eventual return to ithaca is brought into question. 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. Odysseus does, all the while pretending to be an old beggar. Odysseus has the defining character traits of a homeric leader.

A case of polumetis against the singleminded two eyes give us depth, profundity. Odysseus inquires about the rumors eumaeus has heard of his jouney and decides that this man would make a good ally. Diomedes is for me, besides achilles, the most brave, valiant warrior in the greek formation. Odysseus should have kept his mouth shut because odysseus and his men were in the sea brilliantly. 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. Again, he calls on urania as the muse of christian inspiration to help him complete his work and show the true heroism that lies in the christian idea of sacrifice. Strengths and weaknesses of odysseus free essay example. He wanted to prove to everybody that he was a smart guy. The episode resembles odysseuss encounter with the cyclops, whom he defeats using cunning despite his inferior strength. Featured audio all audio latest this just in grateful dead netlabels old time radio 78 rpms and cylinder recordings. The first flaw of odysseus that causes several setbacks in his endeavor to get back home is hubris excessive pride. Learn exactly what happened in this chapter, scene, or section of the odyssey and what it means.

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. Odysseus is a archetypal hero, he is also a role model, with an ambition to get to his homeland ithaca. In book ten odysseus is still recounting past adventures to the phaecians. What excerpt from part 2 of the odyssey best establishes. Homer alludes multiple times to characters and events from his other epic, the iliad. Because poseidon is god of the sea, offending him caused numerous delays in odysseus sea voyage home. Both characters act in ways that would be frowned upon today, as well as, back in the time of the greeks. In book 9, odysseus greatest weakness as a leader of men. You must consider consequences beyond the immediate. Though odysseus has his strengths he also has his weaknesses.

In the book the odyssey by homer, the hero odysseus has many humanlike flaws like excessive. 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. The monster in the odyssey by odysseus 14 words 5 pages. Odysseus has weaknessesa tendency to give in to temptation, for exampleas well as strengths.

Odysseus strengths and weaknessesthe odyssey by homer is a metaphor for one mans spiritual quest. She immediately answers eurycleia with skepticism and even abuses the old nurse for telling lies 1124. 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. Odysseus is a combination of the selfmade, selfassured man and the. Above all, odysseus must battle his own weaknesses. This is politically significant in this time of war. In the beginning of the journey, he and his men sacked the city of the cicones and carried away many spoils. 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. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. Get answers to your odyssey questions like what are weaknesses displayed by odysseus. He is also a convincing, articulate speaker and can win over or manipulate his audience with ease. In books 912 of the odyssey, name one of odysseuss. Meanwhile the cicones called their neighbors for backup, and the expanded army killed many achaeans before the rest.

Though hephaestus is similarly cunning, his physical weakness disqualifies him from glory, so the gods laugh at him instead of praising him. 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. Everyone encounters their own cyclops a formidable opponent whose weakness is their selfrighteousness. When odysseus meets the sirens in book 12, they immediately sense his presence and knew everything about him. Odysseus names himself and begins telling the story of his long travels after leaving troy. 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. 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. In book 9, odysseus greatest weakness as a leader of men has to do with. Then he ordered his men to bind themselves to the undersides. Between the interactions of odysseus and polyphemus you can see some of the ways both characters break the rules of hospitality. To link to this the odyssey books 1012 summary page, copy the.

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. Homer lets us know right away that odysseus is being held as a willing sex captive on the island of the goddess kalypso. However, along with odysseus heroic qualities, the odyssey also reveals three. What are examples of odysseus weaknesses in the odyssey. Thats why he took credit for poseidons trojan horse, and started the whole odyssey. 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. 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.

Odysseus and his crew sail to the region of the men of winter and, per circes instructions, make a ritual sacrifice for tiresias. However, along with odysseus heroic qualities, the odyssey also reveals three major flaws of his. Perfect for acing essays, tests, and quizzes, as well as for writing lesson plans. Odysseus has flaws and negative character traits like the rest of us, proving that no one in the crib of humanity is perfect.

All of the traits described above exemplify odysseus heroic qualities for which he is known and admired. Strengths and weaknesses english 9highmoreharrold hs. You should be able to cite examples of a few of these in. 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. How odysseus fooled a cyclops the great courses daily. Odysseus promises him a proper sailors burial back on circes island. Yet, just in site of home, his crew, another parallel of their imprudent natures, wait until odysseus is asleep. Thus, odysseus characterizes eumaeuss lending of a cloak as a hospitable charity but also a denial of odysseuss disguise of weakness and old age. Get an answer for in books 912 of the odyssey, name one of odysseuss strengths and one of his weaknesses. After reaching ithaca after having been gone for 20 years, odysseus, with athenas help, disguises himself as an old man. Several themes and scenes from book nine are paralleled in book ten. What is nestors opinion of odysseus in the odyssey. In book 9 odysseus greatest weakness as a leader of men has to do with.

At the end of the book about odysseus escape from the cyclops capture, odysseus takes too much pride in himself and announces his. In this lesson, we will first recap book 20 of the odyssey. Odysseus faced a number of obstacles on his way home from the trojan war that poseidon, god of the sea, placed in his way. Get an answer for what are odysseus strengths and weaknesses and how do they show on helios island. Intelligence, and strength, are both great traits that describe odysseus, and his weaknesses. His one weakness seems to have been pride everything would have gone much smoother if he had just learned to keep his. Odysseus is on the long journey home from taking part in the. Third, and most important, the cyclops polyphemus was the son of poseidon. 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. 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. 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. Although pride can be a good thing, he is claimed to possess too much of it. The odyssey essay guesthost relationships in homers. Odysseus disastrous encounter with the laistrygones is a useful reference point for analyzing the nature of guesthost relationships in the odyssey.