Odysseus

Odysseus
(As seen on The Odyssey of Homer- Illustration by Emanuel Schongut)

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Odysseus' greatest flaws

Odysseus has three serious personality flaws of having hubris, or excessive pride, of being excessively curious, and having a lack of leadership or vigilance which cause him to prolong his journey, endanger his men, and compromise his relationships.

Page numbers are not going to mesh as my copy is an online version. So here are the descriptions:

The first flaw which Odysseus displays is pride. At the end of the Trojan War, he boldly defies the gods by loudly declaring that he was the sole artisan of his victory and that he didn't receive any help from the gods, when this isn't true since Poseidon sent a sea serpent to kill one of the enemies of Odysseus just before he was going to check the content of the Trojan Horse, which would have gotten him and all his men killed. This pride is a reoccurring element in the plot, since it is also what leads Odysseus to violate his invincibility and to reveal his real name as he leaves Polymachus the Cyclops' island, increasing Poseidon's anger at him, since the Cyclops' are his children.

Another flaw of Odysseus is curiosity. He shows this weakness is when he and his crew are sailing in the sea of the Sirens and, after sticking wax up the ears of all the crew members so they couldn't listen, Odysseus insists upon being attached firmly to the mast just so he could hear the enchanting songs of the mermaids. Although there are no consequences to this particular venture, Odysseus still jeopardizes the crew for satisfaction of his personal motives, a very pernicious thing for a leader.

Furthermore, a third flaw Odysseus manifests is lack of vigilance. This occurs when Odysseus decides to take a solitary walk to sleep for awhile, leaving his starving crew on Helios' island with all the cattle he'd warned them not to touch and of course, they are in the midst of grand celebrities when he comes back, eating, drinking, and are finally enjoying themselves after so long of misery and hunger. 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 has flaws and negative character traits like the rest of us, proving that no one in the crib of humanity is perfect.

25 comments:

  1. Anc.GreekMyth-StudentDecember 7, 2011 at 11:14 AM

    Dude! This is so useful! I'm citing this on my essay! Thanks alot!

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  2. same hereeeeeeeeeeee... jk

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  3. lol man i love you

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  5. I am pretty cool, aren't I?

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  6. this is incredibly helpful :)

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  7. Thanks! This was uber helpful. :)

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  8. thank you! This is useful!

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  9. Thank u! Definately using this on my english project!

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  10. Why Is The Internet Annoying And Not Helpful Im Gonna Look At A Book ^-^

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  11. just nice...... thanks!

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  13. Really helpful thanks man!

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  14. Odysseus had to listen to the siren, he was told to

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  15. and the gods put him to sleep too, the only valid flaw is the first one

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  16. o useful love this gonna quote this in my essay

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