Odysseus’ name means “trouble” in Greek, referring to both the giving and receiving of trouble—as is often the case in his wanderings. An early example of this is the previously mentioned boar hunt, in which Odysseus is injured by the boar and responds by killing it. Odysseus' heroic trait is his mētis, or "cunning intelligence": he is often described as the "Peer of Zeus in Counsel." This intelligence is most often manifested by his use of disguise and deceptive speech. His disguises take forms both physical (altering his appearance) and verbal, such as telling the Cyclops Polyphemus that his name is Ουτις, "Noman", then escaping after blinding Polyphemus. When asked by other Cyclopes why he is screaming, Polyphemus replies that "No man" is hurting him, so the others assume that, "If alone as you are [Polyphemus] none uses violence on you, why, there is no avoiding the sickness sent by great Zeus; so you had better pray to your father, the lord Poseidon". The most evident flaw that Odysseus sports is that of his arrogance and his pride, or hubris. As he sails away from the island of the Cyclopes, he shouts his name and boasts that no one can defeat the "Great Odysseus". The Cyclops then throws the top half of a mountain at him and prays to his father, Poseidon, saying that Odysseus has blinded him. This enrages Poseidon, causing the god to thwart Odysseus' homecoming for a very long time.
Odysseus
(As seen on The Odyssey of Homer- Illustration by Emanuel Schongut)
Thursday, December 8, 2011
BOOK XIX
"Now great Odysseus stil remained in the hall, pondering how, with the help of Athene, he would murder the suitors."
Clearly, Odysseus is not just a kind and trusting man, but ruthless and quick for revenge. This was seen before during BOOK IX, when Odysseus blatantly yells out his name, flaunting his apparent immortality. He sought to anger Polyphemos, confident in his escape.
While it may be dangerous, he is 'Odysseus' favored of the grey-eyed Goddess Athene. He is overly confident. There is no hesitation in his thoughts as to the fact that he WILL kill the suitors, he merely ponders how.
Clearly, Odysseus is not just a kind and trusting man, but ruthless and quick for revenge. This was seen before during BOOK IX, when Odysseus blatantly yells out his name, flaunting his apparent immortality. He sought to anger Polyphemos, confident in his escape.
While it may be dangerous, he is 'Odysseus' favored of the grey-eyed Goddess Athene. He is overly confident. There is no hesitation in his thoughts as to the fact that he WILL kill the suitors, he merely ponders how.
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Odysseus' Family Tree
Chione + Hermes
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Chalcomedusa + Arcisius ? + Autolycus
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Laertes + Anticlea Periboea + Icarius
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Odysseus + Penelope
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Telemachus + Circe
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Latinus
*May contain minor discrepancies depending upon translation.
(http://www.musesrealm.net/familytrees/odysseus.html)
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Chalcomedusa + Arcisius ? + Autolycus
| |
| |
Laertes + Anticlea Periboea + Icarius
| |
| |
Odysseus + Penelope
|
|
Telemachus + Circe
|
|
Latinus
*May contain minor discrepancies depending upon translation.
(http://www.musesrealm.net/familytrees/odysseus.html)
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.
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.
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