How does Odysseus escape Polyphemus? Why does Odysseus kill the suitors? How does Penelope test Odysseus? What is happening at the beginning of The Odyssey? Why does Athena help Odysseus so much? Why does Nestor invite Telemachus to the feast before knowing his identity? Why does Calypso allow Odysseus to leave her island? Why does Odysseus sleep with Circe?
Why does Odysseus travel to Hades? Why does Odysseus fail to reveal his identity to Penelope when they are first reunited?
Does Penelope really intend to marry one of her suitors? How do Odysseus and Telemachus defeat the suitors? Characters Character List. Odysseus The protagonist of The Odyssey. Read an in-depth analysis of Odysseus.
Read an in-depth analysis of Telemachus. Penelope Wife of Odysseus and mother of Telemachus. Read an in-depth analysis of Penelope. Athena Daughter of Zeus and goddess of wisdom, purposeful battle, and the womanly arts. Read an in-depth analysis of Athena. Calypso The beautiful nymph who falls in love with Odysseus when he lands on her island-home of Ogygia.
Read an in-depth analysis of Calypso. Read an in-depth analysis of Circe. During their experience they met a cyclops named Polyphemus. The people involved in this catastrophe were Odysseus,his men, and Polyphemus. Their main reason for wanting to flee this place was because of poor hospitality and they were eventually gonna be eaten by Polyphemus, which had previously eaten a variety of Odysseus men. What they did to escape the Cyclopes cave was get Polyphemus drunk and later on when he fell asleep they stabbed him with a 6 foot Olive Wood Spear.
In the story The Odyssey, Odysseus males many allies and enemies while trying to get back home. For the past ten years, Odysseus has been facing obstacles such as monsters, vengeful gods, and living god 's while traveling back home.
For another ten years, Odysseus was stuck in the war against the Trojans who lost. On the way home, Odysseus has been tested on his ability to survive and be a good hero. Odysseus, the great hero, does not make a physical appearance in the odyssey until the fifth book. The author may have done this for multiple reasons. One reason may have been to create such a suspense that keeps the readers interested in reading the book.
Sons of great heroes and gods were expected to take after their fathers, so Telemachus took on this journey as his father would have. Odysseus one of the greatest Greek heroes of the ancient world. The myths of Odysseus are told before and after the Trojan War. Although he is self-disciplined refusing to eat the lotus , his curiosity is sometimes the root of his trouble as with the Cyclops.
He is willing to pay a price for knowledge; for example, he insists on hearing the Sirens' call, even though to do so, he must have himself excruciatingly strapped to the mast of his ship so that he cannot give in to the temptation. Odysseus can be merciful, as when he spares the bard Phemius, or brutal, as he seems when dealing with the dozen disloyal maidservants. He creates his own code of conduct through his adventures. He is deeper than Achilles, more contemplative, but still capable of explosive violence; he is almost certainly more interesting.
It is easy to see why some critics like to call him the first "modern man. Victory motivates Odysseus. He wants to return home and live well in Ithaca; as a result, every step along the way is another test, sometimes, another battle.
His concern with victory is also cultural, as well as practical. In Homer's world, where there are no police or justice systems, might usually makes right. The strong prevail. Odysseus often has only two choices: death or victory. Even when Athena intervenes on his behalf, she often leaves ultimate success or failure up to Odysseus. At the beginning of the epic, she appears to Telemachus as Mentes, king of the Taphians, an old friend of his father who has just stopped to visit in Ithaca.
This allows her to encourage the prince and lead him into an expository discussion of the problems in the palace. However, she most famously appears to Telemachus as Mentor, an Ithacan adviser who helps to protect the prince from the murderous suitors and to guide him through his coming of age. On several occasions, Athena changes Odysseus' appearance, either to disguise him or make him look even more formidable than he normally would.
As Odysseus prepares for a banquet in his honor with the Phaeacians 8. When Odysseus returns to Ithaca in Book 13 of The Odyssey , Athena disguises him as an old beggar, even going so far as to shrivel his skin, remove the "russet curls" Of course, Odysseus is no stranger to disguise. During the Trojan War, he posed as a beggar to enter the city; he also initiated the ruse of the giant wooden horse filled with Greek soldiers, a story retold by the bard Demodocus, not realizing that the hero himself is present, during the visit to Phaeacia 8.
The recognition scenes with Odysseus' three family members on Ithaca provide significant and sometimes controversial twists on the theme of appearance vs. He appears to his son, Telemachus, as a beggar who is visiting the family's pig farm. When they can be alone, Athena alters Odysseus' appearance to something so impressive that the prince wonders if he might not be a god.
At the palace, the faithful nurse Eurycleia privately identifies Odysseus when she recognizes a scar on his leg as she bathes him; however, she vows to keep the news to herself.
Whether Penelope recognizes her husband, on the other hand, is a matter of dispute. Although at times she seems to suspect who he is, she does not officially accept him — though he wins the contest of the giant bow Book 21 and slays the suitors Book 22 — until he reveals his knowledge of their wedding bed. The meeting between Odysseus and his father, Laertes, Book 24 is also somewhat controversial. Some critics argue that Odysseus, in maintaining his disguise, is needlessly cruel to the old man; others conclude that he helps to restore his father to dignity.
Athena admires Odysseus' craft and guile, saying that even a god would have to be "some champion lying cheat" Deception, illusion, lying and trickery often are thought to be admirable traits in The Odyssey. Athena enjoys them. It's easy to see why Odysseus is her favorite mortal. One of the questions often asked about a work of literature is whether the principal characters grow or develop as the story progresses. The theme of spiritual growth is central to The Odyssey , especially as it relates to Telemachus and Odysseus.
When the epic opens, Telemachus is at a loss as to how to deal with the suitors who have taken over his home and seek the hand of his mother in marriage for primarily political reasons.
His own life is in danger; as a pretender to the crown, he is nothing more than so much excess baggage to the men who would be king. Telemachus needs to grow up fast. He faces various barriers, falters temporarily, but eventually prevails. With Athena's help, Telemachus calls an assembly meeting of Ithaca's leaders and confronts the suitors.
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