Homers classic poem features odysseuss encounters with the beautiful nymph calypso. Here, too, is the heros faithful wife, penelope, weaving a shroud by day and unraveling it by night, in order to thwart the numerous suitors attempting to take odysseus s place. Odysseus overdeveloped pride and arrogance led him to act recklessly in book nine of the odyssey. If odysseus hadnt let his feeling of power and pride get to him, he wouldnt have run into as many obstacles. Book 2 optional pay very close attention to the description of the omen of the two eagles that appear to telemachos and the assembled ithakans. The war lasted 10 years, and odysseus journey takes a further 10 years. What are telemachus weaknesses in the odyssey answers. His greed gets him trapped in the cyclops cave, and his pride causes him to reveal his name to the. Sirens lure you to death by their beautiful singing. In this lesson, you learned about all of the characteristics of an epic hero. While we may not consider this a weakness, for odysseus it is. By accusing penelope, antinous tries to get honor on his side.
Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading the voyage of odysseus the adventures of odysseus book 5. 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. English odyssey book 2 questions flashcards quizlet. Odysseus dealt with excessive pride, hubris, throughout this story. Odysseus taunts the cyclops which makes poseidon mad at him etc etc bad things. What are weaknesses displayed by odysseus in the odyssey. Holt literature textbook 9th grade unit 11 the odyssey. As odysseus and his men sail away, however, odysseus again employs questionable judgment, shouting taunts at the wounded monster. Poseidon cursed odysseus and made his journey much harder than in had to be. The events on helios island take place in book 12 of the oddyesy.
It is a good plan, and odysseus is very cunning in his execution of it. The men and odysseus were able to escape the island because of odysseus cleverness. Analyze epic hero create a twocolumn chart to strengths weaknesses analyze odysseus strengths and weaknesses. You then were given information about odysseus strengths and weaknesses. This is shown in an act of hubris in book nine of the odyssey, when odysseus taunts the cyclops polyphemus after blinding him, which leads odysseus to be cursed by poseidon. While odysseus and eumaeus are eating breakfast, telemachus arrives. It follows the ten year journey of odysseus getting home to ithaca from troy. It was he who disguised himself as an old beggar and infiltrated the enemy.
He was said to have helped ajax and diomedes to fend off trojan. Odysseus finally reveals himself, and the suitors become terrified. Now as he spoke the sun set, dusk drew on and they retired, this pair, to the inner cave to revel and rest softly, side by side 5. Weaknesses of odysseus and his crew in the odyssey essay.
Dec 24, 2018 odysseus latin ulixes, ulisses is a main hero of odyssey and main axis of the epic. What is the implication of the description of the suitors as a wolf pack. The greeks were already well aware of his heroism and feats. In the time when this was written ancient greece, would odysseus have been considered unfaithful to his wife. This is shown in an act of hubris in book nine of the odyssey, when odysseus. Strengths are traits that benefit a person and weaknesses are more of a challenge or stepping stone to overcome. Aug 03, 2011 thats a pretty poorly written question as most of the odyssey is up to interpretation. Quizlet flashcards, activities and games help you improve your grades. Strengths and weaknesses of odysseus free essay example. Odysseus stabs the cyclops by having a sharpened tool rammed into his eye so they can escape.
This caused unfortunate scenarios for both odysseus and his men. We learn that poseidon, god of the sea, holds a grudge though we dont know exactly why against odysseus and is making the guys voyage home a pretty difficult one. What are weaknesses displayed by odysseus in the odyssey by. Popular odysseus books meet your next favorite book. The question then is whether, with the end point decided, the path to get there matters at all. Feb 05, 2015 the men and odysseus were able to escape the island because of odysseus cleverness. Telemachus was born just after odysseus left for the trojan war.
Homer opens the odyssey with an invocation to the muse of epic poetry and asks for her guidance in telling the story of a man who has experienced many twists and turns of fate and has suffered many hardships. The poet invokes the muse to help him tell the story of odysseus. When escaping from the cyclops, everything would have gone smoothly for odysseus and his men if odysseus had just kept his mouth shut, rather than bragging about who he was. The voyage of odysseus the adventures of odysseus book 5. Odysseus as a beggar and directs him to the hut of eumaeus,1 his old and faithful swineherd.
Odysseus is a character in homers the odyssey, which is an epic with multiple books or chapters. What dangers are posed by the sirens, scylla, and charybdis. Odysseus on the other hand has romantic relationships with 2 people over his journey. Odysseus s 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. Athena once again asks zeus to assist odysseus, and zeus decides to send hermes to help him break free of his captivity by the lustrous calypso. Odysseus learns how to use his brain instead of his. Odysseus s one flaw in the odyssey is his incessant boasting. In book 9, odysseus describes his adventures with polyphemus, the cyclops. He is the king of ithaca, son of laertes, husband of penelope and father of telemachus.
Odysseus weaknesses that inhibits his strengths were vengeance and prideful. In books 912 of the odyssey, name one of odysseuss strengths and one of his. Summary and analysis book 1 athena inspires the prince. At the end of the book about odysseus escape from the cyclops capture, odysseus takes too much pride in himself and announces his. The suitors are confused and believe this shooting to be an accident.
Ulysses, ulixes, is a legendary greek king of ithaca and the hero of homers epic poem the odyssey. Odysseus showed courage in braving the rough seas, the same courage he showed when he faced the numerous suitors of his wife, penelope. Many would say that odysseus is a good, even great leader, but i disagree. George clooney stars as ulysses everett mcgill odysseus. His greed gets him trapped in the cyclops cave, and his pride causes him to reveal his name to the cyclops, who calls down poseidons wrath. The extra time that it takes odysseus on his homewardbound journey from troy is a direct result of this prideful act. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. Get answers to your odyssey questions like what are weaknesses displayed by odysseus in the odyssey by homer. Odysseus is a good leader because he is clever, brave, and he cares about the men whom he leads. Strengths and weaknesses english 9highmoreharrold hs.
A good example of this is when he taunts the cyclops and is then cursed by poseiden. Odyssey analysis i have recently read the odyssey by homer. There have been many instances where odysseus manifested courage. From the air she walked, taking the form of a tall woman, handsome and clever at her craft, and stood beyond the gate in plain sight of odysseus. As much as odysseus was depicted as a hero, there were times where he struggled horribly and cried. Circe tells odysseus that no one has heard to the song of the sirens and lived. It is what costs him so much loss of time on his way home. Odysseus, the reader is told, is the only greek survivor of the trojan war who. English odyssey book 2 questions study guide by taylorteaster includes 4 questions covering vocabulary, terms and more. Above all, odysseus must battle his own weaknesses. Odysseus has many strengths, such as courage, intelligence, nobility, confidence and ambition. Further, odysseus bravely goes to the underworld to find the prophet, teiresias, who can tell him and his crew how to get home. One of his weaknesses throughout the book is his impulsiveness. Odysseus dealt with weaknesses too including vengeance and excessive pride.
He could have avoided problems with poseidon if he had not told cyclops his name. Learn exactly what happened in this chapter, scene, or section of the odyssey and what it means. In the book the odyssey by homer, the hero odysseus has many humanlike flaws like excessive pride, selfishness, and lack of leadership that gets him and his. What is the problem at odysseus house that athena is trying to solve by advising telemachos. Before the suitors realize what is happening, odysseus shoots a second arrow through the throat of antinous. Odysseuss own men obstruct him often, particularly when they defy his and the gods commands not to kill the cattle of the sun.
Book v shows us that odysseus might not have been so faithful to penelope. He starts to listen to the advices of different people. Similarly, odysseus is fated 1 to suffer and 2 to eventually go home, but his actions along the way are a matter of choice. The odyssey by homer is a metaphor for one mans spiritual quest. In book 9, odysseus greatest weakness as a leader of men has. As menelaus tells telemachus in book 4, it was odysseus legendary ruse of the.
However, for example, after he blinded polyphemus during his escape from the cyclopes island, he boasted loudly about his many deeds in the trojan war. 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. Get an answer for what are odysseus strengths and weaknesses and how do they. The works attributed to homer include the two oldest and greatest european epic poems, the odyssey and iliad. Though odysseus has his strengths he also has his weaknesses. There was no need for him to recount the stories of troy. The next morning, when polyphemus, blind, lets his rams out in the morning, odysseus and his men ride out with them, tucked under their bellies and using the animals as shields. Book 5 opens on mount olympus at another council of the gods. He is also a convincing, articulate speaker and can win over or manipulate his audience with ease. When it comes to intellectual prowess, odysseus demonstrated this strength at different times. Odysseuss one flaw in the odyssey is his incessant boasting.
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