Odysseus

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Slide 7

 

Fortunately……

Odysseus also has the help of the gods at times. In the beginning of the epic, Athena represents Odysseus favorably to the other gods at council meetings. Ultimately, Zeus helps Odysseus rule peacefully once he finally arrives home.

Of course, the gods are not always pleased. Poseidon makes Odysseus’s journey a true test of his wit and valor.

Slide 8

 

What else?

Odysseus is also an aristocrat. He is a member of the ruling class who seeks to recapture his “rightful” place after his long years away at war. He returns to one last battle in which he takes revenge on interlopers…rude, crass suitors for his wife’s affections and possessions…and reasserts his claim to his palace, a beautiful wife and a loyal son to be his proper heir.

Slide 9

 

A few notes on his atypical status….

Yes, like most classic heroes, Odysseus must prove himself again and again and again, and the perceptions others have of him are of vital importance to his heroic stature, but………

Slide 10

 

Unlike heroes such as Beowulf who search out the dragon and the danger….

Odysseus is always willing to find another way around the danger if possible. He doesn’t run, but he is willing to hide…behind disguises, behind well-timed silences, amongst sheep and at a dinner table. (Oh, yes! Odysseus loves to eat!)

Slide 11

 

As with many tragic heroes, Odysseus has faults that lead to disaster. Unlike tragic heroes, Odysseus is able to use his conniving to escape the ultimate price others have to pay for his mistakes.

Slide 12

 

Odysseus has a voracious appetite and a mortal’s weakness for comfort.

He wastes valuable time from his “nostos,” or journey home, on Calypso’s island where he indulges in sex, food and a basically hedonistic lifestyle. When he finally misses the excitement of activity and glory, he politely leaves for home.

He wants to colonize the Cyclops’ island. When he and his men are trapped and in severe danger of being eaten down to the last man, Odysseus thinks of a clever ruse to escape the monster. Just before he and his men are truly free of the beast, his appetite for fame makes him careless and he reveals his name. By doing this, he earns Poseidon’s wrath.