As mystery author Dan Brown said, “No love is greater than that of a father for his son.” In The Odyssey by Homer, father/son relationships play a strong role, the most prominent being Odysseus and Telemachus, Odysseus and Laertes, and Polyphemus and Poseidon. These relationships drive many major parts of the story these relationships display characteristics that the Greeks valued. The Odyssey focuses on these relationships which shows that they are central to the story, and the characteristics that the relationships display are the characteristics that were valued by the Greeks. The father/son relationships between Odysseus and Telemachus, Odysseus and Laertes, and Polyphemus and Poseidon in the Odyssey are very important to the story, and …show more content…
Polyphemus and Poseidon’s relationship is not loving or respectful. Polyphemus doesn’t see Poseidon as a father, and he yells at him to give Odysseus a rough time at sea. Poseidon seems to love Polyphemus, but the relationship is not equally loving. Not many valued characteristics. Odysseus had just blinded Polyphemus and yelled his name at him, and Polyphemus tells Odysseus that he will ask his father to give him a hard time at sea if he does not stay on the island. Polyphemus threatens Odysseus by saying “‘Come back, Odysseus, and I’ll treat you well, praying the god of earthquake to befriend you-his son I am, for he by his avowal fathered me, and, if he will, he may heal me of this black wound-he and no other of all the happy gods or mortal men’” (160, 564-559). Polyphemus wanted to make a deal with Odysseus; he would have his father make Odysseus’ voyage home smooth, and Polyphemus hoped that Poseidon could heal his eye wound. Polyphemus seemed to doubt that his father would help him with his blindness, which shows that their relationship is not close or strong. After Odysseus threatened to kill Polyphemus and says that Poseidon could not help his blindness, Polyphemus prays to his father, saying “‘O hear me, lord, blue girdler of the islands, if I am thine indeed, and thou art father: grant that Odysseus, raider of cities, never sees his home: Laertes’ son, I mean, who kept his hall on Ithaca. Should destiny intend he shall see his roof again among his family in his fatherland, far be that day, and dark the years between. Let him lose all companions, and return under strange sail to bitter days at home.’ In these words he prayed, and the god heard him” (161, 176-186). Polyphemus prayed that Odysseus would have a hard voyage home, and his father heard his request and went through with it. This shows that Poseidon loves Polyphemus and cares for him; he is avenging
1.111-115). Since they broke into his house, Polyphemus wants to devour all of the men, but before he is able to, the men present a fake gift of wine so he gets drunk and falls asleep. After he falls asleep they poke his eye out with a burning stake, and escape by clinging to the bellies of the sheep running out to the pasture. After Odysseus gets into his boat, Polyphemus tries to get revenge by throwing a boulder at the ship, but barely misses because he couldn’t see. Polyphemus was misjudged because he defended himself, and the reader learns that Poseidon was actually his father once Odysseus finds out that Poseidon cursed his voyage.
Odysseus poked out the eye of Polyphemus the cyclops, who is the son of Poseidon. This scene also shows how quick thinking and cunning Odysseus acts in stressful situations. The interaction with Polyphemus and Odysseus gives a better understanding of how Odysseus can lead his men and how his hubris affects other people. “he killed me, with my own accursed wife…”- Book 11, Line 463 2.
While Odysseus and his crew are slowly moving away from Cyclopes Island, Odysseus tells Polyphemus that he is “Odysseus, Laertes’ son,” whose home “lies on Ithaca” (Homer 459 and 460). Because of his arrogant decision to tell Polyphemus the truth of his origins, he essentially dooms him and his crew. Polyphemus, who is Poseidon's son, asks of his father to punish Odysseus for his arrogance, whom grants his prayer. In cessation, Odysseus’ haughty decision to tell Polyphemus his whereabouts leads to his utter
When they get back to the boat and Odysseus yells out to the Cyclopes his name. Which means a harder journey for Odysseus and his men because Polyphemus is Poseidon's son. In this book Odysseus shows his pride when he yells from the boat and almist gets him and his men killed. In the movie Odysseus pride is most shown when he blames her situation solely on his men.
Polyphemus is Poseidon's son, the god of the sea. The way Odysseus used his patience in this case is when he waited two to three days to blind the Cyclops’. Odysseus was so good at this skill he watched Polyphemus eat some of his men one by one each day that passed, yet he was still patient. The longer he waited and had patience the better the plan went. This also worked with the Trojan horse at the battle of Troy.
After he successfully exits the cave by blinding the cyclopes, he and his surviving men board the ship. As a result of his pride, he calls out to the monster, "If anyone asks who put out your eye, tell them it was Odysseus of Ithaca!”(Hinds 109). Considering the fact Polyphemus is the son of Poseidon, the cyclops calls out to him and therefore starts the troublesome voyage for Odysseus back home. When he returns to Ithaca he learns to control his hubris by replacing it with patience. Athena, the goddess of war and strategy, disguises Odysseus as a beggar because it is wisest to arrive in Ithaca without anyone being able to recognize him.
The cyclops Polyphemus effectively sets up the entire plot of Homer’s Odyssey, unleashing Poseidon’s wrath on Odysseus and consequently emerging as one of his most formidable rivals. Despite being perceived by Odysseus as an uncivilized savage and the polar opposite of a Greek citizen, it becomes evident that although the two are opposed in terms of customs, they fundamentally resemble one another when analyzed through the lens of xenia, rendering Odysseus’ worldview xenophobic. Thus, the Polyphemus episode turns into a powerful allegory for how the West has traditionally viewed people from foreign cultures that they sought to subjugate. Odysseus regards Polyphemus as inferior because of behavior that he sees as uncivilized when compared to
Odysseus blinds and taunts the Cyclops Polyphemus, which leads to Polyphemus praying to his father, Poseidon, to curse Odysseus. The curse bestowed upon Odysseus by Poseidon is mentioned in book 9 lines 445-451 of The
The third time Odysseus shows that he had supernatural conflict is in the cyclops adventure, and it was caused by Odysseus and his crew, who tricked the cyclops many times. In the Odyssey, it states that Odysseus taunts at Polyphemus, and reveals his real name after Odysseus injured Polyphemus, and tricked him, which enraged him. After Polyphemus about Odysseus, he requested from his father, Poseidon, the god of sea, to curse Odysseus, and ask for revenge on Odysseus and his crew. As the results, Poseidon alternated the ocean’s courses during the journey
Homer delivers very universal themes, such as loyalty is respected, but the epic also provides meaningful themes that are not as recognizable. The Odyssey is very focused on leadership and courage, as it centers on a hero's journey. There are many parts in the epic where Homer explains the actions of an admirable leader. In the Odyssey, Odysseus exemplifies the true meaning of being a leader through courage in the face of danger, which is shown by Circe, the Sirens, and the suitors. One might wonder why it takes Odysseus ten years to return to his homeland after he has achieved victory for Ithaca in the Trojan War.
Fathers are some of the most influential people there will ever be; they teach you some of the basic rules of life, they show you how to act, they lead you when you don’t know what to do. But what happens when you grow up without a father? In The Odyssey, written by Homer, we follow the story of a man who, on the day of his son’s birth, was forced to go to war. Odysseus was gone for a painstakingly long 20 years, and during that time, Telemachus grew up watching his mother struggle. As the queen of Ithaca, Penelope had many suitors fighting for her hand: the king was gone and they took control.
We are proud of the love we give and receive, for our children and the habits, emotional responses, obligations and values that we teach them. In The Odyssey, Odysseus is no different and the importance of his family is demonstrated as he weeps tears of sadness in their absence and rejects Calypso’s offer of immortality in exchange for his companionship. “‘My lady goddess, here is no cause for anger. My quiet Penelope—how well I know—would seem a shade before your majesty, death
In The Odyssey, Homer emphasizes the significance that similarities between fathers and sons can have: “Never, anywhere, have I seen so great a likeness in man or woman-but it is truly strange! This boy must be the son of Odysseus, Telémachus, the child he left at home that year the Akhaian host made war on Troy” (Homer 57). This talks about the similarity between Odysseus and Telémachus. Offspring often model their parents in looks and character traits. Although Odysseus goes through extremely dangerous and taxing situations, he is often thinking of his family.
Parent-child relationships are very prevalent in works of literature especially in the pieces written in Ancient Greece and Rome. Some examples of these are the works we have read in class such as the Iliad, the Odyssey, the Electra plays, and Aristophanes’ the Clouds. Although mother-daughter relationships are important throughout each of these works; father-son relationships are even more so. The father-son relationship is one of the most important aspects of these societies especially in the Odyssey written by Homer. The significance of all of the father-son relationships depicted in the Odyssey itself is for the purpose of exploiting its themes of family, xenia and tradition.
Surya Govindaswaami Vidya Madavan English A HL 3 May 2016 The Influence of Divine Intervention on the Portrayal of Fate and Free Will in The Odyssey by Homer The Odyssey is not only considered one of the most prolific mythological epics of all time, but one of the greatest texts written by man. It recounts the arduous journey of the war hero Odysseus, in which he faced a multitude of adversities and obstacles that he had to overcome, as well as numerous challenges upon his arrival.