Odysseus Essay Examples

In epic stories, epic heroes are often thought of as the most successful victor that they can possibly be, but this is not always the case. Yes, heroes are strong and smart, but their faults will often lie beneath them, beneath and because of their...

“The classicist Mary Beard opens her book “Women & Power” with a scene out of the Odyssey”, states an article from The Los Angeles Times, where Penelope attempts to approach the suitors who occupy her mansion and her adolescent son, Telemachus, tells her to return...

Despite the fact that all monsters are frequently seen in a negative light, in Homer’s The Odyssey, Odysseus encounters three monsters who each represent a life lesson Odysseus must encounter at some point. As a result, Odysseus changes his ways in life. Calypso, Circe, and...

Some characters seem to have existed forever. Through time, they go through minimal variations but represent the paradigm of the collective imagination. One of these is legendary figure of Ulysses, originally known as Odysseus, which remains one of the most fascinating and controversial of all...

The ripples of calm, still water turn into mountains of engraved waves. The darkness and isolation at sea changes into powerful water crashing down onto the ship. Odysseus and his men are tossed like ragdolls side to side, holding onto what is at reach. With...

Quoting folklorist Alan Dundes, mythology refers to “a story that serves to define the fundamental worldview of a culture by explaining aspects of the natural world and delineating the psychological and social practices and ideals of a society”. As new myths continue to form over...

Epic poems usually include larger than life characters going on a heroic quest to try and defeat the monster, or win the war. The main character mostly carries the attributes and values of classical heroism; a young mighty hero with a sword in hand, battling...

Euripides’ Greek playwright The Women of Troy is a historical tragedy performed to the Athenian audience in the aftermath of the Trojan war, evaluating the atrocities that were instigated by the Greeks. During wartime, a similar event occurred at both places Melos and Troy. The...

Greco-Roman paganism, embodied in the works of Homer and other epic poets, has an inherently tragic vision of humanity’s place in the Cosmos. Unlike the Christian and Enlightenment tradition, which holds that mankind has free will and is master of its own fate, the Greek...

The philosopher Immanuel Kant is well known for his belief that there is ‘radical evil’ within human nature, which means that if given the option between virtue and vice, generally vice will be the predominant state. That is why there are strict laws in place...