Neither character exemplified a favorable guest or host. Nonetheless, if Odysseus didn’t have the desire for kleos, admitting to his achievement of overcoming Polyphemus, “Odysseus the marauder did it”(Homer 139), and if Polyphemus didn’t have the desire for revenge, praying to Poseidon to curse Odysseus, there would be no long and tragic epic. The Odyssey may have ended up as a dull epic where Odysseus returns home promptly with no complications and everyone lives happily ever after. What kind of epic would that be? It wouldn’t compare to the Iliad. The Odyssey would be comparable to the sequel of a movie that’s never as great as the first. Also, Odysseus learns from his experience with Polyphemus by becoming more humble and resisting the desire for kleos. When he finally lands on Ithaca, he does not recognize his homeland. When Athena, dressed as “a young man out herding sheep”(Homer 199), reveals that the unknown land is Ithaca, Odysseus stops himself from revealing his identity and rather makes up a story in hopes to have an upperhand over the suitors(Homer 200). With this advantage, Odysseus is capable of gaining back the power of his home and the hand of his wife. If Odysseus gave in to his yearning for kleos, he may of possibly never been capable of achieving a prosperous
Neither character exemplified a favorable guest or host. Nonetheless, if Odysseus didn’t have the desire for kleos, admitting to his achievement of overcoming Polyphemus, “Odysseus the marauder did it”(Homer 139), and if Polyphemus didn’t have the desire for revenge, praying to Poseidon to curse Odysseus, there would be no long and tragic epic. The Odyssey may have ended up as a dull epic where Odysseus returns home promptly with no complications and everyone lives happily ever after. What kind of epic would that be? It wouldn’t compare to the Iliad. The Odyssey would be comparable to the sequel of a movie that’s never as great as the first. Also, Odysseus learns from his experience with Polyphemus by becoming more humble and resisting the desire for kleos. When he finally lands on Ithaca, he does not recognize his homeland. When Athena, dressed as “a young man out herding sheep”(Homer 199), reveals that the unknown land is Ithaca, Odysseus stops himself from revealing his identity and rather makes up a story in hopes to have an upperhand over the suitors(Homer 200). With this advantage, Odysseus is capable of gaining back the power of his home and the hand of his wife. If Odysseus gave in to his yearning for kleos, he may of possibly never been capable of achieving a prosperous