In the Odyssey, Odysseus was a very noble man. One of the many things he struggled with was being humble. Odysseus must grasp humility to return back home. Multiple times the gods tried to teach Odysseus to be humble along his journey. Some examples of times the gods tried to teach Odysseus to be humble was when he tried to escape the Cyclops cave, when his men ate the cows of the sun god, and when Penelope had to keep suitors back.
The gods attempted to teach Odysseus to be humble when he was at the land of the Cyclops. At the land of the Cyclops, Odysseus was in an arduous situation. He had to seek wisdom from Athena. Athena devised a plan for Odysseus to escape the cave. After the plan had succeeded, Odysseus’s arrogance came …show more content…
Odysseus and his men were at the land of the sun god and they had little food. The sun god, Helios had his cattle all across his land. Odysseus went to pray to the gods for hope and left his men unattended. While Odysseus was gone his men ate some of Helios’s cattle. After Helios found out about this he cried out to Zeus and said “ O father Zeus and gods in bliss forever, punish Odysseus men…” (Homer, 1012, 1013, ll. 910) Then Zeus said with pity “ Peace, Helios: shine among the gods, shine over mortals in the fields of grain. Let me throw down one white-hot bolt, and make splinters of their ship in the winedark sea…” (Homer, 1013, ll. 915) It is conspicuous that this delayed Odysseus’s return to Ithaca. I believe Odysseus learns his lesson when he is floating on what is left of his ship. Therefore, Odysseus’s selfishness cost him his ship. He went and prayed to the gods for himself and left his men forsakened. Odysseus’s men eating Helios’s cattle is a strong example of the gods teaching him to be …show more content…
Penelope, Odysseus’s wife never believed that Odysseus had died. Consequently, Penelope had to make up reasons on why she could not marry the suitors. Because of Odysseus’s arrogance Penelope had to suffer. Penelope knew it was time to pick a suitor although in her heart she was not willing to. Penelope determined to make a close to impossible task for her suitors. Penelope gathered all the suitors and said “ “ Stand up then: we now declare a contest for that prize. Here is my lord Odysseus’s hunting bow. Bend and string it if you can. Who sends an arrow through iron ax-helve sockets, twelve in a line? I join life with his, and leave this place, my home, my rich and beautiful-bridal house forever to be remembered, though I dream it only.”” (Homer, 782, 783, ll 1665, 1670) Athena turned Odysseus into a beggar to see if his wife was true to him. I think Odysseus realizes that his decisions affect people and that he needs to be humble to be able to turn back into a regular man. This affects his return to Ithaca because until he learns to be humble and realize that the gods helped him he will not be able to turn back into himself. Odysseus finally is able to turn back into a regular man when he completes Penelope’s challenging task. Odysseus finally learned to be humble and has returned
The gods attempted to teach Odysseus to be humble when he was at the land of the Cyclops. At the land of the Cyclops, Odysseus was in an arduous situation. He had to seek wisdom from Athena. Athena devised a plan for Odysseus to escape the cave. After the plan had succeeded, Odysseus’s arrogance came …show more content…
Odysseus and his men were at the land of the sun god and they had little food. The sun god, Helios had his cattle all across his land. Odysseus went to pray to the gods for hope and left his men unattended. While Odysseus was gone his men ate some of Helios’s cattle. After Helios found out about this he cried out to Zeus and said “ O father Zeus and gods in bliss forever, punish Odysseus men…” (Homer, 1012, 1013, ll. 910) Then Zeus said with pity “ Peace, Helios: shine among the gods, shine over mortals in the fields of grain. Let me throw down one white-hot bolt, and make splinters of their ship in the winedark sea…” (Homer, 1013, ll. 915) It is conspicuous that this delayed Odysseus’s return to Ithaca. I believe Odysseus learns his lesson when he is floating on what is left of his ship. Therefore, Odysseus’s selfishness cost him his ship. He went and prayed to the gods for himself and left his men forsakened. Odysseus’s men eating Helios’s cattle is a strong example of the gods teaching him to be …show more content…
Penelope, Odysseus’s wife never believed that Odysseus had died. Consequently, Penelope had to make up reasons on why she could not marry the suitors. Because of Odysseus’s arrogance Penelope had to suffer. Penelope knew it was time to pick a suitor although in her heart she was not willing to. Penelope determined to make a close to impossible task for her suitors. Penelope gathered all the suitors and said “ “ Stand up then: we now declare a contest for that prize. Here is my lord Odysseus’s hunting bow. Bend and string it if you can. Who sends an arrow through iron ax-helve sockets, twelve in a line? I join life with his, and leave this place, my home, my rich and beautiful-bridal house forever to be remembered, though I dream it only.”” (Homer, 782, 783, ll 1665, 1670) Athena turned Odysseus into a beggar to see if his wife was true to him. I think Odysseus realizes that his decisions affect people and that he needs to be humble to be able to turn back into a regular man. This affects his return to Ithaca because until he learns to be humble and realize that the gods helped him he will not be able to turn back into himself. Odysseus finally is able to turn back into a regular man when he completes Penelope’s challenging task. Odysseus finally learned to be humble and has returned