... Odysseus reaches Ithaca to reclaim his title of King. The success of his journey has led several to argue whether or not Odysseus is an epic hero. An epic hero is someone who does not possess supernatural powers, embodies the goals and virtues of an entire nation or culture, is faithful to family, country, and gods and goddesses, is brave, intelligent, and physically ... strong. Odysseus proves he is an epic hero throughout the Odyssey, and especially shows his intelligence, lack of super powers, and extreme bravery. Throughout ... him out and kill him before he had a chance to return ...

• Word Count: 1091
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... these sacred customs and have disrespected him and his station. They are not only trying to steal his wife and murder his child, but also they have consumed a great deal of his livestock and other products. These guests have overstepped their bounds in the sacred trust between host and visitor and should be punished. Not only have they disrespected Odysseus, but they ... would return and claim this vengeance. Over the course of the piece, several prophecies are made on Odysseus" return and that the day of reckoning for the suitors would come soon. These men who were supposedly loyal to ...

• Word Count: 473
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

... and came down to throw her arms around her son" (Homer p.432). This adds to the glorification of women in The Odyssey. The beautiful Nausicaa is also hailed as a goddess. "Daughter of great Alcinous, Nausicaa, may Zeus the lord of thunder, Hera's consort; grant me daybreak again in my own country! But there and all my days until I die may I invoke you as I would a goddess ... , princess, to whom I owe my life" (Homer p.307). Odysseus prays to her as he would a god and she is a mortal and no god-like power. The women in The Odyssey are never presented as individuals, but as dependents. Th...

• Word Count: 747
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... and himself, to come home and find his friends trying to covet his wife. The only feeling I can imagine describing this is betrayal. I found this quote on a website about Vietnam vets and the question asks to the vet was: What was the worst thing about Vietnam? Having my old friends from high school telling me ... was and how wrong we "baby killers" were - that hurt! By far, this was the worse thing about being in Nam for me. I can forget about the bugs, the rats, the physical wounds and the VC - but being betrayed by your own country, hurt more than any thing else. No other wound hurt...

• Word Count: 754
• Approx Pages: 3
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... . When asked to tell more of his journey, Odysseus becomes discontent with King Alcinous and is asked to be returned to Ithaca immediately, where his wife and first born live. On Odysseus trip to the Halls of Hades, he is told by the Theban prophet, Teiresias, "You will find trouble too in your house-insolent men eating up your livelihood, courting your royal ... wife and offering wedding gifts" (162). This gives Odysseus yet another goal to strive for. He realizes that he must try and get back to Ithaca to gain control of his country and rid his kingdom of ... chaos. Finally, the third...

• Word Count: 720
• Approx Pages: 3
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... . When asked to tell more of his journey, Odysseus becomes discontent with King Alcinous and is asked to be returned to Ithaca immediately, where his wife and first born live. On Odysseus trip to the Halls of Hades, he is told by the Theban prophet, Teiresias, "You will find trouble too in your house-insolent men eating up your livelihood, courting your royal ... wife and offering wedding gifts" (162). This gives Odysseus yet another goal to strive for. He realizes that he must try and get back to Ithaca to gain control of his country and rid his kingdom of ... chaos. Finally, the third...

• Word Count: 720
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... to leave and apparent utopia in favor of a former home, however flawed. This is comparable to Odysseus who wanted to leave the utopian island of Kalypso to return home to Ithaca and his wife. The British youth Mallinson is similar to Odysseus in this respect. While Conway, Barnard and Miss Brinklow find Shangri-la a satisfying place to live, Mallinson intensely desires to ... leave and return home to his family, friends, and country. The other characters" lack of connections to the outside world causes the difference in their attitudes toward a potential eternity ... in Shangri-la. Mal...

• Word Count: 765
• Approx Pages: 3

... , friendships, love, and wisdom. If a person can claim that he has not lacked any of these, he would have to be Odysseus, from Homer's, "The Odyssey." Although fictitious, Odysseus's character has served as model for everything I strive to be, and has been a significant influence in my life. If I could ... the ones who loved him the most, because he is the one who delivered them their salvation from death. It would be the greatest thing in the world for me to know that I was loved and classified as a person of such excellence by an entire crew, let alone an entire country. Odysseus also h...

• Word Count: 566
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School