Greek culture in the odyssey. Three Values of Greek Society in the Odyssey Essay 2019-02-12

Culture and Society in The Odyssey

The Odyssey is more popular than the Iliad. By the end of the epic, Odysseus seems to be a wiser, more perceptive leader than he might have been had he sailed straight home from Troy. Also, the Greeks loved competition, proven by the fact that they urged on Odysseus and Iros to fight. A wide range of things can be classified as hospitality, but the general idea is always the same and cannot change. The rest of the men were locked away, but the gods gave Odysseus the cunning ability to escape and blind Polyphemus.

The Role of Women in Homer's The Odyssey

Zeus himself, king of the gods, is known as the greatest advocate of hospitality and the suppliants who request it; yet even he allows the sea god Poseidon to punish the Phaeacians for their generous tradition of returning wayfarers to their homelands. Laertes believes that it is true and he replies that he gave his gifts in vain, for now his son is dead and can no longer greet him with hospitality and gifts in return. Melanthius has become friendly with the suitors and insults Odysseus while the king is still in disguise. The topic of our group is layers of meaning in the fantastic world of Odysseus's tale. However, the sea god can help to fulfill his son's wish that Odysseus should arrive in Ithaca late, broken, and alone, his shipmates lost, and his household in turmoil 9. In many Greek plays, a few actors played roles while a chorus narrated the play and offered advice to the characters. Penelope, Clytaemestra, Athena, and Helen are all women with exceptional liberty and power.

Major Themes in The Odyssey

In another instance he portrays her as clever in the way that she keeps the suitor away by weaving the tunic for Odysseus and secretly taking it apart every night. The Odyssey is a great work of a great poet, Homer, who not only captures the essence of the ancient Greek spirit and culture, but also tells a story that can be passed down from generation to generation, without any fear of growing old. The Odyssey is not just about the heroic Odysseus, but more importantly about the underlying themes from the Greek culture. The picture came from rainbowcrystal. Euripides utilizes characters such as the all women choir, King Creon, Medea and others to convey his perception… 1318 Words 6 Pages hero according to Roman and Greek Society is someone who stands up for their country and fights for their beliefs. Right at the beginning of The Odyssey, the reader is shown the hospitality that Telemachus has. We see this relationship… 994 Words 4 Pages In Homeric society, hospitality was highly valued by all members of the society.

The Odyssey and Greek Traditions

During the Classical Age, the often performed plays at festivals honoring Dionysus. At the other end of the time scale the development in the poems of a true definite article, for instance, represents an earlier phase than is exemplified in the poetry of the middle and late 7th century. It was probably through their impact on Classical Greek culture itself that the Iliad and the Odyssey most subtly affected Western standards and ideas. Whilst in Odysseus absence at home, his son Telemachus and wife Penelope have to deal with suitors who move into their home, in an attempt to take Odysseus place and ask Penelope's hand in marriage. According to this theory, one poet, multiple poets working in collaboration, or perhaps even a series of poets handing down their work in succession finally turned these stories into written works, again with each adding his own touch and expanding or contracting certain episodes in the overall narrative to fit his taste. When music is played during wars, it gives a type of tense feeling where it conveys a message reporting that both sides will never admit defeat until there is no more mercy to be held.

SparkNotes: The Odyssey: Context

In the end it can be said that fate, human nature and the fear of fate itself is to blame for this tragedy. We see later in the Odyssey how Odysseus grows from this experience when he returns home. Odysseus pays for this action as Poseidon makes his journey back more difficult than it should have been. She gives him detailed instructions about how to do this and she even provides him the sacrificial animals, which are a black ram and an ewe. After the unrelenting tragedy and carnage of the Iliad, the Odyssey often strikes readers as comic or surreal at times.

The Iliad and the Odyssey

The poem covers both the circumstances that befell his family in Ithaca and his own perilous adventures back from Troy. Greek sculptors were particularly concerned with proportion, poise, and the idealized perfection of the human body; their figures in stone and bronze have become some of the most recognizable pieces of art ever produced by any civilization. Although there were certain areas in Greece that valued it more than others, such as Athens, the Greeks were generally an intelligent race of people. It may be no coincidence that cults of Homeric heroes tended to spring up toward the end of the 8th century, and that scenes from the epic begin to appear on pots at just about the same time. Even after nearly twenty years apart from her husband, she still remains faithful to Odysseus and refuses to marry one of the awaiting suitors that hassle her day in and day out. The internal evidence of the poems is of some use in determining when Homer lived.

The Iliad and the Odyssey

It also contains art and architecture. In fact, Odysseus himself gets out of many tough situations and conquers many obstacles with his wit and cleverness. Before comparing the women of the Odyssey to those of Athens, it is beneficial to take a look into the lives of the latter. Telemachus and Penelope lack the strength to evict them, nor can they hope for much help from the community because the suitors represent some of the strongest families in the area. The Iliad and the Odyssey During the , poets called bards traveled to different poli. Others believe that he may have remained nonliterate since literacy is not normally associated with oral creativity but dictated the poem to a literate assistant.

Greek Culture in the Odyssey

Greek culture is known to be one of the most flavored and thorough in history, and each facet of it—from religion to ideology to mentalities and beliefs. The Sirens and women that posses the power of seduction when ever they are encountered take the men off their course, and lead many to their death. Through the character of Circe the important lesson of loyalty is shown. Homer remarks that Odysseus is “far the best of mortal men for counsel and stories” and even suggests that he is able to match a god in wits and trickery. He was never popular just across Canada. The Greeks left a huge wooden horse as a peace offering to the Trojans. But in an important sense Homer was building upon a tendency of all known oral toward elaboration and expansion.