Odyssey Homer's Odyssey Reveals Much

¶ … Odyssey Homer's Odyssey reveals much about the lives of ancient Greeks. Each of Homer's main characters is imbued with attributes that, when interactions with other characters occur, indicates the moral code and norms in society at that time. Homer reinforces these ideas through steady repetition. In this way, not only does Homer tell us about the character of Odysseus, but about us as human beings as well. The first major story in Book IX is the story about the encounter Odysseus and his crew have with the Cyclops.

This tale is among many illustrations of Odysseus' cunning, but it also reveals some of his failings as a leader as well. This cunning is repeatedly demonstrated in the poem, and even within this story. From the outset, when Odysseus first encounters the Cyclops, he is shrewd with the information he provides. For example, in 280-290 he seeks to delude the Cyclops by making up a story about how they came to be on the island. Lines 420-530 outline the detailed plan that Odysseus hatches to escape the Cyclops.

Yet, the story also reveals much about Odysseus' failings as a leader as well, in particular his oversized ego. This hubris leads to significant suffering on the part of his men. For example, when the men arrived in the Cyclops' cave, they implored him to make quick plunder of the goods within, but Odysseus decided instead to wait for the Cyclops to return (290-310).

He did so because he "was keen to see the man in person and find out if he would show me hospitality..." As though he was entitled to it. The result was the deaths of several of Odysseus men at the Cyclops' hands. At the end of the story, Odysseus, who had demonstrated more cunning in telling the Cyclops that his name was "No-One" fell to his own hubris again by revealing to the Cyclops his name.

He had escaped, but was so enamored with his trickery and escape that he felt he needed to take credit for it, just as at the outset of the story he felt he needed to be welcomed as a king rather than simply take the cheese and sheep like a common raider. Because the Cyclops was a son of Poseidon, that god took vengeance on Odysseus and his crew, such that ultimately the entire crew was punished for the hubris of their leader.

This story also makes revelations about human nature. In addition to the moral lessons regarding hubris, other aspects of human nature are revealed. The Cyclops, for example, is portrayed as a monster, outcast from the other Cyclops. This outcast lacks basic civility, as evidenced by his eating of Odysseus' men. Odysseus may have been full of hubris in hoping that the Cyclops would receive him properly, but Homer uses the Cyclops to tell the story from the opposite perspective as well.

The Cyclops is the uncivilized outcast who, in failing to properly receive Odysseus, is violating social norms. He receives punishment for this lack of hospitality, a theme repeated numerous times in the Odyssey. Thus it is revealed by Homer about human nature is that not only do we make outcasts of those who do not follow social norms, but those individuals will suffer punishment for their transgressions. In Book XI, Odysseus enters Hades and meets the shades of the dead.

Odysseus is confronted in this back with his past, present and future. This book represents a pause for reflection, both on the encounters that have occurred and those that are about to come. It also reveals that Odysseus is an exalted hero, as he has been allowed to enter Hades while still alive. His trials are juxtaposed against those of other heroes in Greek lore. This reveals to the audience that Odysseus is, despite his failings, a great man.

He is the first to make such a journey, and therefore belongs in the canon of Greek heroes alongside the likes of Achilles, Heracles, and others. This passage reveals much about human nature. It addresses the issue of mortality, in particular with regards to heroism. That argument - to die young as a hero or to live a long, uneventful life - is at the core of the Iliad.

By Book XI, Homer has firmly established Odysseus as a hero for all time, but one whose failings made him distinctly human. Heroes such as Achilles, who had previously been accorded godlike status, are also brought to this level. In particular, the point in the interaction between Odysseus and Achilles where the latter declares "I'd rather live working as a wage-laborer for hire by some other man...than lord it over all the wasted dead." (480-500) reveals much about this concept of human nature.

Achilles, having previously chosen to die a hero, now as a shade regrets that choice. Book XXII illustrates the slaughter of the suitors. This chapter reveals not only the superiority of Odysseus in the ease with which he and his men conduct the slaughter, but other nuances about his character as well. His sense of justice, for example, is revealed. In lines 330-380, he spares the lives of Medon and Phemius. He does so on the basis of testimony from his Telemachus.

This exemplifies that Odysseus, as a great leader, inherently understands who is right and wrong. He also implicitly trusts his son, who he left as an infant when we embarked for Troy. Odysseus further demonstrates his strong sense of right and wrong by killing Leodes, the priest who had begged for mercy similarly to Phemius. Lastly, Homer shows the strength of Odysseus' wisdom and justice when he illustrates how these traits passed down to Telemachus.

In line 460-470 the son eschews his father's advice to kill the women servants who'd betrayed the house with his sword. Instead Telemachus, showing the same strong sense of justice as his father, has them hanged, a less noble death. Book XXII illustrates much about human nature. Justice is meted out gleefully against those who are disloyal. The suitors' fates in large part match their actions. Eurymachus, for example, had previously insulted Telemachus and now dies at the son's hand.

The Book's strong theme of justice shows us that as humans we abhor disloyalty and other such crude behavior. The tone of the book also reveals something about human nature. There are humorous elements in Book XXII, which seem somewhat inappropriate given the violence. Yet, the humor and sometimes light tone fit with the fact that we, as the audience, are.