A dying Marcus Aurelius plans to name his most loyal general, Maximus, keeper of Rome. Unfortunately, Marcus’ greedy and neglected son Commodus does not like the idea of another man, especially an unrelated one, taking his place as emperor. Commodus takes matters into his own hands and kills his beloved father and rules as the emperor of Rome. He orders his soldiers to take Maximus too an isolated area to be slain. Fortunately, Maximus escapes and goes to find his family. In hope that he will find his family waiting with open arms, he finds that Commodus’ had already wreaked havoc and destroyed his home and killed his family. His wife and son hanging from a tree as their singed, lifeless bodies hung. A mourning Maximus buries his
This morning was like any other day. I got up to see the sun rise, and then I went into the forest to find something to eat for breakfast. Most days were quiet in the land of the Cyclopes. All you could hear were your own thoughts, and the occasional chirp from a nearby bird. Most of the inhabitants kept to themselves, and no one entered others’ property without previous consent of the owner.
Despite Calypso being a character who defies typical constraints, she is not always the model of a defiant woman. In spite of the fact that she is repeatedly used by Homer to show disobedience against the role that is expected of her, she still shows characteristics of a normal female character in an epic poem. When Hermes comes to visit her, she sets “a table with ambrosia” and “a bowl of rosy nectar” (Homer, p. 386). Setting the table for a man is a sign of respect and shows that she accepts her role of catering towards the opposite sex. This is a crucial moment as Calypso has continuously shown contempt for a woman’s conventional duties. When she is introduced, she is described as sitting in her home “singing in a lovely voice as she wove at her loom with a golden shuttle” (Homer, p. 386). The loom is a direct symbol of a tamed woman, reiterated by Penelope’s extensive use of it throughout the epic. When Homer describes Calypso on her loom, he refers to her as
The Odyssey by Homer is an epic from Ancient Greece telling the tale of the great warrior Odysseus. It tells of Odysseus going to war and going through many trials to get back to his homeland, Ithaca. On Ithaca are his wife, Penelope, and his son, Telemachus. Throughout the epic, Odysseus faces many challenges and trials in order to get home to his family, and even after he finally does arrive. Through all of the trials, each being extremely difficult, he pushes on to reach his family. This shows there are definitely bonds in the families. Of these, one that is apparent upon multiple occasions is the bond between father and son. Of course, the only father and son relationship isn’t just between Odysseus and Telemachus. There are many other examples of this family relationship, such as Poseidon and Polyphemus. But not only does the father and son relationship play a large role in the Odyssey. All family relations in general play a surprisingly large part in the Odyssey. Throughout the entirety of the story, family appears to be a great stimulus to persevere through the problem, no matter how challenging or fearful. One extreme example is of course is Odysseus. He traveled for 20 years fighting to return to his family, through unimaginable danger and the loss of roughly three crews. Family also appears to cause extreme retaliation and revenge. A superb example is how Poseidon reacts after Odysseus and his crew blind his son, Polyphemus. Another grand example is when Odysseus
In The Odyssey, the reader is easily able to distinguish that Odysseus is a hero in the story. He is a god-like figure. Odysseus’s wife, Penelope, is a hero and seen by many readers as such especially females. Both possess characteristics of heroes and they deserve to be considered such but that does not mean that they are the true hero of the story. Their son Telemachus is the true hero in The Odyssey. The reader should be able to identify with him the most and realize everything that has happened in his life and he deals with it with extreme heroism. He handles the situation in his life the way every human being should.
Commodus is a weak, young man. He is so frightened of Maximus that he orders the execution of Maximus and his family. Maximus is able to escape execution but could not save his family in time.
Commodus' ambition begins after he kills his father Emperor Marcus Aurelius because he feels that his father did not love him enough and becomes the Emperor of Rome. Marcus says that Commodus "is not a moral man" and that "he cannot rule". Commodus is the Macbeth character in 'Gladiator' but is still not the main character. The main character in the film is Maximus who resembles Macduff in the film. While still being shown as a great fighter, Commodus is also shown in the film as a bit of a coward, after Maximus wins the war for Rome, Commodus shows up late to the victory celebrations acting as if he wasn’t even aware of a war even existing. Quickly after being crowned as Emperor of Rome, Commodus becomes disliked by the Senate and the people of Rome and seen as a pathetic leader. Commodus uses the ambition to be like his father to create barbaric fights in the Coliseum. "He'll bring them death and they will love him
Throughout the Odyssey, Odysseus experiences many ups and downs throughout his journey home. He is throw into peril and there often seems to be no hope for his return home. While he remains victorious in the end, returning to his wife, son, and father, the poem itself is filled with many darker moments filled with doubt and sadness. Odysseus is the hero of the Odyssey, and in order to exist as a hero he must be relatable. His story cannot be one entirely of triumph, it must include a more human perspective. Triumph cannot come without strife, and heroism cannot come without tribulation. Athena and Odysseus’ experiences as divine and human, respectively, and define whether or not they are heroes. By comparing Odysseus to Athena, it is apparent that what makes Odysseus a hero before anything else is his humanity.
Your topic of gaining courage is a fitting description for Telemachus, as he develops more confidence in his role in adulthood. Initially, Athena’s words set forth words of familial responsibility in lines 300-304 with, “Telemachus, you’ll lack neither courage nor sense from this day on, not if your father’s spirit courses through your veins-now there was a man, I’d say, in words and action both!” (Homer, trans. 1996). Athena’s advice and encouragement to him remind him that because of his birthright Telemachus is destined to take the reigns of courage and not to live in fear amongst his mother’s suitors, but to claim his authority in his home. You also brought up important points regarding how the suitors insulted and taunted him, which led to his decision to venture off and look for his father.
Focus on the descriptions of the palaces of Nestor and Menelaus. Find quotations that describe their virtues:
One might ask for what purpose does Homer use the second person. However, Homer refers to Eumaeus with “you.” For example, Home first used the second person to introduce Eumaeus’ reply— “And you replied, Eumaeus, loyal swineherd…”(14.313). Again in line 502, Homer introduces Eumaeus in the second person. Throughout The Odyssey, everything is written in the third person.
In Homer’s The Odyssey, Athena’s role in Book 1 is to assure Telemachus that he is worthy of being the son of the great Odysseus, despite Telemachus’ doubt. Soon after Pallas Athena, disguised as Mentes, arrived at the royal palace of Ithaca, Telemachus described to Athena that, “Mother has always told me I’m his son, it’s true, but I am not so certain” (Homer 84). As suitors were ravaging the royal palace, Telemachus was in misery due to the lack of his father’s presence and ability to force the suitors out of the palace. Because he never had the courage to expel these suitors, Telemachus did not feel that he deserved to be the true son of Odysseus. Afterwards, Athena inspired Telemachus to venture in search of Odysseus and exterminate the
It is important to keep reading, “The Odyssey.” Even though it is 2800, years old, students still need to learn about it. It is important to continue studying “The Odyssey” because is it a moral story, the historical significance is important, and it is essential to study other culture’s mythology.
Ten years after the fall of Troy, the victorious Greek hero Odysseus has still not returned to his native land Ithaca. A band of rowdy suitors, believing Odysseus to be dead, has overrun his palace, courting his faithful—though weakening—wife Penelope, and going through his stock for food. With permission from Zeus, the goddess Athena, Odysseus' greatest immortal ally, appears in disguise and urges Odysseus' son Telemachus to seek news of his father at Pylos and Sparta. However, the suitors, led by Antinous, plan to ambush him upon return.
Josh Marszalek Larr Block 2 21/9/17 Man vs. Man In epic poems, there are many different conflicts, especially the conflict of man vs. man. Epics may seem to have a strong supernatural presence. Despite the gods making humans do their bidding in certain circumstances, people still know how to make decisions for themselves. This leads to conflict between men of different beliefs, cultures or countries.
The Odyssey was about Odysseus and his men and how they were going back home. They were coming back from the Trojan War. In the beginning Odysseus and his men were trying to find their way back home. In the middle of the book they had to go to the underworld to get directions to get back home. In the end of the book Odysseus is back home with Penelope and his son.