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Fame And Glory Short Story

Decent Essays

Home and Family vs. Fame and Glory
The Iliad and The Odyssey by Homer are the two major heroic epics of ancient Greece, and the oldest surviving European poems. The poems were originally part of the oral tradition, then written down between 750 and 650 B.C.E., and finally fixed in the 500’s B.C.E. The Iliad tells the story of the ten year long Trojan War fought against the city of Troy by the Achaeans. The Odyssey focuses on king Odysseus, who fought in the war, and his journey from Troy to his island home Ithaca, which takes him ten years. The poem touches on the themes of family, hospitality, temptation, fame, and the power of cunning. Odysseus possesses strength, courage, and confidence, but what he is most known for is his cleverness. Although Odysseus wants to return home to his wife Penelope, his son Telemachus, and his kingdom, his journey back is fairly long because of how easy he is captivated by adventure. As it is, in The Odyssey, Odysseus goes through an inner conflict between his priorities of home and family and his strong desire for fame and glory.
Odysseus conveys a profound and sincere love for his island home. When Odysseus recites his journey to the Lord Alcinous, he describes his home as glorious, saying that “no sight is sweeter to [him] than Ithaca” (385). Moreover, even though beautiful goddesses such as Calypso and Circe have kept him in their homes, they “could not persuade [him] or touch [his] heart” (386). He expresses an intense desire to meet

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