Hubris In The Odyssey

His men and boat would have escaped swiftly without his spiteful words, yet he decides to mock the Cyclops again. I was still furious, and shouted back again, 'Cyclops! If any mortal asks you how your eye was mutilated and made blind, say that Odysseus, the city-sacker, Laertes' son, who lives in Ithaca, destroyed your sight'" (Homer 9.502). Because of his kleos, Odysseus has managed to lose a significant amount of his men, boat, and passage back to Ithaca, all in an attempt to prove his superiority over Polyphemus.

In The Odyssey, Odysseus has been trapped on Calypso's island many years after his many battles in the attempt to return back to his wife and son, Post-Trojan War. Zeus intervenes with Calypso and sends Hermes to convince Calypso to agree to let Odysseus build a boat and sail back to his wife and son. Poseidon hears of this and sends a storm to stop Odysseus from returning. The reason Poseidon is furious with Odysseus is that Odysseus stabbed Poseidon's Cyclops son, Polyphemus, in the eye, leaving him blind. The situation started when Odysseus was trapped with his men in Polyphemus’s cave when they attacked him and blinded him. After Polyphemus trapped them, they then tricked Polyphemus into freeing them and letting them escape. Polyphemus could not know who blinded him because 1) Odysseus had never told him his actual name, and 2) because Polyphemus was now blind and could not see who had done it. As Odysseus was escaping, his ego and hubris got the best of him and he revealed who he truly was

“If ever mortal man inquire how you were put to shame and blinded, tell him Odysseus, raider of cities, took your eye: laertes’ son whose home is on Ithaca”(Homer 1.486). Odysseus eventually is punished by Poseidon the god of the sea who is Cyclops's father. “Because of Odysseus’ hubris after blinding Polyphemus, Poseidon grants the prayer, and it takes

Odysseus’ hubris played a negative role when Odysseus revealed his identity to Polyphemus. Odysseus and his crew had just managed to escape from the Cyclops, Polyphemus, after driving a stake into his eye. But then, Odysseus told the blinded Cyclops his identity by shouting, “Cyclops – if any man on the face of the earth should ask you who blinded you, shamed you so- say Odysseus, raider of cities, he gouged out you eye, Laertes’ son who makes his home in Ithaca” (9, 558-562). Odysseus managed to tell Polyphemus his name, father, and home. Polyphemus then prayed to Poseidon, his father, to get revenge on Odysseus. Poseidon ended up killing Odysseus’ entire crew and delaying Odysseus for 10 years. None of those terrible consequences would have happened if Odysseus had suppressed his enormous pride. Odysseus’ hubris resulted in a lot of suffering for many people. Odysseus’ hubris prevents Odysseus and his crew from getting back to Ithaca again when Odysseus did

Broderick Caragher Mrs. Brzycky Sophomore English Honors, P.8 11 March 2024 Tales of a Man and his Arrogance Selfishness corrodes trust, and leaves behind a trail of crumbled relationships with it. In the great story The Odyssey by Homer, Odysseus shows how arrogance and selfishness affects the entirety of those around him. The Odyssey tells the tale of a brilliant man named Odysseus, who shares the story of his travels back to his home island. On this journey, he encounters many obstacles, some of which consist of the consequences of his own actions.

In The Odyssey, Odysseus demonstrates the qualities of a poor leader because his arrogance and pride interferes with his judgement to make wise wisdoms, thus putting his entire crew in danger. When Odysseus and his crew escape the one-eyed cyclops, Polyphemus, Odysseus is overcome with triumph as he and his deceived the cyclops by securing themselves to the stomachs of the monster’s flock of sheep. His escape plan proved successful, and he then proceeded to untie his men from the grazing sheep, and make haste to their ship. Odysseus taunts Polyphemus as he and his crew begin to sail away. “You shameless cannibal (IX.534),” said Odysseus to the cyclops, who became filled with rage. Odysseus’s crew sense the will of Polyphemus to wreck havoc, and thus, ask

Hubris is seen under a bad connotation due to the fact that sensitive people with fragile egos are characterized to have hubris. People fail to realize that the hubris they are labeling is masked with insecurity. It is understandable that they have similar characteristics to the untrained eye. Though what people do not realize is that when you have hubris, you are completely secure in yourself. Meaning that being wrong once does not kill your confidence.

The Odyssey, an epic narrative by Homer, Illustrates the countless hardships and lessons one must undergo and learn throughout the journey of life. This journey was shown by following the story of a Greek man named Odysseus. The goal of life, according to Homer, was to reach self-actualization and become infallible in each of the seven virtues (hospitality, obedience, loyalty, courage, respect, empathy, and humility). Odysseus, once the king of Ithaca, was a great and brilliant man who was in fact superior over many people in regards to life’s virtues. He did, however, succumb to being arrogant.

In the epic poem, The Odyssey by Homer, the protagonist, Odysseus is trying to find his way home after winning the battle of troy. Along the way, the gods and nymphs attempt to help Odysseus but he often fails to take the advice of others. He acts arrogant, pompous, and as if he is on top of the world, meanwhile he is just creating more problems for himself like extending his journey to 20 years. Throughout his journey, Odysseus learns to accept help from others after making many mistakes that make his journey longer and more difficult.

The Odyssey Essay “I give thanks to my Creator for this wonderful life where each of us has the opportunity to learn lessons we could not fully comprehend by any other means” (Joseph B. Wirthlin). Just like in The Odyssey Odysseus has to learn from his mistakes he didn’t understand before. Homer’s The Odyssey is about a man who goes to war and is trying desperately to get back to his home. On the way home he runs into many problems in which he learns from.

He feels superior after outsmarting him, and his mortal behavior begins to show. This in turn almost gets them killed (436-40). Odysseus’s mistake means that their whole escape could have been pointless. A journey can hold many surprises, not all of them good. Not even someone like Odysseus could fight off the feeling of arrogance.

Have you ever found yourself stuck in a series of tough circumstances which seem to be never ending? In this book, Odysseus is lost at sea for 20 years. He is faced with many difficult situations, in which he learns that he has to be very intelligent and brave. Many times he is given the help he needs to go back home to his wife Penelope and his son Telemachus, but it gets difficult along the way because of all the people Odysseus must confront in order to continue on. Finally, Odysseus gets home after a long journey and has to kill all the suitors who have taken over his power by eating is food and taking other items.

Homer, a poet from ancient Greece, wrote The Odyssey which illustrates the values of the Greeks. As the hero, Odysseus embarks on a journey home from Troy and, through this journey, the reader sees the traits that Odysseus is praised and rebuked for. Odysseus’s incredible strength and courage as well as his confidence both positively and negatively affect the outcomes of his decisions. More often than not, these two characteristics are what keep him alive; although, he relies on these qualities more than he should and it ultimately gets him into trouble. Odysseus is able to use these traits to his advantage from time to time; however, they could be considered his fatal flaw.

“Cyclops- if any man on the face of the Earth should ask you who blinded you, shamed you so- say Odysseus, raider of cities, he gouged out your eye, Laertes’ son who makes his home in Ithaca!” (Homer, 227). This act puts him and his crew in danger because the Cyclops is the son of the god Poseidon. Polyphemus then offers a prayer to his father to take revenge on Odysseus. “Hear me, Poseidon who circle the earth, dark-haired. If truly I am your son, and you acknowledge

The Odyssey gives a great outlook on how a person can develop through time as well as how one’s actions can cause the trouble later and lead to unfortunate circumstances. In the book, there are several cases when Hubris, an excessive pride and arrogance as characteristic of a particular, is shown by different figures. Consequently, this is often followed by Nemesis, as justice has to be determined by the gods for the actions taken to maintain a heroic status, most of the time in form of a punishment. In “The Odyssey” by Homer, Hubris is exhibited by the main character and hero, Odysseus, in the Ancient Greek world, who proves it by his self-confidence in his adventures. Homer uses inter alia alliterations, similes, concrete details, and vivid imagery throughout the