The Role Of Temptation In Homer's Odyssey

Odysseus faces temptation with the help of Circe . She describes the obstacles he will face with his men while at sea. When approaching the islands of the Sirens he takes the advice he was given and plugs his men's ear with beeswax, and orders them to tie him up to the ship. He hears the Sirens beautiful song alone, hoping to have the future revealed to him . The song is so seductive and tempting he begs for his men to untie him , but his loyal men bind him up tighter. Odysseus , unlike Sir Gawain has help fighting the temptation, he receives both advice and help from his men who tie him up, restraining him from falling into the temptation. Sir Gawain must face a moral battle alone, does he follow the rules of courtesy and give lady bertilak what she wants or does he continue to turn her down due to honor and respect for the king and himself.

When Odysseus encounters the sirens, he comes up with a plan to help them escape them. In “Book Twelve, line 142,” Odysseus says, “Friends, have we never been in danger before this? More fearsome, is it now, than when the Cyclops penned us in his cave?... Did I not keep my nerve, and use my wits to find a way out for us?” Even in danger Odysseus is able to keep himself together and lead his men. Homer, in this, shows us that a leader needs to be brave in all times, always ready to take control and calm his men. Before Odysseus returns home, his wisdom is shown once again when his men don’t listen to him, because of this, all his men die and Odysseus returns

Even with Determination, Odysseus and I both demonstrate curiosity in all sorts of ways. For example, he stops at the Cyclopes’ Island and explores with curiosity what the cyclops looks like while his men want to leave but he wanted to stay. Odysseus says, “We climbed, then, briskly to the cave” (900). Odysseus was curious when he was going back to Ithaca so he was dressed as a beggar to see if everything was fine because the cyclops wished he would be alone forever, “Odysseus disguises himself as a beggar and visits the palace” (943).Odysseus was curious when someone moved his bed out in the hallway to sleep just like how I am when someone moves my shoes, “Who dared to move my bed?” (962).

Lust is defined as an intense longing or a sexual desire. It is a common theme in literature; particularly in classic Greek literature. The reason it is so prevalent in literature is that is prevalent in our daily lives. Everyone lusts after something or someone. It is an interesting topic to examine closely, and classic literature is an excellent medium for such an investigation. Two works I have studied, in which lust is a theme, are an epic, Homer's The Odyssey, and a play, Aristophanes’ Lysistrata. In both The Odyssey and Lysistrata, lust is a theme that plays a major role in the course of the story, making the stories similar, but very different.

The Sirens in the Odyssey represent more than just a maritime danger to the passing ship. They are the desires of man that he cannot have. The Sirens can also be construed as forbidden knowledge or some other taboo object. Whatever these singing women actually are, the sailors are wise to avoid them. As usual, the wily Odysseus cheats at the rules of the game by listening to their song under the restraints constructed by his crew.

Odysseus was warned of the Sirens, Scylla and Charybdis. When he approaches the Sirens, he has his men tie him to the mass so he will not be lured to their tempting singing. When he reaches the location of the deadly whirlpool, Charybdis, and the concealed deadly trap across from Charybdis, Scylla: a six headed monster that catches men in her mouth and eats them; Odysseus sacrifices a few of his men for the majority of the other men. He sacrifices for the better good. Hiding his knowledge of these obstacles and sacrificing his men, takes a full amount of determination for his objective to get home; it shows his vast amount of unconditional willingness and sacrifice. Perseverance takes time and sacrifice. His time and knowledge lead him through another dangerous obstacle.

This essay is about temptation in the Odyssey, more specifically temptation and its role in the book. Showing how food displays everyday temptation and how Odysseus recklessness causes his own troubled journey home.

He also chooses to follow her advice because he is a very curious and inquisitive man who wishes to know everything and anything he can. The Siren’s sing “and we know whatever happens on this fruitful earth” (XII, 192). Nugent says, “the encounter with the Sirens reflects….unfulfilled desire for more: more knowledge, more experience, complete and profound fulfillment” (45-54). After placing the wax in his men’s ears, tying himself down to the mast, and hearing the Siren’s sweet song Odysseus “ order[s] [his] men to set [him] free”( Homer XII, 195); this shows how curious Odysseus truly is and how he longs to have great knowledge. Nugent states this is “…surely a characteristic of Odysseus, who always seeks that which lies beyond his grasp” (45-54). By following Circe’s orders Odysseus is able to have his cake and eat it too. He is able to pass the Siren’s without harm so he can return on his journey home, and he is able to listen to their sweet, bewitching song.

During his visit to the underworld, Odysseus was informed of one of his most formidable enemies: desire. Teiresias plainly told him that “if [he could] contain [his] own desire, and contain [his] companions… [they] might all make [their] way back to Ithaca” (Homer 171). When they finally saw the island, Odysseus did feel the desire to stop at the island, but tried to heed the warnings he received. His men however did not feel the same way he did. His me pestered him until he felt they had “[forced him] to it” but in reality he was just making an excuse to give in to his desires” (Homer 193). After indulging in his (and his crew’s) desires, he thought they would soon proceed off the island, however this was not the case. While exploring the island, his food deprived crew came upon the cattle of Helios, and being starving, began to cook and eat them, even sacrificing a part to the gods. Odysseus was walking back to their camp on his own when “the pleasant savor of cooking meat came drifting around [him], and [he] cried out [his] grief aloud to the gods immortal (Homer 194). Once he smelled the meat he knew that the horrific actions that were predicted would come true. All these things happened because Odysseus’ crew did not follow the instruction of their leader and instead followed their desires, but an even worse fate comes true when they disobey the gods themselves.

In college, one of the big things you end up learning is life lessons and also learning from your mistakes in general. In the book “The Odyssey of Homer” by Richard Lattimore, there are many life lessons that Odysseus and his crew show to the readers. One of the main life lessons that college students learn is the lesson of self control.

The sum of all human traits is defined as human nature, meaning the excuse for our vices, and the flaws of mortal life. In Homer's The Odyssey, the main character Odysseus demonstrates these flaws throughout his journey, constantly struggling through the eternal fight for realization of life and death, and is weighed down by the never ending power struggle of nature versus mankind.

Furthermore, Odysseus reveals his cautious qualities that verify his heroism. In "Sea Perils and Defeat", Odysseus does not notify his men about the Sirens: "Odysseus decides to tell the men only of Circe's warnings about the Sirens"(narration). Odysseus noticeably gave forethought to this action because he knew his men would be fearful, and that it would interfere with their goal. His judgment forestalled his men from trying to avoid Scylla, as the anxiety of facing Scylla may have overwhelmed them, therefore, saving them from annihilation. Correspondingly, Odysseus shows his circumspect behavior in "The Challenge": "Odysseus took his time, turning the bow, tapping it, every inch"(lines 1359-1360). This instance reflects Odysseus' value of prudence; he made sure that the bow was in suitable condition for him to make an accurate shot. Placing importance on his discretion, Odysseus displays his heroic characteristics. Odysseus' alertness in these situations validates his heroism.

Within The Odyssey the concept of morals is very important, both to the plot of the epic but also to the structure of the Ancient Greek society. When the suitors ask Telemachus to send his mother, Penelope, back to her father he replies with; “It is quite impossible for me to cast out, against her will, the mother who bore me and brought me up”. This illuminates the importance of family within the society, and in turn morals. Whilst Telemachus then goes on to comment upon the monetary cost sending Penelope away, it is important to remember that his first instinct was to keep her in Ithaca due to their mother-son relationship. Furthermore, the importance of morals within The Odyssey’s is illuminated with the concept of xenia. Hospitality was

Many would argue that Odysseus is more of a villain nowadays, for every instance of his wiliness or feats of strength there are several of venality, vice, cruelty, or selfishness. The episode of the Sirens,(Book 12), is one example. The only reason Odysseus ties himself up to the mast, when instead he could have simply plugged his ears with wax like the rest of his crew, is that he chooses the jeopardous choice, wanting to "go down in the books" by being the first man to ever listen to the Sirens song and live. In consequence he possibly endangers the rest of his crew from safely reaching home by endangering himself. While Odysseus’ many adventures are very exciting, he spends a considerable amount of time cheating on his wife (with

Odysseus was weary about it, but he was outnumbered, so, he agreed to stop at the island with only one rule they had to obey. They were not allowed to kill or touch the cattle on the island. The stay at the island was longer than Odysseus had planned, there were strong winds sent by Zeus that didn’t let them go bad out to sea, and forced them to stay in the island for a long time. One night Odysseus fell asleep. His men were starving, overcome by their hunger, they killed the cattle to eat. Once Odysseus found out, he cried out to the gods, “ O Father Zeus and gods in bliss forever, you made me sleep away this day of mischief! O cruel drowsing in the evil hour! Here they sat and a great work they contrived” (Homer 842). Odysseus failed at keeping his men from eating the cattle. The failure broke him down, but he still kept on going with his job, that later soon will led to his success. Odysseus succeeded many times along his journey, but there is always room to grow stronger. Odysseus failed once again at Helios’s Island. Once the winds, that were sent by Zeus, came to a stop, the men were able to carry on with the journey. But soon later, “with a