Destiny, Fate and Free Will in Homers Odyssey - Guidance...

Guidance, Fate, and Loyalty in The Odyssey nbsp; The Odyssey is an epic poem about a journey. After the Trojan War is won Odysseus leaves Troy for his home in Ithaca. However, the gods decide to test his courage and resolve and send him on a twenty-year odyssey. Odysseus courage is constantly tested as he struggles with the many obstacles the gods place before him. Although Homer depicted The Odyssey as a self-reliant journey, in reality the gods and other mortals guide Odysseus. It is his loyalty to and his love for his family that keeps him going. The Odyssey depicts Odysseus as he overcomes each obstacle through guidance, fate, and loyalty to his family. nbsp; nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; To Odysseus loyalty is the most important†¦show more content†¦Odysseus shows his purity and loyalty. By Odysseus bathing he is becoming pure and clean which shows he has nothing to hide from his family because of his loyalty. He does not let women jeopardize his mind and stays faithful. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; Odysseus tests Eumaeus loyalty. Eumaeus, the swineherd, is one of the few servants who have stayed loyal for twenty years. As Odysseus tests Eumaeus, Eumaeus finally tires of hearing all the lies and tells Odysseus, You too, woe-worn man how Heaven has brought you here, do not by lying tales attempt to please or win me; since out of no such cause I show respect and kindness, but out of reverence for Zeus the strangers friend, and pity for yourself (139). When Odysseus lies to Eumaeus he refuses to believe them thus passing another one of Odysseus tests. This touch of dramatic irony helps the reader appreciate the loyalty of Eumaeus who only longs for the master that stands before him. nbsp; nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; Even though its Odysseus loyalty to his family that eventually gets him home even though the gods decide his fate. As Odysseus begins his journey homeward the gods send him on an odyssey. Odysseus fate is best described when he is told, Olympian Zeus himself distributes fortune to mankind and gives to high and low even as he wills to each... (58). Zeus decided Odysseus fate. Odysseus is sent on many smaller journeys while sent on hisShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of Homer s The Odyssey 1342 Words   |  6 PagesNevertheless, loyalty can idealize as an extremity that extracts our thoughts and mental processes, which can make decisions coincide with ease especially considering who we can count on in times of need. Loyalty, many people may look upon it as actions but in all actuality it is what lies deep down inside of the mind, heart, beliefs, and character of a person. In Homer’s book The Odyssey, there is loyalty present from beginning to end and I would like to ex press how words imply loyalty on an aspectualRead MoreThe View Of Fate Over Free Will, And Vice Versa1599 Words   |  7 PagesArguments concerning the influence of Fate over Free Will, and vice versa, are not unique to our post-Enlighten mindset. Some of the greatest thinkers of all time, such as Aristotle or Plato, dealt directly with this issue in their numerous commentaries that we still look at today. Even within our Bibles we see Fate and Free Will actively playing roles within the famed stories and lives included in both the Old and New Testament. It’s not surprising, then, when we see similar themes relating to theseRead MoreEssay on The Odyssey21353 Words   |  86 PagesThe Odyssey Set in ancient Greece, The Odyssey is about the hero Odysseus long-awaited return from the Trojan War to his homeland, Ithaca, after ten years of wandering. The current action of The Odyssey occupies the last six weeks of the ten years, and the narrative includes many places - Olympus, Ithaca, Pylos, Pherae, Sparta, Ogygia, and Scheria. In Books 9-12, Odysseus narrates the story of his travels in the years after the fall of Troy, and this narrative includes other far-flung