In Book 18, Odysseus, still disguised as a beggar, “[a]nd the one who knew the world” (144), comments to one of the kinder suitors:
"Amphinomus, you seem a man of good sense to me. (145)
Just like your father – at least I’ve heard his praises . . . .
So I will tell you something. Listen. Listen closely.
Of all that breathes and crawls across the earth,
our mother earth breeds nothing feebler than a man.
So long as the gods grant him power, spring in his knees,
he thinks he will never suffer affliction down the years.
But then, when the happy gods bring on the long hard times,
bear them he must, against his will, and steel his heart.
I, too, seemed destined to be a man of fortune once . . . . (159)
Look at me now. (162)
And so, I say, let no man be lawless all his lifejust take in peace what gifts the gods will send . . . .
Early in the poem we witness Telemachus embarking on his journey from childhood to manhood. What do the lines above reveal about the impact of Odysseus own journey on him? What has he learned? What other episodes in the poem up to this point contribute to the viewpoint expressed by Odysseus in these lines?
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Odysseus notes that man may think he is important, but the reality of it is that men are at the mercy of the gods. This is a point emphasized throughout the poem, as in when Odysseus's men are killed for harming Apollo's sheep and when Poseidon dooms him to never return home. Odysseus seems to have lost all faith in that he has any control over his own destiny. He is upset that he was 'once destined to be a man of fortune' and no longer seems that way, dressed up as a beggar in his own kingdom, hiding from the suitors that plague hsi wife. He resigns himself to the gods' wills.
ReplyDeleteWhat Odysseus has learned is that men and women are ignorant of themselves, and in a way, full of themselves in that they think they are self-knowledgeable, but they aren't. For example, he learned a lot of this from his crew. His crew proved themselves to be VERY, how I like to say, dumb throughout the journey. For example, they were completely oblivious to all surroundings on the Island of the Lotus Eaters. They weren't at all cautious on the Island and they were immediately drugged by the fruit. That shows the ignorance that people have. Additionally, Odysseus interacted the Gods probably more than he had ever before. He learned a lot about how the Gods work and how much the Gods help people carry themselves. Athena made him taller and stronger after bathing. He had little to do with becoming taller; the reason Athena helped him was because she liked him. It shows how little power men have, and Odysseus learns this often on his long journey.
ReplyDeleteFrom his own journey, Odysseus has experienced a ton of hardship. He learns of the real dangers of the world and the different creatures of the world. For example, the cyclops race shows him how all creatures have different values and that his way is not the path of everyone else. Although he narrowly escapes every situation, he endured a lot of pain and suffering which shows him that he is not invincible like he thought. He realizes from Poseidon that he needs to respect the gods because he, as he previously thought, cannot make it on his own. For this cockyness Poseidon punishes him and that really causes the most suffering for him on his journey back to Ithaca.
ReplyDeleteThe journey that Odysseus has taken has had a huge impact on him, he now as he says his heart is hardened, he goes on to say that when the gods that are on your side give you the hard times, you got to bare through it because once it is over the good times will come in just like in his situation at the moment. As he says in line 159 "I, too, seemed destined to be a fortuned man once". Then Odysseus goes on says look at me now, implying that he is a complete wreck, gone through so much hardship and pain seeing gods betray him and now in book 18 his own people ruining his house and disrespecting his son and wife. Some other episodes that lead to this situation of Odysseus are the hardships he has with his crew on the island of the Cyclops or with Circe when he has to go back to trick her with Hermes help to have her change them back to men. As all of these show Odysseus and his pain there is very rarely situations where Odysseus experiences joy and happiness.
ReplyDeleteThese lines reflect on Odysseus' journey because they are proving that Odysseus finds himself weaker than he thought of himself before his journey. That no matter how great a man may think he is, there were always be a stronger character in life, whether it is a god who will always be stronger or even the smallest thing on earth, man will always be the weakest thing but particularly mentally. He has learned that no matter how easy the god's make his life, he will still run into obstacles by the gods no matter how powerful he sees himself. He learns that no matter how much help he is given, he will still run into the obstacles that he has to overcome independently, and that is when man realizes how weak he truly is. Odysseus realizes that he could be the King of Ithaca, one of what he thinks of as mans native land, but he will still never be as strong and powerful as the things around him, and he accepts that in these few lines. Other episodes contribute to teh viewpoint expressed by Odysseus in these lines are when he has to get help from Ino the sea nymph. This is a good example because Odysseus realizes he could not make it through those storms alone and that he is not strong enough to live through the seas. Ino gives him the scarf of immortality which helps him survive and it is a wake up call to Odysseus saying this journey won't be easy, and he truly can't be as confident as he thinks he is.
ReplyDeleteThe journey that Odysseus takes is definitely creates a giant impact on his life, the traumatic experiences he has can only lead to some changes in his life. I believe this section of poem is definitely referring to his long journey home. He left Troy hungering for more power, more gold, anything that could be taken or filched from the people of the villages he encountered. He learns that things can go from good to bad if the gods decide so. That hunger for power he had before is now gone and he wants to get his normal life back and is waiting for the gods’ redemption so that no more misfortune can befall him. When Odysseus follows orders from Circe, to avoid the sirens and watch out for Scylla, it shows that he is learning that others can help and he becoming more reliable, different when he was doing everything by himself. The journey Odysseus took was one of discovery, but not of the islands he landed on but of himself.
ReplyDeleteOdysseus has endured a long and hard time trying to reach Ithaca. Needless to say, this has had a huge impact on him. He understands that the gods will give them a hard time, and he must fight against it. He understands that he needs to work hard to achieve what he desires. He learns the meaning of hardships, and accepts difficulty. He understands how precious life is, and that only through the gods, are they able to live. He learns that the gods can be merciful, and he needs to praise them even though they hold a key role in his delay back to home. He learns that by following the orders of those who are higher than him will bring success. When he is trying to go home with his crew for the last time, he follows the orders of Circe by not going to the island of the sirens and defeating Scylla, and HE doesn’t eat any of the cattle of the sun (although his crew does). This, in addition to the lines above, shows that he finally learns to listen to other people.
ReplyDeleteThese lines reveal the feelings Odysseus has had about his journey. In the beginning of the quote, Odysseus describes how a man can feel unstoppable. This explains how he felt during and after the war at Troy. His cunning was the determining factor in the war. He felt as if he were on the top of the world after he'd won it. Towards the end of the quote, Odysseus describes how this belief that some men have is false. This, he has learned through personnal experience. He felt unstoppable until he tried to return home. Poseidon turned against him and gave him hardship. He attempts to stop Odysseus from returning home. Some episodes that have taught Odysseus this lesson are the following: his men eating the cattle of Apollo and being killed, his men being taken by Scylla, and more than all others, his being trapped on the island of Calypso. This broke him and made him realize that no one, no matter how strong or intelligent, is almighty, and that every man will have to deal with hardship.
ReplyDeleteOdysseus is much wiser for the adventures he has had over the years. One of the most important things he has learned is that greed and pride do not benefit a man in the long run. He recalls that as a young man he lived his life with few rules, feeling free to pillage and plunder without consequence. He pursued glory for himself, even when it meant defying the gods, and did not know when to back down. After his long journey, Odysseus understands that this lifestyle did not serve him well. He realizes that it is more important to appreciate the gods' gifts than to challenge their might. FIghting Athena in his attempts to return home quickly and a rich man, defying Poseidon after blinding Polyphemus, Odysseus suffered immensely - his crew was lost, his fleet of ships destroyed, his wife was hounded by disgusting suitors. Finally Odysseus comes to terms with the fact that the gods have the power, and they can ruin any human with ease. Odysseus finally knows that if a man can endure whatever the gods throw at him, and not buckle under the pain and pressure, he has achieved all he needs to.
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ReplyDeleteThis passage shows how Odysseus, and anyone else on a jounrey, change thoughout the journeys they take. Usually for the worst At first Odysseus felt unstoppable while he was at Troy. this is shown in the passage when he says "So long as the gods grant him power, spring in his knees, he thinks he will never suffer affliction down the years." But, after Troy, the gods brought on the hardships for several reasons, and like odysseus says, he must bear them. He did this and when he came back to Ithica he did not even recognize it because he came back a changed and broken man.
ReplyDeleteOverall Odysseus has learned that no matter how unstoppable one may feel, there will be hardships, no matter what.
The lines above reveal that odysseus has learned a lot from his trecherous journey to Ithaca. The lines above state "Of all that breathes and crawls across the earth, our mother earth breeds othing feebler than a man. So long as the gods gods grant him power," this shows that Odysseus has learned that he needs gods on his side to make it to his land. He did not know this before because after Poseidon helped him win the war he did not thank poseidon, which made him angry, and was the ultimate reason he is not back at his home in Ithaca. he has also learned that even if he was the highest and most powerful man, that his life can be turned around very fast. He shows this by saying "I, too, seemed destined to be a man of fortune once...Look at me now." Other episodes that shows he has learned things are at the Cyclops' cave when he decided to take men and go on to explore the island, but the next time that he landed on an island he decided to send other men to explore sensing that there was danger, and he turned out to be right.
ReplyDeleteIn this passage, Odysseus laments the fragility of man. Men are arrogant and think they are in control, but,sadly, this is not the case. Throughout his journey, Odysseus has come to realize that, although you may feel like you are on top of the world and completely in control, everything can easily change. Your quality of life depends entirely on the will of the gods. After Odysseus defeats Polyphemus, he is elated and proud of himself. He is extremely arrogant. because of this, he feels the need to reveal his identity to Polyphemus, thus angering Poseidon. Odysseus's fortune quickly takes a turn for the worse. This was a signifigant mistake on Odysseus's part, but Odysseus learned from it. He realizes that men can not compare to gods. In some ways, Odysseus is hardened by his journey. He becomes angry at the gods. It starts to feel like he shirks responsibility. No matter what happens now, it is all because of the Gods. Before, things were actually because of Odysseus, not the gods.
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ReplyDeleteOdysseus' journey has had a great impact on him. In the lines above he says now that men should never take anything for granted because the good gods can suddendly go bad which was the case with him and Poseidon. Odysseus has learned to not be as reliant on the Gods because of how fast they can turn on you and make it miserable for you. He also learned not to let his destiny guide him because he said above that he was once destined to be a man of fortune but look at him now. He learns that because he was once destined doesn't mean the gods must uphold that.
ReplyDeleteOdysseus refers to the idea that men are at the bottom of the list of beings in existence. He has experienced how fragile and precious life is through his many encounters with tragedy for his men. In each part of his journey, his men were easily taken from him while he still believed he was as invincible as he thought he was. He now has come to the truthful conclusion that all of humanity is subject to the gods' will and power. This counteracts what he had believed before; that he could best Poseidon alone and go through Scylla without losing men. He also believed that the gods were to blame for his misfortune and failed to appreciate the merciful things that they have done for him. He now realized he should recognize that he is just a man and he should respect his superiors, which are the gods, since that is all he believes man can do. Reduced to a beggar, he realizes his incorrect thinking.
ReplyDeleteThroughout the story, Odysseus lears how life is a struggle. He goes through a lot in the first few books and his happy side is not shown at all. He realizes that no matter what he does, his life will always be hard. He accepts that he can not get through life by himself, he always is going to need help. Later, Poseidon tells him that he's going to need to respect the gods because he is not going to get through life as an individual. He left Troy seeking more power, and he figures out that his life can change drastically according to the Gods. I think that in the end, Odysseus sees that even if someone is powerful, there will always be struggle in life.
ReplyDeleteThe lines reveal that Odysseus has changed from when he started his journey. When he left Troy, he wanted his name to be known by all the world. He changed how he did things, and started to rely more on cunning than force. Odysseus has learned that he should obey the gods and be thankful for what they already gave him. He learned that he should weather out the hardships that the gods place upon him, and not try to fight them. When Odysseus is on his way to Phaeacia and Poseidon causes a storm, he tries to ride it out and stay in his ship. After his ship is destroyed he jumps into the sea and eventually ends up on the beach. When he is shipwrecked on Calypso's island and cannot get off it, he feels grief stricken and wants to go home. Odysseus suffers from many hardships by the gods will and only wants to get home to Ithaca.
ReplyDeleteThroughout the epic, Odysseus learns that life is a long struggle. He goes through the first few books unhappy. He sees that no matter what he does, his life will always be hard and he will continuously live unhappily. He then accepts the fact that he cant go through life by himself, and that he needs help. Later in the epic, Poseidon tells him that he is also going to need to respect the gods. Odysseus left Troy looking for power and he figures out that his life can change drastically thanks to the gods. I believe that Odysseus has finally realized that even though some people are more powerful than others, there is always a struggle in life and everyone needs help.
ReplyDeleteAt the beginning of the epic, you would not expect "The Great Odysseus" to admit that the most feeble being on earth is man. As the epic continues, Odysseus not only begins to realize that the gods are stronger than the strongest man on Earth, but that the more he sruggles with the Gods, the more he suffers. During his spars with Calypso, Poseidon and Polyphemus, it is clear that Odysseus tries hard to control his own fate, and has to fight the Gods in order to do so. In the quote in Book 18, however, he appears to accept that he should live and let live, instead of trying to fight his way through life in order to obtain glory.
ReplyDeleteAnother interesting inference you can make from the quote is that Odysseus is giving people a second chance, and judging based on their character. If Odysseus had come home straight from Troy to find suitors, he probably would have quickly killed them all, instead of giving the ones with integrity a heads up about his intentions.
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ReplyDeleteThe lines above describe what Odysseus has been through himself and what he felt when he was journeying home. Odysseus learned that even if you are the strongest man in the world everything could go wrong. He learned that if you have enough wealth to last you the rest of your life and longer or you have the most power, you could still come upon hardships “So long as the gods grant him power, spring in his knees, he thinks he will never suffer affliction down the years. But then, when the happy gods bring on the long hard times, bear them he must, against his will, and steel his heart”(18.152-155). Odysseus also learned that everything could change in a short time, “I too seemed destined to be a man of fortune once…look at me now”(18.159-162). He is simply summing up the events that actually happened to him.
ReplyDeleteAs Odysseus’ journey progresses, he is forced to overcome several obstacles that require him to use all of his physical and mental abilities in order to surpass them. From these several lines that he states to Amphinomus, you can infer that his journey has finally taught him something. He has finally realized that even though he is the “wise and cunning Odysseus,” he will never be able to match the strength of the gods. Even though he is the all powerful King of Ithaca, man will never be able to match the power of the gods. He says, “So long as the gods grant him power, spring in his knees, he thinks he will never suffer affliction down the years. But then, when the happy gods bring on the long hard times, bear them he must, against his will, and steel his heart.” This statement proves that he has finally understood that the power of the gods is more then he can match and they ultimately control his destiny.
ReplyDeleteThe lesson that Odysseus learns about him not being all-powerful and sometimes needing others for help is also expressed in other parts of his journey. This same lesson occurs when Poseidon wreaks havoc on Odysseus and he finally understands that his journey will be extremely difficult and he will need help from others. Without the help of Ino and the immortal scarf that she gives him, Odysseus could have died.
In the lines above, Odysseus is saying that even the strongest and wealthiest of men go through hard times. This shows that Odysseus him self has realized that while he was once a wealthy, powerful king, and not a beggar, that he would still endure hardship. He also figures out that while things are good at one point, they could change drastically fairly quickly. By saying "Of all that breathes and crawls across the earth, our mother earth breeds nothing feebler than a man." Odysseus here realizes that all of man is weak in some way shape or form and not just the men that look weak. Also, while Odysseus is a egotistical man, the passage shows that he has changed to accept being a low life or beggar. Plus, illustrates how Odysseus's heart has changed towards others and how he has become more accepting of them than before. Ultimately with Odysseus saying "I, too, seemed destined to be a man of fortune once . . . . (159) Look at me now." it shows his true acceptance of who he is and who others are. As Telemachus changed over the course of the epic, so did Odysseus.
ReplyDeleteThroughout his journey, Odysseus has learned that even men destined for greatness, prosperity, and a long life, can still have hardship come upon them. Also, the excerpt reveals that he thought that as long as he was healthy and happy, and some of the gods were looking out for him, then he would continue to be healthy and happy. Even though Odysseus was disguised and his overall story was a lie, it was also interlaced with many truths.
ReplyDelete“Our mother earth breeds nothing feebler than a man. So long as the gods grant him power, spring in his knees, he thinks he will never suffer affliction down the years” (Book 18: 151-153). During his journey, when he said that mother earth breeds nothing feebler than a man, he learned that men are very susceptible to getting caught up in events. Also, when he stated: “as long as the gods grant him power, spring in his knees, he thinks he will never suffer affliction down the years,” he learned that men are ignorant and that there is nothing more destructive than being ignorant.
Furthermore, the excerpt reveals that Odysseus, the master improviser, is not perfect in his lies and deceit. It shows that he too stumbles and must regain his composure, even though he catches his mistake, and quickly corrects it. When he states: "Amphinomus, you seem a man of good sense to me. Just like your father – at least I’ve heard his praises.” As a newly arrived beggar, there is no way he could know what Amphinomus’ father was like.
Throughout his journey, Odysseus has learned a lot about life, and how cruel times may be. After his long journey, Odysseus is a stronger and wiser man. He learns that even though you may be a king, are wealthy, and powerful, it could all be taken away from you in an instant. He now understands he is not in full control of how things turn out. He realizes how the gods play into the everyday humans' life and how weak and feeble the human race really is.
ReplyDeleteOdysseus also learns that with arrogant actions come hazardous consequences. In the beginning of his journey, Odysseus is very arrogant and full of himself. For example, after Odysseus blinds Polyphemus and tricks him by telling the Cyclops that his name is "Nobody", he gets very excited and overly proud of himself. He shouts his name back to the island, and shoots himself in the foot because if he hadn't of that, he could have been in Ithaca with his entire crew intact many years earlier than he truly arrived.
In the end, Odysseus learns and laments the fragility of mankind and with arrogant and irrational actions comes terrible and deadly actions.
Odysseus’ journey has had a life changing impact on him, as twenty years spent abroad probably should. In his speech to Amphinomus Odysseus says, “So long as the gods grant him power…he think he will never suffer affliction down the years, but when the happy gods bring him the long, hard times, bear them he must, against his will…” (Book 18, lines 152-155) As Odysseus bestows his wisdom onto Amphinomus it is blatant that he is using his own experiences as a basis for his thoughts. Odysseus words tell of his past and what he has learned from it. When he was younger and in good fortune, Odysseus assumed that the gods would have good fortune in store for him. Now though, he realizes that gods have good AND bad in store for everyone’s future. To bring it into real life terms, (no gods included) Odysseus has learned through his journey that no one can always be happy, or in other words that everyone suffers. This thought is very similar to Buddhism. The difference is that instead of giving up desire, Odysseus’ answer to suffering is for people to act within reason and be content with what they have.
ReplyDeleteAn episode in the Odyssey that contributes to Odysseus’ point of view is when he and his crew are departing from the island of the Cyclops and he taunts Polyphemus. In this instance Odysseus is not acting within reason. As Odysseus taunts the Cyclops he says, “If any man on the face of the earth should ask who blinded you, shamed you so—say Odysseus, raider of cities, he gouged out your eye” (Book 9, lines 559-562). Odysseus is not content with the fame he already has, because of it he reveals his name to Polyphemus, so Polyphemus can tell anyone that comes to the Cyclops Island the story of how Odysseus tricked him. This would be yet another one of Odysseus’s stories that would reached a bard that could be passed on to even more people, ever increasing Odysseus’ fame. His plan backfires. Once Odysseus tells Polyphemus his name, Polyphemus tells his father, Poseidon. Poseidon is enraged and causes Odysseus a ton of suffering.
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ReplyDeleteThis quotation demonstrates the influence of Odysseus’ journey on his outtake on life. Odysseus’ journey has influenced him to believe that human destiny is full of many possibilities. He has learned that no one can always blessed by the gods, and no one can always have good fortune because every moment leads up to the next. Nearly all of Odysseus’ journey has led up to this viewpoint since his journey has involved many twists and turns of fate. An example of the turning of fate is in the blinding of the Cyclops. While the gods granted him the right mind and strength to carry out this task to reach freedom, this moment shortly led to receiving the wrath of Poseidon for blinding his son. So while Odysseus may have had pride and glory for a moment, it did not last long before fate turned on him. Another example is with Ajax, who Odysseus encounters in Book 11 in the House of the Dead. Ajax killed himself after loosing a contest to Odysseus over the arms of Achilles and years later when Odysseus reencounters him; he refuses to speak to him. Odysseus had good fortune, strength, and happiness granted by the gods at the time of the contest, but now fate twisted and he must deal with the fury of Ajax for winning. This example proves that suffering is pervasive and unavoidable. The suffering does not always come immediately but it will eventually catch up in later years and you will suffer. As Jacob said, this idea that suffering is pervasive is similar to Buddhist principles. Buddhist principles agree that you cannot avoid suffering, and therefore, you should try to escape this dull and unhappy life. Odysseus believes that by knowing that suffering is unavoidable and you cannot always be happy, that you can somewhat control your fate so that you are prepared for times of misfortune as well as times of fortune.
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