Odysseus

Michael Boveda
Period 6
5/12/10
Odyssey Essay
Can you imagine having the Greek gods pushing you away from your friends and family because of something you did? One man had to go through just that. In the epic The Odyssey by Homer, Odysseus is constantly pushed away from his home by the Greek gods just to be shown that he is but one person in this world. But even with this, he is still determined and a fearless leader throughout his journey.
Odysseus is very strong willed and a fearless leader. When he was trapped in the cave of the Cyclops, he had his men make a pointed stake and hide it. When he got the chance, he gathered up four of his men and, “rammed [the stake] deep in [the Cyclops’s] crater eye.” (332-333). Where most men would cower in fear, Odysseus gathered up his courage and rallied up his men to fight so that they could escape later on. Odysseus had also been really thrown around by the gods but, “after twenty years, [he was] back again.”(1051-1052). He was delayed for twenty years and still did not give up? This shows some definite determination from him. Most people would just give up in his situation, but he powered through and never gave up. Even with the gods pretty much playing with him, Odysseus still powered through and got home.
The gods seemed to think Odysseus was a little bloated, so they brought him down to size. When he arrives at the Cyclops’ cave, he explains his odd predicament to the Cyclops but adds, “So the will of Zeus would have it.”(207). With the havoc Odysseus caused in troy, Zeus made sure none of that would go unpunished. Zeus made the winds change against Odysseus’ favor push him farther back. When Odysseus was sailing, the gods made him pass by the sirens. The gods were testing Odysseus to see if he would be lured in by the sirens and fail his journey home. Odysseus was smart and, “carried wax along the line and laid it thick on their ears. Then they tied [him] up.”(). The gods wanted Odysseus to be lured in to his...