Which Greek values are found in The Odyssey choose 4 answers?

Odysseus is a combination of the self-made, self-assured man and the embodiment of the standards and mores of his culture. He is favored by the gods and respected and admired by the mortals. Even the wrath of Poseidon does not keep him from his homecoming. He is confident that he represents virtue even when a modern audience might not be so sure. He is also a living series of contradictions, a much more complicated character than we would expect to find in the stereotypical epic hero. We can contrast Odysseus, for example, with the great warrior Achilles in The Iliad.

Achilles himself is not a two-dimensional stereotype. He has a tragic flaw, which can best be identified as hubris (an overbearing arrogance or misguided pride) as one of several distinguishing traits. But Achilles is a simpler character. According to the myth the Homeric Greeks would have known, Achilles was given a choice by the gods to live a short, glorious life full of excitement and heroism or a long, tranquil life with little recognition or fame. Achilles, of course, chose the glorious life; therefore, he achieves a kind of immortality through valor and intense, honest devotion to a cause.

Odysseus, in The Odyssey, is much more complicated. He lives by his wiles as well as his courage. He is an intellectual. Often he openly evaluates a situation, demonstrating the logic he employs in making his choices. When it proves effective, Odysseus lies (even to his own family), cheats, or steals in ways that we would not expect in an epic hero. Although he is self-disciplined (refusing to eat the lotus), his curiosity is sometimes the root of his trouble (as with the Cyclops).

He is willing to pay a price for knowledge; for example, he insists on hearing the Sirens' call, even though to do so, he must have himself excruciatingly strapped to the mast of his ship so that he cannot give in to the temptation. Odysseus can be merciful, as when he spares the bard Phemius, or brutal, as he seems when dealing with the dozen disloyal maidservants. He creates his own code of conduct through his adventures. He is deeper than Achilles, more contemplative, but still capable of explosive violence; he is almost certainly more interesting. It is easy to see why some critics like to call him the first "modern man."

Victory motivates Odysseus. He wants to return home and live well in Ithaca; as a result, every step along the way is another test, sometimes, another battle. His concern with victory is also cultural, as well as practical. In Homer's world, where there are no police or justice systems, might usually makes right. The strong prevail. Odysseus often has only two choices: death or victory. Even when Athena intervenes on his behalf, she often leaves ultimate success or failure up to Odysseus. During the battle with the suitors, for example, she could easily and quickly prevail; but she makes Odysseus earn the victory.

Appropriately, Odysseus' development as a character is complicated. He is, in every way, "the man of twists and turns" (1.1). While he does seem to grow throughout his wanderings, the reader should not look at each event as a one more learning experience for the hero. The Odyssey is not a lesson plan for growth; the episodes are not didactic examples of the importance of prudence or anything else.

When Odysseus left for Troy, he had already established his reputation as a hero. His participation in the war was crucial to the Greeks' victory. It was he who disguised himself as an old beggar and infiltrated the enemy. As Menelaus tells Telemachus in Book 4, it was Odysseus' legendary ruse of the Trojan horse that led to the defeat of Troy.

Certainly Odysseus does grow in wisdom and judgment throughout his ventures. His self-control while dealing with the suitors' insults is exemplary and contrasts, for example, with his earlier irresistible urge to announce his name to the Cyclops in Book 9. In other ways, however, he seems slow to learn. The most notable example being his difficulty in controlling his men. After the victory over the Cicones, Odysseus wisely wants to take the plunder and depart quickly (9.50). His men prefer to stay, leading to a defeat at the hands of reinforcements. When Aeolus grants the Greeks fair winds to Ithaca, Odysseus falls asleep within sight of home, enabling his suspicious, undisciplined crew to open the bag of ill winds and let loose a tempest that blows them off course. Again, on the island of the Sungod Helios, Odysseus' men disobey strict orders and feast on the sacred cattle when he goes inland to pray and falls asleep. The struggles Odysseus faces make his growth as a character more realistic and more credible because it is not simple or absolute.

Greek Values One may have wondered how mysterious it is when two lives on separate journeys meet, combining their journeys into one. In the epic poem The Odyssey, by Homer, Odysseus and his son, Telémakhos, do exactly this through trials influenced by hospitality, loyalty, and cleverness. After a long war Odysseus sets a voyage for home in hopes of meeting his son for the first time, but runs into many set backs. The Odyssey is an epic poem about how Odysseus and Telémakhos are reunited and the trials they go through to get back home. During both of their journeys, Odysseus and Telémakhos follow the most significant of the Greek values, hospitality, loyalty, and cleverness to help them to complete their journeys and reunite with each other.…show more content…
"I tied them [ram] silently together twining cords of willow from the ogre's bed, then slung a man under each middle one to ride safely, shielded left and right." (IX 165-170). This passage shows how Odysseus used his cleverness by using his resources that were in the cyclopes' cave to escape. This was the third day in the cave, one would have thought to give up already, but he put together what he had to survive. After Odysseus stabbed Polythemus in the eye, the cyclopes yelled, "'Nohbdy, Nohbdy's tricked me, Nohbdy's ruined me!' To this the rough shout they [other cyclopes] made a sage reply: 'Ah well, if nobody has played you foul there in your lonely, we are no use in pain given by great Zeus.'" (IX 444-447). Odysseus was clever not to give the cyclopes his real name because, he knew if he did the other cyclopes would recognize him and try to go after him. Instead he stated that his name was Nohbdy. This was also a clever move on Odysseus' part because when the other cyclopes asked who stabbed him it would sound like he was saying nobody instead of Nohbdy. Due to Odysseus' quick thinking and cleverness, him and his crew escaped another challenge making them one step closer to

What are the values in The Odyssey?

Which 3 of the following are values of ancient Greeks?

What are the main Greek values?

What values of the ancient Greeks are found in the poems of Homer?