Odysseus
King Alkínoös finally knows my story, or part of it at least. I figured he deserved the truth after all he has done for me. After the battle of Troy, we cast off but the current carried us out to sea before he reached home. We landed on the coastline of the Lotos eaters. They appeared kind but the sweet Lotos they gave to my men made them forget their desire to go home. Shortly after we escaped, we found ourselves in the land of the Kyklopês. Their vast sheep herds were very tempting as we hadn’t eaten in several days. We decided to see if one would be hospitable to us and keep us as honored guests. Little did we know that they do not live by the laws of men. The Kyklopês trapped us in his cave and slowly ate most of my men. Somehow, we managed to get him drunk and stab his eye out. When he yelled out for help he said “Nohbdy’s tricked me!” because I told him my name was Nohbdy. I then lashed my men in between sheep and clung to one myself. We escaped when the giant let out his sheep and as we sailed away I called back and taunted him, finally telling him my true name.
King Alkínoös finally knows my story, or part of it at least. I figured he deserved the truth after all he has done for me. After the battle of Troy, we cast off but the current carried us out to sea before he reached home. We landed on the coastline of the Lotos eaters. They appeared kind but the sweet Lotos they gave to my men made them forget their desire to go home. Shortly after we escaped, we found ourselves in the land of the Kyklopês. Their vast sheep herds were very tempting as we hadn’t eaten in several days. We decided to see if one would be hospitable to us and keep us as honored guests. Little did we know that they do not live by the laws of men. The Kyklopês trapped us in his cave and slowly ate most of my men. Somehow, we managed to get him drunk and stab his eye out. When he yelled out for help he said “Nohbdy’s tricked me!” because I told him my name was Nohbdy. I then lashed my men in between sheep and clung to one myself. We escaped when the giant let out his sheep and as we sailed away I called back and taunted him, finally telling him my true name.
Odysseus: Lion heart or cowardly lion?
Guest Blogger Télémakhos
My father is considered to be a great war hero, I can’t argue with that. However, this new knowledge of my father is rather startling to me. His arrogance is the only reason he did not come home years ago. If he hadn’t taunted the Cyclops from the boat and told him his real name, the Cyclops never would have asked his father not to let Odysseus come home. It also displays cowardice that he would only taunt him from the safety of the ship. Can he really be considered a hero if he is so thoughtless and even cruel once he is out of danger? My father seems to be a kind of manipulative man but people will look right over that because he is a hero. Can heroes “slack off on the job” once people have labeled them as a hero? I would say yes but it is not right. Odysseus yelled to the Cyclops “If I could take your life I would…” (Odyssey 161). An ideal hero would never say that, even to someone who had just done them a terrible wrong. This is a generalization, but judging from this, I bet a lot of famous heroes aren’t really all they’re said to be. Although they may sound like gods, they are only human and can have as much cowardice and arrogance as anyone.
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