Odysseus manly conduct and resourcefulness in ancient Greek society

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Odysseus manly conduct and resourcefulness in ancient Greek society

Odysseus was also known as Ulysses. He was born in the Ancient Greece. He was a Greek legend and a king of his hometown Ithaca as well as the hero in Odyssey, the Greek epic that was a sequel to the Iliad (Montiglio 56-9).

Ancient Greek society was mainly made up of free people and slaves. Slaves were used as servants and laborers for free people who were mainly rich landowners, called aristocrats meaning best people. Their system of Government was known as oligarchy which was the rule by the few whereby slaves secured no legal right. For years, the Greeks engaged in a civil war with the Trojans whereby Achilles and Odysseus emerged foremost warriors in Greek mythology. They possessed outstanding qualities like strength, military skills, pride, bravery and honor which the ancient Greeks prized as manly virtues because of their noble task of transforming them into victory from the tyrannical error.

As the Trojan War began, Odysseus was reluctant to join the war which was a dispute over the kidnapping of a beautiful Greek woman (Helen) by the Trojan Prince Paris. Instead, he sold ornaments as a travelling merchant to the women of the royal household at Skyros. Among the ornaments he sold, were weapons such as a shield and spear. Later on, he took a move of manhood by joining the Greek forces in order to redeem his people since it had been foreseen by a seer that his people would never defeat the Trojans without his help. Odysseus was therefore a hard working fellow. He decided to be a travelling merchant displaying ornament to the women of the royal household in order to acquire a living. Besides, he became keen and clever and recognized that he had found Achilles who was being looked for immediately just as the girl admired the shield and spear. He was persuasive too as he persuaded Achilles to join the Greek forces in order to redeem his people against the Troy.

Odysseus was a hero. He was a hero of the Odyssey struggle which was the arrival to his home in Ithaca from the ten year Trojan War. He was among those who hid in the Trojan horse hence his heroic deeds of a manly warrior. He was an ideal hero for his endurance and reverence towards the gods hence managed to overcome his flaws for him to be crowned a hero. Besides of his cunning and resourcefulness, he too had pride towards his allies and human failings. His mighty deeds and all human weaknesses made him popular and favorite with storytellers and scholars. An example is the Ulysses done by Alfred, Lord Tennyson which was the best known poem of the 1800s and James Joyce’s novel (Ulysses) which used Homer’s adventures pertaining Odysseus (Van 71). A hero should overpower his or her enemies and become an individual of respect and virtue at all times. Odysseus had to do this at all times until he became the outstanding hero among his people. After sometime, he became proud of himself but later realized that this was his weak point and therefore became humble. Often, he never boasted about who he was either but humbled himself among his people.

On the other hand, heroes should fight the odds and overcome physical challenges which come on their way. Odysseus passed through many setbacks which in one way tested his intelligence and strength. To tackle with obstacles, he used more of his mind rather than physical force. He therefore become calm and had to bear with many challenges in order to finally go back home to Ithaca. Also, he obeyed the gods to the latter and his cleverness together with determination granted him an opportunity to be a real hero. To become heroic, Odysseus did change his attitude in the end for the better (Worman 42-3). Odysseus always showed respect to the gods more so appreciating their control of fate and realizing that he also required help if he was to get back home in Ithaca and to his beloved family. He therefore showed caution, keen observation and instinct to the gods in order not to annoy them. Odysseus was human as well and often moved to tears whenever he did wrong. He took many human roles of carpenter, lover, warrior, beggar and a storyteller. Besides he displayed human qualities like boldness and brutality.

Odysseus was a modern man, survivor who always struggled, suffered and dealt with the fate and task handed down to him by his people in order redeem them from war. Just as life is for everybody, Odysseus journey was totally unpredictable since it was rich with people and places. His leadership skills always kept the battle for Troy moving as they invaded their opponents. He could be ruthless at times as well as tricky besides being a great fighter for redemption of his people. It was his plan of attacking the Troy using the wooden horse that bore fruits. Such deeds made him to have a good reputation due to his high level of intelligence which was a major characteristic of his heroic status. He struggled with life just like any human being does by having emotional pain besides of being intelligent and heroic. The pain and trauma he goes through are the characteristics of a common man. He had his bad days too and was not a perfect hero. Sometimes he could be simply, “wretched and miserable “(62). He really missed his own home while on the island and as a result he could be hurt psychologically and even give up with the battle. Odysseus did not at all succumb to the exhaustion of twenty years of obstacles a thing most modern men would (Van 87).

Odysseus circumstances would also be compared to cinematic action heroes like James Bond, Clint Eastwood, Sylvester Stallone and Tom Cruise in that they both followed the same path of struggle for their acquired success. They managed to beat the odds and stand out bright in the society due to their hard-work and high level of intelligence. For instance, James Bond started just as a simple actor and little did he know that later on, he would be a neutral figure, an anonymous and blunt instrument admired by many including a government department. He too became inspirational in his fictional creation just as Odysseus was inspirational to his Greek soldiers. Tom Cruise as well is a well-known American film actor and producer who has grown to greater heights and won three Golden Globe Awards. He contributed positively in the society especially for his support in the church of scientology for his scientologist faith. He depicted responsibility for his family just as Odysseus. The adjective Polymetis can also be applied to the characters as well due to their heroic deeds in their cinematic field (Dimock 67).

Aphrodite Venus is the goddesses of love. She was beautiful and kind but sometimes she preferred revenge. Her beauty made others jealous but all the gods and mortals liked her. Aphrodite Venus was seen as the most beautiful woman by the Olympians just as Odysseus was depicted heroic by Greeks. She was as well described to be a dove, scallop shell, apple and mirror.

In conclusion, Odysseus is actually an ideal of manly conduct and resourcefulness in ancient Greek society. Due to his heroic acts driven by his high level of intelligence, he therefore remains to be admired by Greece people and a figure of importance for hundreds of years.

Works cited

Dimock, George E. The Unity of the Odyssey. Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press, 2010. Print.

Greek-English Lexicon, Liddell & Scott (1893: Oxford, Oxford University Press)

Jong, I. J. F. Space in ancient Greek literature: Studies in ancient Greek narrative. 2012.

Montiglio, Silvia. From Villain to Hero: Odysseus in Ancient Thought. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2011. Print.

Paideia: The Ideals of Greek Culture, Werner Jaeger, trans. Gilbert Highet (1945: New York, Oxford University Press)

Van, N. T. The unknown Odysseus: Alternate worlds in Homer’s Odyssey. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press. 2009. Print.

Worman, Nancy. The Cast of Character: Style in Greek Literature. Austin, TX: Univ. of Texas Press, 2002. Print.