Prompt 1
Throughout Odesseus’ Journey, he faces many challenges that act as allegories to the
struggles of human nature. This relates to Heraclitus’ claim that Homer uses the odyssey to
philosophize about different virtues. Although there are many of these instances, three of the
major ones were the Sirens, Scylla and Charybdis, and the cattle of Helios.
The Sirens represent the virtue of chastity as they lure sailors and their ships towards
rocks and ultimately their demise. From Homer's portrayal it conveys his idea that failure to
uphold one's chastity can cause the destruction of their life. In addition the portrayal of sirens as
beautiful women further ties into the idea that women are the temptestesses that cause a man
to fault, in line with the values at the time.
Scylla and Charybdis is the classic rock and a hard place scenario, forcing Odysseus
and his crew to face either a serpent or a whirlpool. In the end taking the lesser of the two evils
the serpent. Homer uses this obstacle to challenge odysseus’ heroic virtues forcing him to
sacrifice his men along with challenging his virtue of strength as he was unable to stop the
serpent.
Finally the cattle of Helios where the men disobeyed odysseus and killed the cattle of
Helios, forsaking them to die when they face rough seas. This showcases Homer's idea of the
virtue of temperance or control over one's own actions.
All in all, Homer presents the failure to display these ideal virtues will have negative
consequences.
Prompt 2
Although at the end of the odyssey everything is wrapped up nicely, upon examining
Odysseus’ Life as a whole I would argue that he did not have a happy life. However, this is not
due to how he died but rather how he lived.
Odysseus may have been a formidable warrior in his youth, but this does not constitute
a happy life. Yes, he had happy moments, however, most of his life was spent either fighting or
trying to get home. In the end Odysseus was merely a man no matter how much strength or
wisdom he possessed, A man who spends a decade of his life crying because he misses his
wife along with all the other tragedies he experienced, watching all of his comrades die overtime
or even the own mental effects of taking a life, all this weighs down on a man and this can be
seen in his disposition towards crying. Even though in the daylight he plays up his big and brave
heroic facade when the sun sets his true colors come to light. Therefore I do not think Odysseus
can be considered to have a happy life, even if he’s in a better place at the end of the book, it
doesn’t erase the struggles he’s faced.
Even with the different ending it doesn’t change the fact that Odysseus had a very
challenging life, furthermore how someone dies does not define the scope of their life. The only
factors relating to death that affect the reflection of someone's life is time and impact, neither of
which apply to Odysseus as he lived a long life that few can even come close to. Therefore, my
original argument stands, because of the overwhelming sadness that Odysseus endured he did
not have a happy life.