Greek Culture’s Virtues in The Odyssey Essay Example

In his epic poem, The Odyssey, Homer shows the Greek culture’s virtues of cleverness, hospitality, and justice, and how if the virtues are abused, the character gets punished. Homer depicts how all three of these character trait are virtues. For example, cleverness is a Greek virtue. Homer shows that if you over use these virtues it leads to punishment and selfishness. 

Through examples of Odysseus’ wit during his journey, Homer reveals that cleverness is a Greek virtue. Circe – He takes moly given to him by Hermes in disguise. Circe is shocked that Odysseus is not affected by her bewitching potion. She says: “You have a mind in you no magic can enchant! You must by Odysseus, man of twists and turns” (X, 362-365). Sirens he takes beeswax and puts it in his shipmates’ ears to block the sound of the Sirens’ voices, and the shipmates bind Odysseus to the mast. Odysseus says, “I sliced an ample wheel of beeswax down into pieces, kneaded them in my two strong hands…I stopped the ears of my comrades one by one (XII, 189-193). But Odysseus is the most clever when he tells the cyclops Polyphemus, “Nobody—that’s my name” (IX, 410). He also shows cleverness by hiding his comrades and himself under the fleece of the cyclops’ rams so that they can secretly get out of the cave under the cover of the animals. Odysseus gets too arrogant about his cleverness and shouts at the cyclops: “Says, Odysseus, raider of cities, he gouged out your eye” (IX, 560-561). Poseidon helps destroy some of Odysseus’ ships, and Odysseus’ loses ships and men as punishment for having hubris. While cleverness is a virtue, too much cleverness leads to hubris, which is a vice and leads to punishment.

Through several characters other than Odysseus, Homer reveals that hospitality, or xenia, is a virtue. Loyal swineherd  He sees Odysseus, disguised as an old beggar man, and is kind to him. He says, “Every stranger and beggar comes from Zeus and whatever scrap they get from the likes of us, they’ll find it welcome” (XIV, 64-67). The loyal swineherd invites Odysseus to his home and gives him food and wine. Telemachus wants to offer hospitality to Odysseus disguised as the old beggar man. He says, “I’m young myself. I can hardly trust my hands to fight off any man who rises up against me” (XVI, 80-81). Telemachus wants to offer hospitality, but he is worried the suitors might harm the man he is trying to offer hospitality to. Suitors – Odysseus talks about how the suitors abused the hospitality and acted disrespectful by eating all the food and drinking all the wine and staying at Odysseus’ palace trying to win over Penelope. He says about the suitors: “Guests treated to blows, men dragging the serving-women through the noble house, exploiting them all, no shame, and the gushing wine swilled, the food squandered–gorging for gorging’s sake–and the courting game goes on, no end in sight” (XVI, 119-124. While hospitality is a virtue, refusing it or abusing it shows disrespect and leads to punishment.

Through an example with the Gods during Odysseus’ journey and then a big example with the main character Odysseus at the end, Homer reveals that justice is a virtue. The Gods get their own justice when they or the ones they love are wronged. In Book 10, Odysseus’ men are envious of the sack Aeolus, master of winds, gives Odysseus. They open it and it sends them right back to the Aeolian island where Aeolus is upset and banishes them. This leads them to Laestrygonian land, where they are attacked by giants that ”speared [Odysseus’ men] like fish” (X, 135).Homer uses a simile to depict what is being portrayed when the Lastrogonians attack Odysseus’ men. In Book 17, Telemachus tells the epic metaphor that Menelaus uses to describe the cowardly suitors: “Weak as the doe that beds down her fawns in a mighty lion’s den–her newborn sucklings–then trails off to the mountain spurs and grassy bends to graze her fill, but back the lion comes to his own lair and the master deals both fawns a ghastly bloody death” (XVII, 135-140). Diction is shown here using “ghastly, bloody, death,” to show the reader how violent this event is. The suitors are the weak fawns trying to have Penelope for themselves, and Odysseus is the mighty lion who returns to the den, his palace, to get justice and kill the suitors. In Book 22, Odysseus and Telemachus get their justice against the suitors. There is another simile: “The attackers struck like eagles, crook-clawed, hook-beaked, swooping down from a mountain ridge to harry smaller birds that skim across the flatland, cringing under the clouds but the eagles plunge in fury, rip their lives out–hopeless, never a chance of flight or rescue” (XXII, 316-320). The suitors are the helpless birds, and Odysseus and Telemachus are the eagles attacking and ripping apart their prey. While justice is virtue, being selfish is a vice and leads to punishment.

In his epic poem, The Odyssey, Homer shows the Greek culture’s virtues of cleverness, hospitality, and justice, and how if the virtues are abused, the character gets punished.  Odysseus shows cleverness which is a Greek virtue he uses on his journey. Another trait he uses is hospitality, which is a virtue that also contains xenia. An example of this is when Odysseus is disguised as a beggar and the people are nice to him. Even Though hospitality is a virtue you shouldn't overuse this because it can be known as disrespect. The last trait he uses is justice, he uses justice to represent how it is also another virtue. When Odyyseus and Telmachus get their justice together they are representing virtue. Overusing justice can be known as selfishness. Throughout the novel Homer uses many cultural values and virtues, even Greek virtues. Odysseus reflects that overusing these values can lead to punishment.