Circe and calipso
ODYSSEUS: A MERE MORTAL, BUT PURELY MORALIn Homer's Odyssey, he uses the stories of Calypso and Circe to give a reader a glimpse at Greek values. Odysseus is a "perfectly" moral man by Greek standards. In the Calypso episode, Odysseus demonstrates the value of faithfulness, and in the Circe episode, he illustrates Greek values in general. While both goddesses seek Odysseus to be their husband, Odysseus responds as a perfect Greek hero. During the Calypso episode, Homer teachers that one must remain faithful in their hearts. The Circe episode shows the loyalty between a commander and his troops, burial rights, hospitality, and the relationship between host and guest. The Calypso episode explains how a man must be faithful to his wife in his heart. The Calypso scene opens with a description of how beautiful her island of meadows and flowers is and how "even a deathless god who came upon that place would gaze in wonder, heart entranced with pleasure" (154). The story proceeds to describe the goddess as having a "breathtaking voice" (154) and being "lustrous" (155). Yet, when the story describes Odysseus, he is "wrenching his heart with sobs and groans and anguish" (156). Even though, Odysseus resides on a beautiful island with
Then, on their final departing from Aeaea, Circe gives them food and drink to take on their voyage as well as a swift wind. She gives them several gifts as expected by a hostess when her guest leaves. Therefore, while host must be gracious and giving to guests, the guests are expected to be respectful of their host. The final temping offer to make Odysseus turn away from his home and his wife is when Calypso offers him immortality to stay with her. Again, Odysseus chooses his land and his wife. In modern times, sleeping with a goddess would be considered unfaithful, but Greek values allow this if and only if the man still wishes to return home and return to his wife. Thus, one of the highest values for a Greek was to be faithful to their home and their wives in their hearts. The stories involving Circe describe several values. The stories describe hospitality, the loyalty between a commander and his troops, the relationship between host and guest, and burial rights. When the story begins with an analysis on how guests ought to be treated. Circe is an enchantress who welcomes some of Odysseus's troops into her home for food and drink. Then, she made a potion that would clear their memories so that when she struck them with her magic wand, they turned into pigs. Zeus or Hermes must have witnessed this episode because Hermes came to Odysseus with a "potent drug" (239) that would counteract Circe's potion. Since Zeus is the god of hospitality, Circe was in the wrong by harming her guests as she did. So, Odysseus went to Circe with the drug, and when she attempted to do the same thing, Odysseu
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1080
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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