“The world is full of wonders, but nothing is more wonderful than man.” This quote shows that the Greeks valued themselves, but also their intellect in which they know that the world about them is great. The Greeks valued beauty, art, intellect, honor, and truth; the list is long. Some of these values are shown through the story of the Odyssey, which tells of the adventures of Odysseus and his family. In order to understand Greek values and how they are portrayed in Greek society, one must examine how some values are portrayed in the Odyssey: hospitality, intellect, and beauty. In Greek society, hospitality is really important. The Greeks strongly believed in their gods, and they always wanted to be prepared if one came knocking at …show more content…
An example of a lack of hospitality was when Odysseus and his men came upon the Kyklopes’, and the one-eyed monsters treated them terribly. On first sight they tried to kill Odysseus and all his men. The Greeks also valued intelligence and intellect. Although there were certain areas in Greece that valued it more than others, such as Athens, the Greeks were generally an intelligent race of people. An example from the Odyssey is when Penelope (Odysseus’ wife, Telemakhos’ mother) tells her suitors that she needs to finish weaving a shroud for an old man before she marries. She proceeds to weave on her loom every day, but unravels it during the night, so that she will never have to marry. Another example is when Odysseus finally arrives home, and he disguises himself so he can question people about his home and the situation, all without being noticed. In this way he gained information without revealing himself. Another important Greek value is beauty. The Greeks strived for the idealistic form in everything they did: art, literature, beauty, and even in the sciences. The Odyssey portrays Penelope to be an older woman, but a beautiful older woman, having a hall full of suitors wanting to marry her. Another example is when Athena changes Odysseus’ appearance in certain situations, usually making Odysseus look young and less hardened by all his traveling. A more detailed description of this is when Odysseus
In the epic poem, “ The Odyssey,” the powerful character Odysseus, as exemplary qualities. Furthermore, Odyssey is a courageous man that will face anything head on. More, he is an intelligent, human that can think of elaborate plans. On the other hand, Odysseus is quite sensitive.
People practiced hospitality out of love and fear. Some Greeks were kind and loving toward their guests because they truly cared about their fellow man. However, this way of thinking was not shared by the entire culture and many
The Odyssey a story about an ancient Greek hero struggling to get back home to his wife… but what does his great journey reflect on the values and cultural norms of Ancient Greek society. The Odyssey reflects many different things about value and cultural norms of Ancient Greece. There are many cultural norms the Ancient Greeks have from guests must receive a gift from the host to how women are treated during that time. But we’ll be covering three things that the Ancient Greeks cultural norms and or valued. The Greeks had many cultural norms like the treatment of women and how men a more free, there are thing guests expect from the host, invited or not, and how the Greeks are nothing without the gods.
From Odysseus, we find his intellectual mind being used well to help him succeed in situations of conflict, even with the help from Athena. The major goal of a woman at this time was to breed a man of glory, and that is what is found in Odysseus. He spends the whole journey, and in the war prior to our knowledge of the book, working towards the ultimate goal of having complete glory through his great deeds and his homecoming to his family and kingdom. With the aspect of glory and Greek culture, mostly, if not all, Greeks seeked glory through pleasing the gods with their many deeds such as Odysseus did. The characteristics of seeking glory in a Homeric culture doesn’t change and it stays that way throughout the whole journey, unlike some stories found today with conflicting emotions and visions. With these attitudes and cultural aspect of characters, connections can be made to audiences listening to the story when this was composed. The Greek society and culture shines fairly well through this epic and can help show what can be learned from life as a glory seeking, fate wondering Greek citizen, also what we can learn from that society from an intellectual and theoretical
The various characteristics of Greek society show pride in the individual in a number of different ways. The Greeks created an environment in which human actions, emotions, and imaginations were appreciated and encouraged. Humans were the subjects of statues, dramatic performances, and even philosophical debate. The Greeks were appreciated by themselves as well as the
In modern western society we are a people taught from very young that good manners and strong morality are necessity. The idea that the good will prosper and the bad will get what they deserve is widely accepted and applauded. However, these ideas about the social rules of "modern civil man" are not so novel. This same system of social behavior and belief is exhibited throughout the epic poem, The Odyssey. In this epic we find the roots of our contemporary social actions and convictions importantly displayed.
Values: The Greeks clearly value courage and leadership, two qualities quickly seen in Odysseus. They also value the ability to improvise, as Odysseus is forced into many situations where his own ingenuity is the only thing he can rely on.
Although The Odyssey was written to teach lessons on Greek social norms, there are examples that arguably go against the cultural hegemony. Penelope’s suitors, for example, do not respect the Filial requirements to the royal family. Shown when
What does this have to do with The Odyssey? The Odyssey tells the story of the obstacles of the hero, Odysseus, and his journey home after the ten-year Trojan War. Twentieth-century research indicates that Homer's epic poem The Odyssey began as part of an ancient Greek oral tradition before writing was ever discovered. In 750 BCE, Homer was the first to ever write the epic poems ,The Iliad and The Odyssey, both of which had a significant effect on Greek education.Greek oral tradition and myths were an essential part of the Greek customs and their unique traditions. Storytelling is and always has been a way of preserving the Greek’s culture and beliefs and if it weren’t for the ancient storytellers we would not have
The ancient Greeks were the first people to believe in individual dignity and achievement. Citizens were free men, able to live their lives to the fullest. However, the Greeks denied rights to women. The Greeks were known as Athenians for the city of Athens. The Athenians based their morals on man. They loved the way the man’s mind could reason, beautify, and could take advantage of physical skill and grace. Their architecture, sculptures, paintings, and literature all were masterpieces of man.
What is the origin of society and civilization? Was it started by way of a “social contract” as Thomas Hobbes suggests? Or was John Locke correct in speculating that civilization began when individuals gave up some of their rights to the state in order to have peace? Although these two ideas dominate modern political thought, there is a third more plausible option. Sir Henry Maine argues that the main unit of society is not individuals but rather the patriarchal family. Maine admits that we cannot know the exact origins of society but we can look back as far as possible and theorize from there. This can be done using documents such as Tacitus’s Germania, the oldest parts of the old testament, ancient law and the works of Homer. Throughout The Odyssey one can see how family plays a big role in how society forms and functions and the importance of patriarchal authority within these family units.
In Homer’s The Odyssey, the hailed hero Odysseus has many behaviours and characteristics rightfully valued by ancient Greek society. His courageous acts and witty schemes convey his heroism and properly show how a society’s values affect the cultural aspects of ideals that should be covet.
The main character in the Odyssey, Odysseus, displays many valuable traits throughout the novel, which helped support the main idea that cunning, endurance, and loyalty are more valuable than brute strength
Odysseus’ intellect helped create a hero image for the Ancient Greeks.Throughout the story Odysseus continuously uses his intelligence and manipulation to get himself out of trouble. For example, In Book Nine of The Odyssey, Odysseus is telling a story oh how The Cyclops asked Odysseus his name and he replied “Nobody-that’s my name”(9.410). Odysseus and a
Myths were a very important part of the ancient Greek civilization. They explained the world to the people of ancient Greece, including how and why the physical world worked, human emotions and relationships, how and why the gods acted, but arguably the most important thing they did was give the people of ancient Greece values to live. However, these values often varied by gender. For example, myths showed how women should belong to men and be treated as something evil. Differently from what they said about women, myths showed men how to obtain honor and glory. By studying these myths we can begin to understand the values held by the people of ancient Greece.