Book 8 of "the Odyssey"

Book 8 of the Odyssey helps to show an interesting value that the Greeks held higher(prenominal), and that we hold high in our society now. This substantial value is that defectives done to populate must be paid for. The story of Ares and Aphrodite, the arguwork forcet in the midst of Euryalus and Odysseus, and the underlying conflict surrounded by Odysseus and the suitors he has not that met are three specific instances in book 8 that prove this values importance to the Greek culture.

Aphrodite is the wife of Hephaestus, a blacksmith, and a deity. Ares the very ath allowic and very hand any(prenominal) god is sleeping with the Goddess Aphrodite behind Hephaestus back. Hephaestus fri send forward and messenger, Hermes, be have sexs aware of the affair victorious place and informs Hephaestus. Cunning Hephaestus, upset and angry, begins plotting his revenge. He first forges an splinterless chain that provide ensnare the two fornicators when they again rest in bed to run lowher. Next, he tells his wife that he is deviation to visit his favorite city, Lemnos. During his short trip he has Hermes scout on the two, so that when they lie down to tranceher and get caught in the chains, he tramp inform Hephaestus and he locoweed return to catch them in bed. His cunning plan works, he has Ares and Aphrodite trapped in the bed, and calls the other gods to come and witness the revile that has been done to him. The gods all come in and see what has happened. They unwrap such phrases as Crime doesnt afford and Ares has to pay the beauteous for adultery on page 116. Poseidon pleads with Hephaestus, Let him go, and I leave ensure he will pay you fair recompense before all the gods. This is a story that is told to an inherent feast and many people are surely going to envision it. Im sure this story to the Greek culture served much as a teaching technique for children and young men then(prenominal) for mere entertainment. We still use the same technique directly to teach lessons to children and adults a exchangeable. Rather than stating a lesson such as, if you commit a pricefulness, you will pay for it, it is far more than memorable if you basis physically see or visualize the same lesson in a specific example. In out society today we see many movies and a very prevalent origin throughout many movies is the fact that crime doesnt pay, middling like Poseidon says. It is very similar to the idea the bad guy never wins. Of course the bad guy cant win. If the bad guy wins, everything we need been taught to be right and everything we are taught to be wrong get mixed up. The story of the affair between the god and the goddess just proves that even stories within stories as old as the Odyssey must have lessons that follow the lessons of society. After all, if the gods, Greeces top citizens, must pay for the wrongs they commit, it stands to show how important paying for wrongs is to all the people of Greece.

Next we come to the argument Euryalus has with Odysseus. Euryalus is rude and offensive to Odysseus. He challenges him not simply in athletics, but also in his lineage and honor. The queen regnant Alcinous recognizes it, and while immediately he does nothing to stop it, he eventually forces Euryalus to pay Odysseus homage with gifts and weapons. He also forces his entire kingdom to compensate Odysseus, because he knows he committed a wrong by not stopping Euryalus speech more quickly. I believe he did not stop him originally because he was unsure who Odysseus was at the time. Odysseus may have been a ragged seamen or a merchant as Euryalus suggested. If Odysseus had turn up to be not of noble heritage, then certainly the hospitality code shared by the nobles would not have been worried and no wrong would have been committed. The king quickly realizes the wrong he committed when Odysseus nobility is proven and rectifies his wrong by giving this speech on page 118, Hear me Phaecian lords and counselors. Our guest seems in my eyes to be a man of the highest discernment, come, then, let us break him a gift that befits a guest....... A fresh cloak and tunic and a bar of beautiful gold. He continues to say that Euryalus must apologize a give him a gift, because what he said was in no way proper. Odysseus accepts a bronze sword from Euryalus as payment for the wrong committed and the two speak pleasant words to each other. The issue is now resolved.

Throughout the Odyssey, Odysseus is being wronged, much of the time without his knowledge.



He is being wronged by the suitors, many of which he welcomed into his home as children and took care of them like they were his own children. Now these various men of Ithaca are eating his livestock, drinking his wine, plotting his sons death, and trying to marry his wife. This is maybe the ultimate wrong and the suitors will face the ultimate reprisal. Because this wrong goes on throughout the poem, it can only be fabricated how important it will be for Odysseus to exact revenge on them. Odysseus hears the story of Ares and Aphrodite, so one can infer that he has been taught the lesson that a wrong must be righted. While Odysseus will return home to a similar situation as Hepheastus, the situation is not exactly the same. Odysseus wife, Penelope, has not committed adultery. In fact, she has waited patiently for twenty years hoping and wishing that Odysseus would return so that he may restore the kingdom of Ithaca and vanquish the suitors. When Odysseus does in fact return home, he very quickly goes some creating a plan, with the help of the goddess genus Athene, to rid his household of the army of suitors. The end result of Odysseus exacting his revenge on the suitors really proves how important this value of payment for wrongs is to the Greeks. Odysseus, and his three companions, will go up against well over a hundred suitors including their slaves and aides. Odysseus with the help of the goddess Athena easily kills every last suitor without sustaining any major(ip) injuries or casualties to his three friends. I think this amazing endeavour is not an example of Odysseus legendary strength, but rather a lesson to all Greeks that if one commits a wrong no depicted object how easily one thinks one can get away with it, one will be required in some shape or form to pay the debt one owes.

Any lesson that can help deter someone from committing a crime, or more simply a wrong, is a great lesson for our society today as well as it was for the Greek society of considerable ago. This lesson was repeated and proven in the story of Ares and Aphrodite, the argument between Euryalus and Odysseus, and the conflict between Odysseus and the suitors.

If you want to get a honest essay, order it on our website: Ordercustompaper.com



If you want to get a full essay, wisit our page: write my paper