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Essay on Violence in the Odyssey
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Essay on violence in Homer’s “The Odyssey”.
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Violence in The OdysseyViolence in The Odyssey by Homer, translated by Robert Fitzgerald, is essential to the engagement of
the audience. Although some violence shows outdated morals, it was suited to the audience that was being told
the story. Set in Ancient Greece, the main character, Odysseus, is a headstrong, clever hero, with a temper.
However, not all violence was done out of rage. When the hero and his crew were trapped with a cyclops,
Odysseus used violence to save them. Later, he used violence to take back his hall, and his loyalty.
In The Odyssey, Odysseus had many adventures, one of which led him to a cyclops named Polyphemus.
Polyphemus trapped Odysseus and his men, and proceeded to “beat their brains out, spattering the floor,”
(Homer 153). This went on for a couple of days, and then Odysseus had an idea. First, they get the cyclops
drunk on wine, then, while Polyphemus is sleeping, they sharpened a spike, heated it in the fire, and “Bored that
great eye socket while blood ran out around the red hot bar… The pierced ball hissed broiling, and the roots
popped,” (Homer 156). After the cyclops wakes up with no eye, they escape. This was the only way to break
free, and it lends action and interest to the story.
A different kind of interest, shown later, is when Odysseus is home. His hall is overrun with suitors
seeking his wife’s hand. They are rude and assertive, but adamant they will win her over. Odysseus meets with
his son and loyal servants, and plans to kill them all, rewarding extra pain to those who were offensive.
Melanthios gets the worst of it, as they “chopped with swords to cut his ears and nose off, pulled off genitals to
feed the dogs, and raging hacked his hands and feet away,” (Homer 424). Although this slaughter is intended to
be a moral to the suitors, not to question his authority, it mainly ends up as a showing of his temper.
Nevertheless, it is inarguably a good show of violence and keeps people engaged.
The most moral-based part of the story is about the maids. The maidservants who had slept with the
suitors were deemed unfaithful and were forced to “Lug the corpses…carry out all blood and mire,” (Homer
423). After doing all the dirty work, they were forced to hang themselves. The point of this story is supposed to
show that servants should be forever faithful to their master, which was a perfectly accepted rule when The
Odyssey was made. However, now, this rule is antiquated, especially considering that Odysseus was gone for
twenty years, and many of the servants would not have been in service.
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