Wednesday 10 June 2015

In Homer's The Odyssey, what does Odysseus's failure to remember Circe's warning about the uselessness of weapons tell you about his self-image?

Even though the goddess Circe was right about Odysseus's need to go to the underworld to speak with Teiresias, the blind prophet, about how to get home to Ithaca as well as how to remain unaffected by the Sirens' fatal song, when Odysseus's ship approaches Scylla, he fails to heed Circe's warning that weapons would avail them nothing.  He admits that "[he] disregarded [...] the hard command of Circe, when she had said [he] must...

Even though the goddess Circe was right about Odysseus's need to go to the underworld to speak with Teiresias, the blind prophet, about how to get home to Ithaca as well as how to remain unaffected by the Sirens' fatal song, when Odysseus's ship approaches Scylla, he fails to heed Circe's warning that weapons would avail them nothing.  He admits that "[he] disregarded [...] the hard command of Circe, when she had said [he] must by no means arm."  He puts on his armor, takes up two spears, and goes on deck to search for the horrible six-headed monster, thinking that he might be able to slay her before she could kill six of his men (one for each head).  Odysseus's willingness to disregard Circe's advice, advice which has a pattern of soundness, provides evidence of his own arrogance.  He still thinks that he knows more than an immortal goddess who has been right about everything else so far.  Odysseus's pride is immense, and thus his self-image is not quite in line with who he really is.  He sees himself as infallible, and this is not the case. 

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