Intelligence And Reason In Homer's The Odyssey

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In the epic The Odyssey by Homer, intelligence and reason helps a person endure and reach a goal. Odysseus shows patience and reason when he blinds Polythemus instead of killing him, when he tells Polythemus that his name is Nohbdy, and last but not least when he comes home disguised as a beggar. In this epic Odysseus is trying to come home to his wife and child but is overcome by many obstacles that block his way too reach home. This epic takes place in Ancient Greek places such as Ithaca, Circes Palace, and many other islands that help and stop his way home. Some of the main characters in this epic are Odysseus, Penelope, Circe, and Calypso, just to name a few. Intelligence can be shown through many situations being physical or mental or…show more content…
This shows that Odyseus is intelligent because knowing that he will end up hurting the Cyclops, he does not want the Cyclops, Posidons son, to call for his father or other Cyclops's. Therefore due to Odyseus’s quick thinking he told Polythemus that is name is Nohbdy. So when Odyseus hurts or injures him Polythemus will yell Nohbdy hurt me, sounding like Nobody has killed me. This is proven when Odyseus says, “My name is Nohbdy: mother, father, and friends, everyone calls me.” This is found in The Odyssey Page 12 lines 360 to 361. Another quote that proves this part is when the Cyclops yells, “Nohbdy, Nohbdy’s tricked me. Nohbdy’s ruined me!” This is found on Page 13 of The Odyssey on line 403. These quotes prove Odyseus’s intelligence due too he knows that once Polythemus gets hurt he will call for his fathers and other Cyclops’s in the area. Therefore if Odyseus did not say his name was Nohbdy, but Odyseus all of the other Cyclops will come rushing knowing that someone is trying to hurt Polythemus. Also this might anger Poseidon even more, and he could make Odyseus’s trip home much more hard and challenging. Intelligence can be used to solve big or small problems that holdbacks ones…show more content…
When odyseus disguises himself as a beggar while he is home again shows much intelligence. This is so because his once ruled land with all his people loving him is now filled with enemies. Also his return might be too sudden that people might not believe him, so he must prove in a way that it is truly him. This is proven in the The Odyssey when the epic says, “Because his home is full of enemies, she advises him to proceed disguised as a beggar” This is found in The Odyssey Page 32 Lines 2-3. This quote shows that Odyseus uses his intelligence to protect himself from his enemies, and to think of a way to convince penelope that it is him, and not anyone fake. Since he is disguised as a beggar later in the epic he proves to his wife and the whole community by stringing his old bow. Intelligence overall helps Odyseus reach is goal by returning to his home and
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