Iliad and Odyssey: Switch in Ethos
Switch In Ethos During The Iliad we see the warrior ethos as being the main ethos, but as we transfer to The Odyssey we see the transformation from warrior ethos to domestic ethos. Furthermore, the novel is based on domestic ethos and how home affects the warrior. Throughout The Odyssey we see Odysseus trying to make his way home after the Trojan War. On his adventure home he goes through trials and challenges before he actually makes it home. He has to outsmart people to be able to get where he wants to with out dying. This task is not easy but eventually he makes it. Moreover, we realize that warrior ethos is not the major ethos represented in the novel. It is domestic ethos. Odysseus learns how to use the domestic ethos to his advantage to be able to make it back home and see his family. Odysseus lands on island called Ogygia where Calypso, a beautiful nymph, lives. She falls in love with Odysseus and keeps him prisoner on the island for seven years. Odysseus has been stuck on this island trying to figure out how to get home. Calypso tries to sleep with him but Odysseus refuses because he wants to get home and see his wife. Also, Calypso gives Odysseus food and takes care of him while he is on the island. She is not making him suffer pain except emotional pain but she wants him to be happy with her. Everyday she tries to impress him so that he will stay with her. Athena, daughter of Zeus, talks to Zeus and asked if he could help free Odysseus from Calypso’s island. After some persuasion Zeus finally agrees and tells Hermes to go talk to Calypso. When Hermes gets to Calypso’s island, the first thing that they did was eat. The reason why they ate first is because it is a way of disarming someone and making them feel comfortable in your house and Calypso was trying to convince Hermes to let Odysseys stay. Hermes does not let that happen and tells her that Zeus sent him down. Finally, after some persuasion Calypso agrees to let Odysseus go home. It is not that