The Odyssey Essay--Vengeance Theme

Every author has their favorite themes that they like to use in order to make their writing interesting. Love, death, and jealousy are only a few of the many different archetypes that famous authors use all the time. In The Odyssey, Homer uses themes of love and death, as well as vengeance, to keep his writing interesting. When Odysseus blinded Poseidon’s son, Poseidon wanted revenge on Odysseus. When Odysseus finally reached home, he and Telemachus made a plan to exact revenge on the suitors. And when the suitors’ families found out about the killings at the palace, they were full of vengeance and wanted to kill Odysseus. Obviously, vengeance is a huge part of The Odyssey.

Many times in The Odyssey, Poseidon wanted revenge on Odysseus. For example, the first time Poseidon had a problem with Odysseus was after their success at the Trojan War, when Odysseus proclaimed that he was the reason they won, and that he didn’t need the gods’ help at all. Poseidon didn’t like this, and so he cursed Odysseus. This shows that Poseidon had as much pride as Odysseus, and took a bruise to his ego. Poseidon just probably started out wanting to teach Odysseus a lesson. In addition, after Odysseus blinded the Cyclops that was actually Poseidon’s son, Poseidon cursed him even more. This shows that now things between him and Odysseus were getting personal. Poseidon wanted Odysseus to suffer even more after he blinded his son, even though Odysseus already suffered when the Cyclops ate a few of his men. Finally, after being kept on Calypso’s island for several years, the gods decided to release Odysseus. Poseidon was angry, and brew up a huge storm that would have killed Odysseus if the goddess Ino hadn’t protected him. This shows that finally, after all Odysseus had done to offend Poseidon, Poseidon finally tried to kill him. This also shows that, even though Odysseus had been through a lot—lost his whole crew, and almost died numerous times—Poseidon didn’t care, and still wanted to exact revenge upon Odysseus.

The idea of getting revenge on the suitors was also a big part of The Odyssey. For example, near the beginning of the book, Telemachus gave a passionate speech at the Assembly talking about how the suitors had taken over their home. This was the first major event that showed Telemachus’ feelings about the suitors, and was probably foreshadowing. In addition, later in the story, an eagle carrying a goose was interpreted as a sign that Odysseus was about to swoop down on his home and exact revenge on the suitors. Obviously, this was foreshadowing, as well as probably a sign of hope for Telemachus. Finally, at the climax, Telemachus and his father succeeded in killing all of the suitors, getting their ultimate revenge. This showed that after all they had been through, Odysseus and Telemachus were able to work together as father and son. Also, it demonstrated the power that Odysseus had, as well as demonstrating Telemachus’ coming of age.

There were also other small details throughout The Odyssey that had to do with revenge and vengeance. For example, Orestes killed his mother and her lover, because her lover had killed Agamemnon, Orestes father. Orestes killed them to avenge the death of his father. This is kind of similar to how Telemachus got revenge on the suitors, and also how Poseidon got revenge on Odysseus after he blinded his son. In addition, Odysseus and Telemachus got a more gruesome revenge on Melanthius and the unfaithful maid servants than the suitors. Melanthius was tortured before he was killed, and Melantho and the other maidservants were hanged. Obviously, Melanthius’ fate was set when he chose to betray Odysseus and help the suitors. Also, it was very foolish for the maidservants like Melantho to have affairs with the suitors, and their fates were set as well when they chose to do so. Finally, near the end of the book, Eupithes, Antinous’ father, wanted revenge on Odysseus when he heard that all of the suitors had been killed. This shows that Odysseus’ vengeance was only transferred to Eupithes. Also, the fighting and vengeance would have never stopped if Athena and Zeus hadn’t stepped in at the end.

Obviously, vengeance was a huge theme in The Odyssey. It was the driving force behind the whole plot and all of the characters. Odysseus would have never been stranded for ten years if Poseidon hadn’t wanted revenge on him. The whole climax was Odysseus exacting revenge upon the suitors. Vengeance is also the thing that makes The Odyssey so interesting, and a big part of what makes it such an epic story.