Mistakes in The Odyssey Essay Sample

The term “mistake” is best described as “an action or opinion that is not correct, or that produces a result that you did not want” (Oxford Dictionary). In the world of the epic poem, The Odyssey, written by Homer, mistakes are a common phenomenon that the protagonist, Odysseus, makes. While Odysseus commits many major mistakes throughout the story, his biggest mistake was not being a morally good person because he murdered innocent people, put his crew in danger, and was unfaithful to Penelope.

The first way Odysseus showcases his mistake of having immoral values is through his actions. In book nine, Odysseus’ actions revealed to the readers that he is an unethical person as he kills the people of Cicone in Ismarus: “I sacked / the town and killed the men. We took their wives / and shared their riches equally among us” (Homer 9: 41-43). These lines reveal that Odysseus is an immoral character because he unjustifiably kills the Cicones. There is no evidence that the Cicones did wrong to Odysseus. Due to his actions, the Cicones responded by overpowering Odysseus and his crew: “the Cicones began to overpower / us Greeks. Six well-armed members of my crew / died from each ship. The rest of us survived, / and we escaped the danger” (Homer 9: 58-61). These lines reveal Odysseus’ thirst for violence and treasures got the best of him. Had Odysseus avoided his temptations of greed and thirst for bloodshed from getting to him and killing the Cicones, he would not have lost six of his best men and would uphold the principles of morality. 

While thirsting for violence, Odysseus also shows another mistake of immorality when he and his crew arrive at the Cyclops’ cave. Upon arriving at the Cyclops’ cave, Odysseus desired to acquire Polyphemus’ goods. He achieved his task but refused to leave despite his crews’ appeals: “My crew begged, ‘Let us grab / some cheese and quickly drive the kids and lambs / out of their pens and down to our swift ships, / and sail away across the salty water!’ That would have been the better choice. But I / refused. I hoped to see him, and find out / if he would give us gifts” (Homer 9: 223-229). Despite his crew imploring him to leave, Odysseus was too prideful to leave. He is still insistent on receiving a gift from Polyphemus. This situation the protagonist faces shows an internal conflict with his character: lack of concern shown towards his peers. By putting his desire for gifts before the safety of his fellow crew members, Odysseus is exemplifying the immoral quality of hubris. His pride also endangered his crew when leaving the Cyclops’ island as Odysseus continued to taunt Polyphemus despite him almost destroying their ship: “He ripped / a rock out of the hill and hurled it at us. / It landed right in front of our dark prow, / and almost crushed the tip of the steering oar. / The stone sank in the water; waves surged up. / The backflow all at one propelled the ship / landwards” (Homer 9: 480-485). A person with good moral values would not allow emotions and temptations to cloud his judgment and would ultimately want the best for his peers. Although Odysseus acknowledges that his crew was in the right, his pride gets in the way of his judgment and results in the downfall of two crew members and almost his entire crew. 

The sins of lust and gluttony are another form of mistake that Odysseus makes in the story of The Odyssey. In book ten, Circe turns Odysseus’ men into pigs, and to revert them into normal beings, Circe proposes that Odysseus should put down his weapon and sleep with her. At first, Odysseus initially refuses this offer but later states that he will go to bed with Circe if she swears a mighty oath that will prevent her from causing any further harm to him. After Circe pledges to not cause any more harm to Odysseus, Odysseus goes to Circe’s bed: “She vowed and formed the oath, and then at last / [Odysseus] went up to the dazzling bed of Circe” (Homer 10: 347-348). These lines reveal that Odysseus willingly went to Circe’s bed after she made the vow, as it would bring his men back. However, he still commits lust with Circe to save his men, proving his unfaithfulness to Penelope. In the same book, Odysseus stays at Circe’s island for a long time: “Then every day / for a whole year we feasted [at Circe’s island] on meat / and sweet strong wine” (Homer 10: 466-469). Through these lines, the reader becomes more aware that Odysseus and his men sinned gluttony as they excessively indulged in the goods Circe provided. This also shows how Odysseus was disloyal to Penelope as he continued to stay with Circe despite having the option of leaving. It was only because of his men that he left Circe: “But when the year was over, / when months had waned and seasons turned, and each / long day had passed its course, my loyal men / called me and said, ‘Be guided by the gods. / Now it is time to think of our own country” (Homer 10: 468-473). Despite having the option to leave, Odysseus’ mistake to be a morally good person continued to be on display at Circe’s island as he committed the sins of lust and gluttony. 

Although mistakes are a frequent occurrence for Odysseus in the world of The Odyssey, his nefarious actions are what highlight the key features of his character. Through Odysseus’ unethical actions of jeopardizing his crew’s safety, desire for violence, and disloyalty to his lover, Homer displays to the reader that Odysseus’ biggest mistake was not being a morally good person.