What We Can Learn From The Odyssey Saanvi Kunisetty

 What We Can Learn From The Odyssey

Saanvi Kunisetty

When a starving Odysseus prevents himself from eating the cattle of God Helios, he learns that his self-control can save his life. When Odysseus and his crewmates first arrive at the island where Helios’ cattle is, they are nearly starving to death. While Odysseus fights the temptation to eat the cattle, his attempts to convince his crewmates not to do so go in vain. His crewmates are severely punished by Zeus for their sins, but Odysseus is spared. As Odysseus escapes death very narrowly, he acknowledges “no more seafaring homeward for these [crewmates], no sweet day of return; the god had turned his face from them” (Homer 953-955). At this moment, Odysseus recognizes that the storm which killed all his crewmates and left him alone was nothing other than a punishment of the Gods for the sins committed. Not only Odysseus, but even the reader realizes that Odysseus missed the clutches of death very narrowly, all due to the fact that he had the willpower to resist eating the Sun God’s cattle. If he had also given up and eaten the cattle, he would not have been able to continue his journey home. Hence, from Odysseus’ encounter with Helios’ cattle, the reader can learn that self-control is an imperative quality to have in life.

Works Cited 

Homer. The Odyssey. Prentice Hall Literature. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall

Publishing. 2005.