The Guide to Greek Gods and Goddesses 4 Dummies

  The Odyssey is an outstanding greek test by Homer that holds true to morals, life lessons, and exceptional themes. This is probably why it is still a really popular work of art, even though it has been around for as long as the Bible has. Its significance in literature is because it is such a connectable story  to any time period. For example, Odysseus chooses to sacrifice six men to Scylla instead of risking losing all of his men and even the ship to Charybdis. Today, many might settle for a more-prefferred candidate instead of another candidate even though they may dislike both. This concept has come to be  called, "Choosing the lesser of two evils". Another demonstration was shown when Aeolus gives Odysseus a sack of wind to carry him home, however, his men disobey him, and open the bag early, thus dooming them to an even longer trip home. Odysseus tries to get another bag of wind, but Aeolus refuses to provide another one. This type of situation can be seen today in scenarios such as when someone might drop out of school for foolish reasons, even though it will hurt them in the long run because they missed such a great opportunity at education. This theme is described as, "Seize your opportunities before it's too late". Another universal theme seen in the Odyssey is to "Know your weaknesses  so you can battle your enemies accordingly". In the Odyssey, Odysseus's weaknesses included women and his pride. Women often distract him, like Calypso who kept him prisoner for seven years! His pride was definately a weakness that cost him a lot, like when he shouted his name to Polyphemus so the horrible cyclops could curse him. Today in the teenage world, our weaknesses include lack of experience or wisdom, people of the opposite gender, cell phones, the internet, and social media. These often distract us from being able to complete our school work or follow our own beliefs. In all, the Odyssey definately can be related to our world today, which makes it such a valuable, classic piece of literature universal to every time period, and to every reader.