Many crew members and characters die (or have died while Odysseus has been away) while he spends 20 years trying to get home. Write an obituary where you give tribute to the life the character led, how the character died, and what their death symbolizes in the overall picture of the story. 200 words.
24 Comments
Mackenzie C.
4/22/2013 03:59:12 am
The crew of Odysseus’ ship sets out with him on a long journey that turns out to be quite a bit longer than anticipated. They face many dangers, including a group of sirens, and two sea monsters that claim the lives of six of the crew members. This tragedy is mostly Odysseus’ fault, since he knew about the dangers involved, he knew that the monsters would take the men. In fact, most of the deaths of the men aboard his ship are Odysseus’ fault. For instance, in the cave of the Cyclopes Polyphemus Odysseus makes the decision to stay out of his own greed, and it results in the deaths of several of his crew.
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Hedda S.
4/22/2013 10:39:29 pm
Poor sailors who lost their precious life at the Cyclops island. They were innocent people only sailing with Odysseus to get home to his Penelope. They had been out trying to get Odysseus home to his dear Penelope. There were about 100 people lost at the island of these horrible monsters. It was their 4th stop and they had only been out for a couple years and then this should be what is ending their trip to Penelope. These 100 people are innocent, probably the most innocent people that have been lost on the trip. The 100 men should be honored. They didn’t do it for them-selves they were the ones sent out to this island. If Odysseus would have sent someone else they would have been alive and their families wouldn’t have lost their dear people. Another thing that could have saved these lives was if they didn’t stop at that island it did them nothing good, it just made their group worse. It was also and unnecessary why for them to go, and it only lead them to go to many other island that did them bad. On the way to island three, which is the Lotus Eaters where they lose many people to they actually pass Odysseus home. The Cyclops could have been avoided in many ways and the lives could have been saved.
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Dylan N.
4/22/2013 10:43:02 pm
The lives of the men Odysseus lead for 20 years after the events of troy were lost during the journey home. The only man to make it home was Odysseus himself. The men were killed throughout the adventure were killed by monsters and gods because of what Odysseus told and didn’t tell them. The men were lead poorly. The men fought bravely to get out of several situations and were killed in then end by the wrath of the gods because Odysseus didn’t tell them about the cattle. Driven by thirst and starvation the crew of Odysseus slaughter the sun god’s cattle for food. If Odysseus had only told them they were certain to die for it or just continued on they may still be alive. Though they were aware they could die they still decided to eat the cattle. They had lead good strong lives of victory death and fighting. They fought bravely at troy and were killed under the leadership of one Odysseus. Killed by Cyclopes, gods waves whirlpool monsters and even turned into pigs, every member of the crew was killed.
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Shane. F
4/22/2013 10:55:06 pm
The men of Odysseus were very unfortunate for being under his command. For many years they endured hardships that cost the lives of many men.
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Maxwell R.
4/23/2013 02:56:42 am
You are a warrior.
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morgan k
4/23/2013 03:36:41 am
The crew who went with Odysseus all have a tragic end. First there was the few who were captured by the cyclops and were eaten before Odysseus came up with his clever plan. Then there was the 6 how Odysseus had sacrificed without there knowing to the monster at the whirlpool. Last there was the last members of that whole crew who were drowned in a huge storm caused by Zeus as punishment for slaughtering some of Helios's sacred cattle. When they were killed because of the cyclopes or the monster by the whirlpool their death is sad and tragic and you feel sorry for them. However those who were killed in the storm died from their own stupidity. Even though odysseus was at fault for not telling them the after effect of eating them he did warn them and did his best to stop them.
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Seren G.
4/24/2013 01:23:08 am
Odysseus and his crew had difficult times in the dangerous island. They faced many dangers such as monsters, sirens which caused his crew to die. Most of the responsible of his crews death was Odysseus because he knew about the dangers in the island and his fault was not to warn them , he did not convey the warnings to his crew and he did not care actually. Also , one of his fault was that he was greedy and cut off the cattle which he was not supposed to and this let his crew die. He knew that was dangerous if he cut off them, it will let his crew die but he did not care, he caused his crew to die. He was selfish and careless. He had done many mistakes and lost a lot of his men. He was not a successful leader because he could not protect them.
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Antonija S.
4/24/2013 04:32:20 am
Odysseus had a large crew when he started this great journey. However he was not a good leader and most of the time they didn’t listen to him. Odysseus knew a lot more facts about the future when he visited the god in the underworld. His mistake was that when he decided to share the news, no one really listened to him. The crew survived the sirens, but once they landed on the island where the cattle of Helios was, they all were very hungry, which is mostly Odysseus’s fault, because he should have made better choices and keep the food instead of eating all at once. Since they were all so hungry, Odysseus told his men that if they eat the cattle, then they will die and they will be hunted by the actual cattle. The men were so hungry that they went and ate some cows and they told Odysseus that they rather have to die by the will of the gods, then to die by starvation. Odysseus was the only one that survived; well his leadership skills weren't as great, because a great leader stops his man from making a bad decision. That is why a lot of his crew was dead, before he made it back to his wife all by himself.
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Gabriel H.
4/24/2013 05:52:58 am
The brave hero known as Odysseus has become the stuff of legend. But he could not have gotten where he is now without the aid of his brave and loyal crew. His crew stayed with him as long as they could, remaining loyal to the very end. This was after the bloody Trojan war, which left them weary for home, but they stayed with Odysseus until the very end. This is the crew that endured the horrors of the Trojan wars, fought strange sea and land monsters. What monsters have they fought, you may ask. This crew fought Charybdis and Scylla, endured the sirens, and even went toe to toe with Poseidon own son, the mighty cyclops, Polyphemus. This crew thought it was a match for the gods, and it almost was. One of the bravest was Eurylochus, friend of Odysseus, and one of his closest allies. Eurylochus fought bravely alongside the rest of the crew, and feasted and sang songs of joy and victory alongside them. He survived the encounter with Circe,and told the crew of what horrors were on the island. It was because of him that Odysseus saved his crew members, who were transformed into pigs. It was also Eurylochus who allowed the crew such honorable deaths, as he convinced the crew to die an honorable death at sea instead of starve. It was Eurylochus who convinced the crew to eat the cattle that was raised by Helios himself. This crew fought the gods and fate itself. And this legendary crew nearly won. The members of this crew will be remembered for eternity in legend as heroes of the sea and conquerors of the seas for eternity. This crew will be remembered by sailors for their efforts, and looked upon as heroes by generations to come. This is the crew that wanted to return to Ithaca as heroes, and they did.
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Dontae Boozer
4/24/2013 06:07:04 am
The men under Odysseus' command all died terrible deaths at sea or on islands. Men were thought to never leave from Lotus Eater Island while others would never make it back from Polyphemus' cave and also whilst trying to escape from the island some were lost. Others were turned into pigs on Circe's island, while most were reverted to normal others had died while in pig state. More did while at the Lastrygonian island. The rest died while dining on the flesh of Helios' sacred cows. Later that day they died.
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Maria M
4/24/2013 07:02:12 pm
I give my tribute to the sailor that had drowned. They were quite foolish to believe Odyssessus. The sailors had put their full out trust in him. The sailors had thought they were going to surviv and were going to be useful in helping him in getting back his kingdom. The sailors didn't know they that were was like a secret meeting behind their back about them being sacrificed and would die. The sailors didn't deserve to die and drown like this. The sailors had no idea what was going on and just believed what they had wanted to hear and not what Odysseus. It was quite sad on how they were treated with their lies.Deaths are quite terrible, especially if it involves drowning in cold seas.
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Jesus Sarabia
4/24/2013 07:47:09 pm
The men of odysseus who were eaten for his meals. They died a horrible death and those deaths were probably really hard to witness. The Cyclops had these men in his hand like nothing. They were just eaten like a piece of breakfast bacon. They were scared, in hiding, and not knowing how they were gonna get out. If someone would look through the eyes of the men, you would see fear, a dark cave, and a huge cyclops thinking about who he would eat next.
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Joshua K
4/24/2013 10:11:02 pm
Whilst Odysseus went further and further into his long, twenty year journey, his crew stayed faithful to him, loyal to every command given. This was until the last command to not eat the animals while being starved, no other option, not wanting to die like cowards. They lived short but adventure filled lives, many being taken down by various monsters such as a Cyclops and the monster in the dangerous seas. Without mean sacrificing to the Cyclops as meals, no one would have made through, most likely all being eaten slowly anyways. Even if they needed Odysseus’ support, if Odysseus was alone for twenty years he would have not only gone insane, but he would also have been killed long before getting close to home. Their lives brought Odysseus joy through their brave sacrifice, causing quite a large but not too well seen impact on the overall story. Their death was not only brave and needed, but managed to symbolize what men and the hero must do to make it through harsh circumstances, and that being a hero was and never would be easy, for if the journey was easy for the hero, the person would not be a hero and most likely not be.
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brooklynn.b
4/24/2013 11:26:18 pm
To the poor men who gave there life to the curious and foolish Odysseus and his long journey. They never knew that they would die such a horrible death but the trusted there fellow anyways. About six men of the crew lost their life to the Cyclops. That plucked his men away like flies and chomped them in one bite. This is not where all his men died though. The next sets of men were given as sacrifices to the living whirlpool and serpent of the gods so they could sail safely back home. The biggest group of men and the last died of their own greed. They feed upon Helios’s sacred cattle and paid the price of their lives. Over all their deaths weren’t worthless because without him Odysseus would never have come safely to his wife and son after twenty years.
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Jacob C.
4/26/2013 12:57:29 am
Odysseus had a large and bountiful crew. But due to his own actions many of them died. Odysseus is not the only one to blame however. The men disobeyed him and ate the cattle of the sun god, thus making them lose their own lives. The death of Odysseus's crew symbolizes the losses of Odysseus along his journey. These men lived a cautious life on the journey. They did not know whether they would live or simply parish. They did what they could to live even though it could result in their own demise. They did not care to die valiantly, but they did however care if they died of starvation, this is what drove them to kill the sun god’s cattle. Furthermore they are the ones that wished to stop on the island in the first place. This resulted in them being stuck on the island for a month, which made them lose all of their food rations. This does not mean that they are terrible people however; it simply means they do what they must to get by. The crew of Odysseus were valiant and brave but inevitably were their own demise.
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Alex J.
4/26/2013 04:23:54 am
The men of Odysseus's crew were noble and honorable men. They did not die in vain, but for a cause. That cause was the hope of Odysseus returning to Ithaca. The souls of these men should not be mourned for, but be dedicated to heaven, as they will be in a better place. The deaths of these men occurred on the Cyclops island, and the Siren island. Odysseus tried everything to save these men, but he could not. Odysseus is a good man and should not be to blame for these tragic and heartbreaking events to occur. Let us not forget the brave men who lost their lives on the brave journey back to home, Ithaca.
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Charles T.
4/26/2013 04:53:42 am
To Odysseus crew that died on the cyclops's island. The men were completely innocent and loyal. They begged him to go around but he would not listen so that cost some of the crew their lives and dinner, breakfast, and lunch for the hungry cyclops. Then Odysseus finally came up with a plan to get the rest of his surviving crew out of the hands of the cyclops and it worked. This goes to the loyal crew that stayed by Odysseus on that island and died so that the rest of them could escape.
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Jared
4/26/2013 05:29:55 pm
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Nash Pinaula
4/27/2013 04:39:41 am
Odysseus's men died tragic deaths. Many ships left with him, yet he was the only one to ever return. many ships were lost to the laestrygonians, The cannibalistic giants of the north. They killed and ate all but one ship worth of Odysseus's men. The rest were lost when they defied Odysseus's orders and slaughtered the cattle of the sun god Helios.
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Valentin G.
4/27/2013 06:39:15 pm
Odysseus and his crew had a long way to get back home. Unfortunatelly none of his crew survived. On their way to Ithaca, they were exposed to many dangerous creatures, that tried to stop them. These creatures include, the cyclops, the sirens, the Lotus eaters, Calypso, Circe, etc. Odysseus as their leader, the one in command, knew they were to die, but he did not do anything about it. One of the first places where some of Odysseus' men died, was the island of the Cyclops. They were traped in a cave by Polyphemus, one of the cyclops. He ate two members oof the crew the first night they met. Then he ate two men the following morning, and two more men afterwards. It was a horifying day for Odysseus. Not only was he woried about his own life, but he also had some of his men die under his own command. Odysseus' crew put themselves in harms way while knowing the cost. They were brave, strong, and needed soldiers, who lost their lives fighting to get back home, or at least get Odysseus back home. They were not fools, and did not die foolish ways. They were what Odysseus needed, they were his heroes.
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Jett.S
4/28/2013 11:03:33 pm
Odysuess and his crew set out on a journey to find their way home, however on their way home all of the crew, except odysuess, died from terrible creatures. These creatures include, the cyclops, the sirens, the Lotus eaters, Calypso, Circe and so on. most of men met their deaths when they visted the cyclopes and they ate a large fraction of the men. while some of them escaped that fury of the cyclopes they soon met their ends when they slaughtered the cattle of helios.
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Andrew A.
4/28/2013 11:15:41 pm
Odysseus's men were brave men. They fought by odysseus when they were terrfied of the cyclops. The brave men died a valiant death by side of their comrads as they fought the giants to let one ship escape with their lives. The valiant men deserved to live longer than that than just to be devoured by the giants. They lived on the edge for the moment not knowing if they were going to live or die at anytime. Eaten by giants or a cyclops, or maybe even Scylla. Or maybe even drowned to death in the sea.
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Jacquon.S
4/28/2013 11:40:30 pm
After a 20 year journey, Odysseus finally returns home, but it is sad to say that he returns home alone. His crew died throughout their journey back home. They died because of their own recklessness and Odysseus leadership. On their journey back home their first challenge was getting by a Cyclops name Polyphemus. Polyphemus brutally killed six of his men. They outsmarted him and got out alive, but in the end anger Poseidon .There next threat was Circe, she tricks Odysseus man into drinking a potion that turns them into pigs. Odysseus was given the information about their next enemy, Scylla and Charybdis, but decided to tell his crew only about the Sirens. Nobody died, but Odysseus crew was caught by surprise by Scylla and 6 more people died. Before home, they went by Helios’ island. He didn’t tell them why they shouldn’t eat the cattle. Their hunger overcame them and they ended up eating the cows. For their punishment Zeus sunk their boat and everyone except for Odysseus died. Who is really to blame for their deaths?
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Bailey Jones
5/1/2013 11:14:17 pm
The Crew at the Cyclops’s Cave
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