Redemtive Vilonce in the Odyssey by Homer Essay

The novel of redemptive hysteria is one that is told throughout history. It is one in which violence is the creator. Whether it be creation of the cosmos, peace, or almost some other result, in this myth violence results in redemption. This myth has been im loveded in our society to much(prenominal) a degree that it is naturalized and accepted as the way things are without much reflection. For example, many Christians believably dont contemplate the ways redemptive violence is at the heart of their religion. A pure example of the myth of redemptive violence is found in the elaborate poem The Odyssey.Many elements of violence and how we associate with violence are explored within the multitude of pages of this tale. In agree nine Odysseus has to confront Polythemus, the cyclops who is Poseidons son. Odysseus and his men where trapped within Polythemuss cave, which had wine and other luxuries in it. But the daphnia is intent on eating every last one of them and saving Odysseu s, or Nohbdy, as Odysseus presented himself to the Cyclops, for last. Odysseus subsequently blinds Polythemus with a burning stick, leaving him aggrieved and in pain.Writhing in pain, he opens the rock, letting Odysseuss pack escape. This is just a primal form of the myth, but by injuring Polythemus Odysseys is released, illustrating the productive side of violence. In book ten Odysseus finds himself on the island of Aeolus, which is occupied by the mesmerise Circe. She lures Odysseuss men into her house and turns them into swine. Odysseus, who has an antidote to the witchs drugs given to him by the god Hermes, is immune to the witchs drugs and threatens her with the violence of his sword and she takes him to her bed where he persuaded her to change back his men.This tale within The Odyssey is one of violence such those Walter Wink wrote close to in The Myth of Redemptive Violence. He writes, cosmic order requires the violent suppression of the feminine and is reverberate in the social order by the subjugation of women to men and people to ruler. Wink goes on to rationalize that this pattern can be found in Greek myths and in a range of other cultural expressions through history, right up to cartoons in modern day media. Central to this version f the myth is the suppression of powerful females, and their bodies are laid out to create the cosmos in some cases. The Odyssey provides a classic example Circe, a powerful temptress, is subdued by Odysseuss threat of violence, whence placing Odysseus soci in ally above her. Throughout the book Odysseus is faced with endless hardships. He is thrown through immense and relentless life threatening ordeals. He then comes home and finds that he must compete for his wife. These travails window pane toward paradoxes in the human condition.At times, we crave pain and it allows us to associate our inner evils and our violence, and that is exactly what The Odyssey does. As Wink stated in his analysis of a cartoon, t he Tammuz element where the hero suffers actually consumes all but the closing minutes, allowing ample time for indulging the violent side of the self. When the good guy finally wins, screening audience are then able to reassert control over their inner tendencies, repress them, and re-establish a gumption of goodness We get a good look at this process in The Odyssey, especially when genus Penelope asks, how do you move the bed?Odysseus replies, you cant because I fashioned it out of a lie olive tree, proving that he was truly Odysseus. The Odyssey is filled with redemptive violence, whether it be against Troy, Scally and Charibdys, Circe, and, most notably, the slaughtering of the suitors. The violence is not all just straight forward, there are power hierarchies, complex relationships, and other factors to account for in viewing violence in this incredible story.