This post will focus on the themes of the last few books (11-end) of The Odyssey. Please enjoy...
The Odyssey has many themes that occur throughout it, but a few stand out as being a main recurring theme. one of these, in my opinion, is the idea of not rushing into things, and being patient.
The theme of being patient is shown a lot in book 13. In this section, the godess Athena describes what sets Odysseus apart, namely his wit and patience. "Anyone else, having come back from wandering long and hard, would have hurried home at once." This may seem out of place, but because Odysseus didn't rush into his home like any other man would, saved his life from the Suitors that were there. Because of Odysseus' patience, his life was saved.
The theme of Patience is also shown in book 12. In this book, the men, still trying to reach home, land on the island of the sun, where the Cows of the Sun are. Patience would have saved the lives of the men there, but they were not patient. "if we come upon a herd of cattle or fine flock of sheep, not one man among us,--blind in his reckless ways-- will slaughter an ox or ram." This quote is Odysseus' instructions to his crewmembers, but they aren't patient at all and kill the cattle. Because of this, the crew was killed and Odysseus was left alone. Rushing into things, like the men did, will never really pay off.
Patience does not always involve waiting, as is shown in book 22. In this book, Odysseus' Patience paid off, and because he didn't rush into things, he could get revenge. the book describes the scene of his revenge: "the suitors lay in heaps, corpse covering corpse." Odysseus, because of his master plan, was able to kill all the evil suitors in his house. Being patient and thinki9ng over things, like Odysseus and Telemachus did, is a much better choice than rushing into things, because it will usually pay off in the end.
