Question

What theme is Homer presenting when Odysseus’s men forget about going home after eating the lotus in Part 1 of The Odyssey?

Answer 1

Pleasures make people neglect their long-term goals. The lotus made the men completely forget about going home with the pleasure they gave to them.

Answer 2

Answer:

The theme that Homer is exposing in his "Odyssey", especially in part 1, is the break between the mind (noos) and a final goal (homecoming) when presented with the lotus to eat. Homer also shows that more than external forces, there are also internal issues, like self-indulgence, that will breah the relationship between the mind, or thinking, and its final goal, which in the case of Odysseus and his men, should have been to return home at all costs.

Explanation:

The "Odyssey" is the narration of the adventures that Odysseus and his men have to face in order to return to Ithaca, their home, after having been a part of the Trojan Wars, in the "Iliad". During the first part of their journey, Odysseus and his men have to face a pack of cannibals and other hurtles, but when they finally come to face the Lotus-eaters, peaceful people who offer the men the lotus flowers to eat. It is the men who choose to accept and in doing so their noos (mind), forgets its desire to reach home. It is Odysseus who has to remind them of this final goal.