--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: But when Odysseus rose, that man of many…" description: "\"“But when Odysseus rose, that man of many devices, fixing his down-cast eyes on the ground he stood: nor his scepter swayed, either this way or that li..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a7f/homer-357_art_but-when-odysseus-rose-that-man-of-many_343804.png" --- # But when Odysseus rose, that man of many devices, fixing… ![“But when Odysseus rose, that man of many devices, fixing his down-cast eyes on the ground he stood: nor his scepter swayed, either this way or that like a practiced speaker, but held it motionless, even as a man unskilled in the arts of persuasion. One would declare him mute with passion or…” quote by Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a7f/homer-357_art_but-when-odysseus-rose-that-man-of-many_343804.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a7f/homer-357_art_but-when-odysseus-rose-that-man-of-many_343804.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a7f/homer-357_art_but-when-odysseus-rose-that-man-of-many_343804.png) > ““But when Odysseus rose, that man of many devices, fixing his down-cast eyes on the ground he stood: nor his scepter swayed, either this way or that like a practiced speaker, but held it motionless, even as a man unskilled in the arts of persuasion. One would declare him mute with passion or wanting in judgment. But when he spoke, when his powerful voice went forth from his bosom, issuing words which fell like flakes of snow in winter, surely no mortal man might hope to compete with Odysseus. Lost in wonder we sat, but not, as before, at his manner.”” [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Odysseus’ calm, powerful speech demonstrates mastery of persuasion, contrasting with those who speak without substance. **In simple terms:** Calm speech shows true power. Key Takeaway Cultivate calm, thoughtful communication. Themes leadership communication persuasion humility wisdom Mood inspirational reflective Type philosophical educational When to use this quote - public speaking - negotiations - conflict resolution - teaching - leadership training Key Concepts rhetoric heroic virtue self‑control Questions to Reflect On - How can you balance confidence with humility? - When does silence become more persuasive than speech? A Different Perspective Even great speakers can falter if they lack authenticity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Compete Odysseus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/compete-odysseus-3189729/) [Man U](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/man-u/) [Odysseus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/odysseus/) [Odysseus Lost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/odysseus-lost-3189726/) [Odysseus Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/odysseus-rose-3189727/) [Scepter Swayed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scepter-swayed-3189728/) ## Related quotes > [For they imagined as they wished--that it was a wild shot,/ an unintended killing--fools, not to comprehend/ they were already in the grip of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/for-they-imagined-as-they-wished-that-it-was-a-wild-shot-an/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) > [“Friend, that was not well spoken; you seem like one who is reckless. 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He sat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/she-sent-him-a-warm-and-gentle-wind-and-lord-odysseus-was-happy-as-he/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) > [“Odysseus is a migrant, but he is also a political and military leader, a strategist, a poet, a loving husband and father, an adulterer,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/odysseus-is-a-migrant-but-he-is-also-a-political-and-military-leader/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) > [“But they could neither of them persuade me, for there is nothing dearer to a man than his own country and his parents, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/but-they-could-neither-of-them-persuade-me-for-there-is-nothing/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) > [“What could you possibly write at Gates of Hades?” Cadmus asked. “Keep your spirits up.” Lycon sheathed the dagger he’d used to chisel the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sulari-gentill/what-could-you-possibly-write-at-gates-of-hades-cadmus-asked-keep/) [Sulari Gentill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sulari-gentill/) > [It's the quintessential Greek sport: harmonious, competitive, agonizing, nautical, and above all, intelligent. It combines Odysseus's brains and brawn and love of the sea…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-s-strauss/it-s-the-quintessential-greek-sport-harmonious-competitive-agonizing/) [Barry S. Strauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-s-strauss/) > [But you, Achilles,/ There is not a man in the world more blest than you--/ There never has been, never will be one./ Time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/but-you-achilles-there-is-not-a-man-in-the-world-more-blest-than-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Across the gulf of centuries, the blind smile of Homer is turned upon our age. Along the echoing corridors of time, the roar of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-c-clarke/across-the-gulf-of-centuries-the-blind-smile-of-homer-is-turned-upon/) [Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/) > [To find anything comparable with our forthcoming ventures into space, we must go back far beyond Columbus, far beyond Odysseus-far, indeed, beyond the first…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-c-clarke/to-find-anything-comparable-with-our-forthcoming-ventures-into-space/) [Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/) > [“You are like Odysseus, who could go out onto the great sea, lose all his goods and his friends, come to the boundaries of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gillian-bradshaw/you-are-like-odysseus-who-could-go-out-onto-the-great-sea-lose-all/) [Gillian Bradshaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gillian-bradshaw/) > [Odysseus inclines his head. "True. But fame is a strange thing. Some men gain glory after they die, while others fade. What is admired…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeline-miller/odysseus-inclines-his-head-true-but-fame-is-a-strange-thing-some-men/) [Madeline Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeline-miller/) > ['The Odyssey' is a great poem to refugee-dom... Odysseus is not entirely a refugee... he's somebody who's blown off course. The entire book is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-osborne/the-odyssey-is-a-great-poem-to-refugee-dom-odysseus-is-not-entirely-a/) [Lawrence Osborne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-osborne/) ## More by Homer > [He knew the things that were and the things that would be and the things that had been before.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/he-knew-the-things-that-were-and-the-things-that-would-be-and-the/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) > [“Few sons are like their fathers--most are worse, few better.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/few-sons-are-like-their-fathers-most-are-worse-few-better/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) > [The Lord gives and the Lord takes away, as it pleases him, for he can do all things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/the-lord-gives-and-the-lord-takes-away-as-it-pleases-him-for-he-can/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) > [“Sing in me, Muse, and through me tell the story of that man skilled in all ways of contending, the wanderer, harried for years…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/sing-in-me-muse-and-through-me-tell-the-story-of-that-man-skilled-in/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) > [Hateful to me as are the gates of hell, Is he who, hiding one thing in his heart, Utters another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/hateful-to-me-as-are-the-gates-of-hell-is-he-who-hiding-one-thing-in/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) > [“And Zeus said: “Hera, you can choose some other time for paying your visit to Oceanus — for the present let us devote ourselves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/and-zeus-said-hera-you-can-choose-some-other-time-for-paying-your/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) > [Ruin, eldest daughter of Zeus, she blinds us all, that fatal madness—she with those delicate feet of hers, never touching the earth, gliding over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/ruin-eldest-daughter-of-zeus-she-blinds-us-all-that-fatal-madness-she/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) > [“Scepticism is as much the result of knowledge, as knowledge is of scepticism. To be content with what we at present know, is, for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/scepticism-is-as-much-the-result-of-knowledge-as-knowledge-is-of/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) > [Boy, everyone is stupid except me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/boy-everyone-is-stupid-except-me/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) > [“With that the dream departed, leaving him there, his heart racing with hopes that would not come to pass. He thought he would take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/with-that-the-dream-departed-leaving-him-there-his-heart-racing-with/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) > [Tell me, O Muse, of that ingenious hero who travelled far and wide after he had sacked the famous town of Troy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/tell-me-o-muse-of-that-ingenious-hero-who-travelled-far-and-wide/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) > [Ah, beer, my one weakness. My Achille's heel, if you will.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/ah-beer-my-one-weakness-my-achille-s-heel-if-you-will/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) > [My life is more to me than all the wealth of Ilius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/my-life-is-more-to-me-than-all-the-wealth-of-ilius/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) > [Being popular is the most important thing in the world!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/being-popular-is-the-most-important-thing-in-the-world/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) > [Urge him with truth to frame his fair replies And sure he will for Wisdom never lies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/urge-him-with-truth-to-frame-his-fair-replies-and-sure-he-will-for/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) [Explore all 639 Homer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) ## More Art quotes > [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. 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One would declare him mute with passion or wanting in judgment. But when he spoke, when his powerful voice went forth from his bosom, issuing words which fell like flakes of snow in winter, surely no mortal man might hope to compete with Odysseus. 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