The Importance of Rationality in Homer's Odyssey In the epic poem Odyssey, Homer provides examples of the consequences of impulsive and irrational thinking and the benefits of planning and rationality. Impulsive actions prove to be very harmful to Odysseus. His decisions when escaping from the Cyclops' cave lead to almost all of his problems throughout his journey. As Odysseus flees the cave, he shouts back "Cyclops - if any man on the face of the earth should ask you who blinded you, shamed you so - say Odysseus, city robber, has put out your eye." This infuriates the giant, who prays to Poseidon "grant that Odysseus, city raider, son of Laertes who lives in Ithaca, may never come home. Or, if he is destined to see his people again, let him come home late and come like a broken man - all shipmates lost, alone on a stranger's ship - and let him find a world of pain at home!" In the end, all these things that the Cyclops asks for come true. Odysseus also makes the mistake of ignoring Circe's command. Circe had said to forgo wearing combat gear, otherwise the monster Scylla will cause harm to her crew. "But now I freed my mind from Circe's orders - limiting my style, urging me not to arm myself at all. I put on my heroic armor, grabbed long spears with both hands, and marched across the half-bridge." Because he ignores the orders given by Circe, the six-headed monster Scylla kidnaps six of the crew and eats them alive. The impulses of Odysseus' crew members also hinder his journey. The ship had reached the Aeolian Islands, home of Aeolus, the lord of all the winds. He gave Ulysses a bag "binding inside the winds that come from everywhere, with the power to calm or awaken them at will... in the center of the paper... he tells the stories of his travels for He even deceives his son, Telemachus, for a while, all to ensure that his plans are not compromised. He finally reveals himself to his son, saying, "No one else will ever return to you attention and method." his wife, without ever telling her the truth, plans the suitors' deaths, before surprising them when she draws her bow, much to the suitors' surprise she quickly and brutally kills the suitors with the help of Athena and Telemachus Covers up the massacre inside of his house dancing and singing, and the people passing outside thought: "A miracle: finally someone has married the queen!". Throughout Homer's Odyssey, rationality and cunning thinking prevail over impulse and irrationality..