The Character of Odysseus
Odysseus is the main character of the narrative poem “The Odyssey.” Odysseus is a brave character that goes on a journey to head back home to Ithaca after the war. On his way, he and his companions endure many trials and tribulations. But he always thinks up a way to get out of these situations. Throughout this essay, I’m going to discuss what makes Odysseus and epic hero, what are some of his qualities and flaws, and why Odysseus is considered an archetype. There are many characteristics that make up an epic hero. Such as courage, bravery, intelligence and above all leadership. Odysseus possess these characteristics and many more. He can analysis a situation and easily fix it. Throughout his journey so far,
Most people think of a hero as a strong, superior, good-looking person that could never make a mistake. However, in a story called The Odyssey, a connection to real life reveals imperfections to be common in heroes. Each person has their low points and highlights, regardless of their “rank”. The author and epic poet, Homer, exemplifies our main character, Odysseus, to take on this idea of a hero throughout his writing. The time period took place in Ancient Greece, allowing Greek culture to relate to the poem. Different aspects of such culture and history may have influenced the works and creativity of Homer as well. A major point includes The Trojan War because it focuses in on Odysseus’ journey to bring Helen back home by devising a plan to destroy warriors in the city. Acknowledge this factor when reading The Odyssey, for not only evidence of heroism, but also other major points of archetypes, in which the device reflects the insights of readers in modern time and what is seen from Ancient Greek culture.
In the movie/book The Odyssey, archetypal characters play a pretty big role in shaping the development of Odysseus. The mentor Athena asks Odysseus if he wants guidance and a hand throughout his journey, which helps him to overcome challenges and make better decisions. However, the temptress archetype of Circe and Calypso, they feel as if they need to test Odysseus' loyalty and his will to work. That actually ended up tempting him to quit his quest.
The Greek story mentions how the first race of man were exceedingly wicked, thus howling the archetype of man in transgression. Zeus sent a flood to destroy the men of the Bronze Age, showing one of the flood archetypes of the divine cause of destruction. When the first race of men was destroyed, Deucalion and his family survived due to his prudence and piety. He exhibited the archetype of a favored family. Additionally, Deucalion loaded his wives and all children and all animals onto a great ark.
In the book, The Odyssey of Homer, translated by Richmond Lattimore, the relationships Odysseus has with Circe, Kalypso, and Penelope all share a very different type of love. The weakest relationship Odysseus has is with Circe, her love is of respect and infatuation. Then, Kalypso’s love towards Odysseus, a bit stronger than Circe’s is full of selfishness and desperation. Lastly, Penelope’s love is enduring and hopeful for Odysseus making their relationship the strongest. The relationships Odysseus has with Circe, Kalypso, and Penelope share a type of love, the contrast is the different strength of love each woman gives to Odysseus.
Ella Dickinson Ms. Dwyer 12 April 2024 Odyssey Essay The Heroic Odysseus In texts such as the Odyssey, hero archetypes are looked up to and admired for their all-around strength and selflessness, but some of these traits can present negatively at times. In The Odyssey, written by Homer, Odysseus faces numerous challenges as he navigates his way back home to Ithaca. Sailing with his crew, Odysseus encounters countless obstacles and difficulties on each island he comes to.
Odysseus is a legendary hero in Greek mythology, king of the island. He is the main protagonist of Homer’s epic, The Odyssey. He is also a protagonist character in the other Homeric epic, The Iliad. In the epic Odyssey, Odysseus has many defining characteristics. His most distinguishing traits are strength, courage, and confidence.
The character in Odysseus in Homer’s Odyssey has heroic characteristics that make an archetype of an epic hero in literature. Odysseus is the ideal man, handsome, brave strong and loyal. He possesses characteristics that make people around him trust him as their leader like intelligence and loyalty, but he also has flaws like being self centered and over prideful at times as well, being arrogant. He shows his good qualities by overcoming obstacles in the story and getting his men out of trouble. Show showed his arrogance when he taunted the cyclops when they were leaving the island.
The story of the Odyssey focuses on the acts of the main character known as Odysseus. During his travels across the sea, he is faced with many impediments that try to steer him away from his home of Ithaca. However, he is able to overcome each of these obstacles and finally reaches his home. Throughout his odyssey, Odysseus shows many traits of an epic hero. Some of the traits he shows that makes him an epic hero are his noble birth, the vast he travels through, and the help he gets from supernatural forces.
In the Greek literature of mythology, we have examined Odysseus. Students and scholars alike debate whether Odysseus was a true hero, as read in The Odyssey. There is much supporting evidence to prove all sides of the debate and opinions held of Odysseus. It is of my opinion that Odysseus is a hero in his homeland, his family, the Greek people, and for us to learn from to this day. Odysseus had encompassed three many qualities that I believe made him a hero. He embodied, mental strength, physical strength, and spiritual strength. I would like to advocate for why Odysseus was a hero.
For generations, heroes have always fascinated people and people have strived to achieve certain qualities of their heroes. In Homer’s The Odyssey, Odysseus is considered the hero of the story. While Odysseus does demonstrate some qualities that are not heroic, he is still defined as a hero because of his better, more heroic qualities in which he is far superior in than any other man. The qualities in which define Odysseus as a hero are courage, intelligence, and leadership.
Odysseus is a hero because he acts courageously while facing the many challenges he encounters. Odysseus’s shows great bravery when he engages in physical challenges. Odysseus daringly fights against the suitors, while significantly outnumbered: “For I must
Odysseus, king of Ithaca, was probably on of the greatest warriors in the history of Ancient Greece. It is said that the poet, Homer, wrote the story of the Odyssey. In this story, Odysseus and his crew are trying to make their voyage back home to Ithaca after they have fought with the Trojans. During the long journey, Odysseus will show some of his character traits which include his bravery, cleverness, and wisdom that will assist him with the situations he encounters on his journey home.
Odysseus is one of the greatest epic heros in the history of literature. The Odyssey, by Homer, is an epic poem, which depicts the journey home of Odysseus. Angering many gods, this voyage takes him through multiple obstacles, and ends up taking almost twenty years longer than it should've. Throughout his journey, “The Son of Laertes” must get his crew out of trouble multiple times. He uses his intellect and other strengths to do so, and never gives up, no matter the circumstance. Even after losing everything he needs in a storm worthy of the gods, Odysseus still never gives up, and gets himself out of trouble yet again. Throughout his entire journey, coming home from the Trojan War, Odysseus repeatedly uses many heroic traits to get himself and his crew out of many unfortunate situations. These heroic traits, how Odysseus uses them, and the steps of his journey all come together to illustrate that he is an epic hero. Odysseus characterizes himself as an epic hero based on how he almost perfectly follows the characteristics of an epic hero, gets his crew out of trouble multiple times, and follows the Hero's Journey.
The ancient hero Odysseus of the epic The Odyssey possesses numerous notable heroic traits, many of which have influenced the modern perspective of a hero in literature, real life, or otherwise. For instance, he demonstrates paragon amounts of loyalty throughout his return voyage to Ithaca, along with leadership, courage, and persistence. As Odysseus is primarily an archetype in addition to his heroic characteristics, his influences have endured the odyssey of time, and have become comparable in themselves to their prior forms present in the adventurous hero Odysseus. Although the modifications in the perceptions of Odysseus (or, generally, similar heroes of his time) and modern heroes do not differ in extremely significant or outstanding
The connections between humans and their culture over time,rarely found, happen to be found in ancient literature. The connections ,archetypes, can be found in the adventurous book The Odyssey. Ancient Greek culture is brought up by Homer through archetypes. In the Odyssey, topics such as terrifying monsters , love tests, and an unstoppable hero are all related to ancient Greek culture. The Odyssey shows archetypes that also reveal this culture. Three archetypes found are monsters, loyalty, and a hero, which shows the ancient Greek culture for modern readers.