Characteristics Of Odysseus As An Archetypal Hero

Odysseus was known for his many of his mental traits, but his most useful ones were his bravery cleverness, and wisdom. Without these helpful traits he probably would have died from the very beginning. Fortunately, he was granted with these traits so that he could come back to his kingdom of Ithaca to see his wife and son for the first time in twenty years and to also kill the suitors that tried to kill his son and take his wife, land, and possessions from him.

Ten years after the fall of Troy, Odysseus a great hero has yet to return to his home in Ithaca. It begins with Athena and Poseidon who helped the Greeks during the Trojan War. Athena turned against the Greeks and convinces Poseidon to do the same. The Greeks are hit by storms on the way home and many ships are destroyed and the fleet is scattered. The war and his distress at sea keep Odysseus away from Ithaca for twenty years.

Not all heros come in movies or little kid books. Some heros come from thousands of

A true epic hero has many very defining characteristics. Usually you will find this hero to be the ‘alpha male. ' With an almost super hero personality, epic heroes are extremely above an average human being. This character must be of noble birth, and as a result, this gives them great respect and many resources. There is a deep reverence for the gods and this helps the hero through tough times. An epic hero is bravery than the other characters. They are willing to take bigger risks and reap greater rewards. Despite these strong traits, there is usually an element of deep suffering that the character must deal with through out his story. No matter what, however, the epic hero will always win out in the end in a good vs. evil type of

"If I play a hero or a good guy, I'll try to find his darkness or his flaws." -J. Kinnaman. (Brainyqoute.com) As Kinnaman mentioned, there are almost always flaws in a hero, and these defects usually make the story more interesting. (Knowing a protagonist's defects is helpful to follow the story, because they usually propel the tension the story.) (-- removed HTML --) , an ancient Greek epic poem written by Homer, the protagonist attracts readers by showing not only his heroic qualities but also his shortcomings. The poem is mainly about Odysseus, a victorious general of the Trojan War, going back to his beloved homeland Ithaca after the brutal battle. However, he suffers through a 20-year-voyage to get home, which is caused by his own flaws. Indeed, he has plenty of heroic qualities, yet they are closely connected to his defects.

A hero is one who sets a goal in which takes bravery and dedication in order to achieve. The book The Odyssey written by Homer reveals a story of a true hero. The main character is a man named Odysseus who displays hero characteristics throughout the book. Odysseus is a hero because he returns home with a changed perspective which reflects his heroic abilities, such as his bravery and dedication to return home.

Odysseus is required a hero because he is given a quest and must complete the quest of having to get home safely. In Joseph Campbell’s Hero’s Journey he says that “During the call to Adventure hero's are given a task or quest which they can complete. They are faced a choice: accept the quest or deny it.” Odysseus accepts the quest and has to complete it. In the epic poem The Odyssey by Homer must find a way to get home safely, “I might have made it safely home, that time, but as I came round Malea the current took me out to sea, and from the north a fresh gale drove me on, past Cythera.” Odysseus is given this quest and if doesn’t accept it he won’t get home and he could die. His quest is very important that he accepts it and completes it because like what John Campbell's

One of the most difficult obstacles Odysseus faced was overcoming if epic flaw. Odysseus had excessive pride, or Hubris, which sometimes got him in more trouble than he was already in. For example, in the Cyclops, as Odysseus and his men are leaving after stabbing the Cyclops’ eye, he shouts “Cyclops, if ever mortal man inquire how you were put to shame and blinded, tell him Odysseus, raider of cities, took your eye: Laertes’ son, whose home’s on Ithaca.” Before this, Odysseus had told the Cyclops that his name was “Nohbdy” and could have gotten away without the Cyclops knowing who it really was, but Odysseus had to boast and brag that if anyone were to ask, it was him who blinded the Cyclops. Also in the beginning of The Odyssey after they had one the Battle of Troy, Odysseus shouted to the Gods that nothing could stop him. By provoking the Gods, he brought his 20 year journey onto himself. But by overcoming this flaw in the end, Odysseus finally returned home.

Even though Odysseus may show plenty of traits describing him as a noble hero, he does show unloyalty. He posses a touch of unloyalty due to fact that he was trapped in Circe’s palace for over a year. Odysseus had stayed with another woman or goddess which was not his wife or any known relative which conveys unloyalty towards him. Also she is willing to help him so he can return back home and be reunited with his son, Telemachus, and wife,

Overall, Odysseus went from being imprisoned to the gods allowing him to be set free and return home. The gods believed that he waited long enough and deserved to go home after many years. Hermes being sent was what allowed him to gain enough courage to take the journey home. Hermes also made sure that Calypso let him free so that Odysseus is able begin his journey home. The heroic cycle begins to develop because Odysseus is finally able to return to Ithaca, after ten years in captivity. Without the first step of the heroic cycle, the call, Odysseus never would have gotten back to Ithaca or developed as a hero.

Odysseus’ craftiness sets him apart from the other characters as a hero because he succeeds when others fail.

“ Sing in me, Muse, and through me tell the story of that man skilled in all ways of contending, the wanderer, harried for years on end, after he plundered the stronghold on the proud height of Troy.” (Homer page 751 lines: 0-4) That was an opening prayer from The Odyssey. The Odyssey is about a 20 year-long travel of a man named Odysseus. He traveled to Troy facing the dangers on many mythical creatures and many fictional creatures. This king of Ithaca, left his beloved wife, Penelope, and his son, Telemachus, that he has not seen since his son was a young child. Odysseus expresses his traits, that helps him survive the obstacles he faces. Odysseus’ traits are bravery, curiosity, and intelligence.

The Odyssey is an epic poem that showcases the heroic actions contrasted with the grave disasters of Odysseus, a tragic hero on his way home from the war in Troy. The author, Homer, shows through Odysseus’ actions that even a hero such as he, has flaws. Flaws that if not acknowledged and learnt from, can spell grave disaster in the journey yet to come. Many Greeks recognize Odysseus as the most renowned hero of the Trojan war, thanks to his own accounts of his years away from Ithaca. Following the Greek beliefs, many believe that Odysseus couldn’t have kept himself away for so long, for only the gods can do something like this, and Odysseus can’t be the cause of the crew’s deaths, only the gods could be so cruel. While

In order to be a successful hero you must be a highly motivated person. Without motivation you would not be very successful because you would have no ambition to try and make a difference in the world. I think Rodney Dangerfield is a great example of this because he started he career at just 15 and he died while he was in the middle of a movie. Also when his wife tried to make him quit he just blew their many years of happiness and divorced her. In one of his quotes he stated, “At twenty a man is full of fight and hope. He wants to reform the world. When he’s seventy he still wants to reform the world” (Dangerfield 3).

With this loyalty Odysseus maintains the courage of a true leader through the perils of his journey.  His name alone is given to him to show us, the readers right from the start of the book his will.  Odysseus comes from the Greek meaning to be at odds with, very much like Odysseus is through his voyage.  In the beginning we also hear about the scar that Odysseus bears, which was given to him to him at the young age of 12, when he was rammed in the process of killing a wild Bohr.  This again showing us that even at an early age in his life it was not easy, and that he will endure wounds in his life.