Characteristics Of Odysseus Being A Hero

In the story The Odyssey, Odysseus returns from a long journey after defeating the cyclops, Polyphemus. Odysseus has many heroic attributes that correlate with the lessons of the story. He is overly confident in the actions that he takes. He is cunning when he outwits Polyphemus and escapes him to return home.Finally, he is brave when he follows through with his actions, accomplishing them head-on. These traits are what helped Odysseus save himself and his men from a gruesome death. However, we need to know why these traits are heroic, and how they helped Odysseus.

As a final point, being brave, strong, and making a quick decisions was many kinds of being a hero and that’s what Odysseus had that make him a hero. Odysseus with his men going through a lot of challenges but in the end he is the only one survived and alive. With this in mind, the epic poem showed us how big the difference between the people 3,000 years ago and people in this generation. The author shows in the epic poem how whimsical the world 3,000 years ago and how powerful the gods in their maturity.

"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.

In the story The Odyssey the main character Odysseus is not a true hero. A man with so much hatred and anger should not be someone to hold to a high prestige, or want to be. The needless killing and disrespect to other people 's wishes is not part of what a hero should be, or is to endanger the people that he is in charge of. This is why odysseus is not a true hero.

During The Odyssey, Odysseus shows us many of his “epic” traits. Some of the these

Although it may seem debatable, Odysseus is a hero mainly due to his commitment to his country and the bravery he tends to show. The commitment alon is shown when when Odysseus goes out to fight for the war however, his bravery is shown throughout many parts. Odysseus first shows his bravery (and curiosity) when he decides to explore the land of the Cyclops: “I’ll go across with my own ship and probe the natives living over there”(Book 9). This makes Odysseus a hero simply because the bravery, he is risking his life to travel through undiscovered land without much safety. The second act of that make Odysseus heroic is his ability to be an effective leader. This is shown when Odysseus is worried about being fair with his soldiers therefore,

When you look up the word “hero” in the search engine of Google, you get a simple definition that sounds something like, “A person who is admired or idealized for courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities.” There are many meanings and many definitions of hero. In the book The Odyssey, by Homer, Odysseus is called a hero by many people. Odysseus definitely deserves this title for he has lots of bravery, persistence, and cleverness.

Not everyone is perfect. Even the Gods have flaws. Odysseus, as he is shown by Homer is a epic hero, but as it appears to evidence in the book and movie the real hero is Penelope.

People may have their own opinion on whether Odysseus is a hero or not, but there are many reasons why he is a hero. Odysseus is a hero because he is smart and brave.

What defines a hero? Many will say qualities such as strength, loyalty, and tremendous courage. From slaying the great monster to rescuing the innocent from certain death, heroes by definition perform heroic feats and demonstrate abilities far beyond those of the average person. However, despite their record of accomplishments, all heroes have flaws. Interestingly, western literature uses the Biblical concept that all men have sinned and fall short in some way. Homer’s epic The Odyssey illustrates this point in a very direct and precise manner. Odysseus, the main protagonist has the strength of a hero, yet at times his pride consumes him and leads him to make dubious decisions. We should admire Odysseus for his strength and cunning, but at the same time take note of his pride and poor judgment.

Someone who possesses the qualities of an epic hero is a very brave and loyal individual whose excellence deserves to be recognized. In the poem The Odyssey by Homer, Odysseus is the king of Ithaka who embarks on his journey home after being away in the Trojan War for ten years. He is a perfect example of one who possesses epic hero qualities. His skills are evident when he tricks a Kyklops by lying about his name, when he continues on his journey after being living lavishly for several years, and also when he remains strong and perseveres after a deadly storm. Odysseus faces many challenges, but manages to overcome them because of his epic hero qualities of strategic intelligence, independence, and courageousness.

Another trait that Odysseus demonstrates repeatedly throughout the story is his loyalty. In various situations he never gives up on his crew, even when he has reason to. During an episode in the epic, Odysseus travels to the underworld to receive a prophecy. He meets his great friend Elpenor, who has died earlier in Circe’s hall. Because he is unburied and unmourned he asks Odysseus to build a cairn in his honor. Odysseus replies, “Unhappy spirit, / I promise you the barrow and the burial.” (Homer, lines 609-610). Although Odysseus is preoccupied with finding Tiresias, he shows loyalty to his crew mate by spending time with his spirit, and carrying out the spirit’s request. It could have been easy for Odysseus to ignore the spirit of Elpenor, but Odysseus shows a real emotional reply to this meeting. Not only does he show loyalty to his crew but his homeland as well. Although he could have given up during the ten year span Odysseus wandered from home, he persisted even though giving up would have been easier. At one point Odysseus is detained by the enchantress, Circe, but remains determined to reach home:

In Homer’s epic poem The Odyssey, Odysseus is the hero of the story. This essentially means that he has heroic and human traits. This includes weaknesses and strengths. Homer gives Odysseus heroic traits like intelligence and pride, but also some human traits such as stubbornness.

Odysseus is a hero because he sacrifices himself many times to save his men. He put his life on the line for his men. For example, he stabbed the cyclops in the eye so they could escape. He also was thinking ahead and told the cyclops that his name was Nobhdy. He uses his cunning brain and good looks to get them out of situations. For example, he used his brain and looks when he offered to sleep with Circe in order for his men to rest. He did this because he knew his men needed to take a break and Circe hated them, so he helped them out and himself) by sleeping with Circe, something was in it for him too. He was also a hero when he came up the idea when they had to sail past the Sirens, he but beeswax in his men’s ears and had them tie

“I must lose myself in action, lest I wither in despair.” Alfred Tennyson wrote the poem, "Ulysses," while grieving over the loss of a close friend (Shmoop). Struggling to continue on with his life after the devastating loss, Tennyson felt inspired by Homer’s character Odysseus in The Odyssey. Tennyson chose to continue Odysseus’ journeys in "Ulysses" just as Tennyson himself felt he must continue on after the death of his friend. In Tennyson's poem, the main character, Ulysses, still possesses many of the same characteristics as Homer wrote about in The Odyssey.