Characteristics Of Odysseus

First of all, Odysseus was very selfish during their journey back to Ithaca. For example,“We lit a fire, burnt an offering, and we took some cheese to eat; then sat in silence around the embers, waiting”(Homer 219-222). If Odysseus took the cheese and left, his men would not have had to dealt with Polyphemus. He put himself before his men because he wanted a gift from the cave owner. Odysseus was also selfish when he sailed near the lands of Sirens.“Steer wide; keep well to seaward; plug your oarsmen’s ears with beeswax kneaded soft”(Homer 669-671). Although Circe told Odysseus to steer clear of the area, Odysseus wanted to be known as the man who survived a Siren’s song. He put his own men in danger just because he wanted to become famous. Odysseus was also very arrogant to think that he could get past the Sirens.

Odysseus portrays himself as anything but a hero throughout Homer’s The Odyssey. Odysseus goes through his life believing he is the best. He has no regard for anyone’s feelings but his own, and he believes nothing and no one can harm him, not even the gods. Odysseus feels he is always the leader and no one can tell him otherwise. Odysseus should not be considered a hero because he portrays himself as a selfish man that failed his crew, and is controlled by his hubris.

The majority of those who read The Odyssey consider the protagonist of the story, Odysseus, a hero. On many occasions, however, Odysseus makes decisions beneficial to himself alone. For example, when Odysseus and his men find themselves on Polyphemus's island, Odysseus's actions are self-centered and at the expense of his men. This can be said for most of Odysseus's actions in the story, as his main objective is to reach his home. Having his men by his side when he returns seems a trivial thing to him. Odysseus could be considered a hero, but many of his actions say otherwise. Due to the many unfaithful and self-centered decisions he makes in the story, Odysseus is not a hero.

In the “Odyssey”, Odysseus goes through obstacles throughout the book that a normal man couldn’t subside. One example is in book 9, his main obstacle that he is trying to face is to escape from being held hostage in a cave by a Cyclops better known as Polyphemus. Odysseus is a archetypal hero, he is also a role model, with an ambition to get to his homeland Ithaca. He goes through resisting temptation and using his intellect and physical strength to get him there, no matter the obstacle nor the negative flaws that he faces. Odysseus put himself and his men in that situation by being curious and wanting to know what kind of land his ship and the winds led him to. This was selfish of him because it cost him some of his men, but a leader and hero has to play that role and some lives will be dealt with on the way. Odysseus says, “The rest of you will stay here while I go with my ship and crew on reconnaissance. I want to find out what those men are like, Wild savages with no sense of right or wrong Or hospitable folk who fear the gods” (Homer 429). Saying this quote alone makes Odysseus a humble man due to the fact that not even a piece of land is going to slow him down on his journey back home.

In Homer's Odyssey, the hero is Odysseus, a man who left his home to fight the Trojan War and who comes back twenty years later to find his household overrun by suitors courting his wife Penelope. Throughout his journey, this rich and complex character battles life's temptations towards purification, since he must overcome his sins and flaws in order to obtain redemption from the gods, thus returning home to his throne on the island of Ithaca. However, this purification process and Odysseus' chances of returning home are compromised by his flaws and those of his crew, while enhanced by the many virtues and qualities he possesses. This voyage symbolizes man's road to salvation hoping to obtain the God forgiveness

Many would argue that Odysseus is more of a villain nowadays, for every instance of his wiliness or feats of strength there are several of venality, vice, cruelty, or selfishness. The episode of the Sirens,(Book 12), is one example. The only reason Odysseus ties himself up to the mast, when instead he could have simply plugged his ears with wax like the rest of his crew, is that he chooses the jeopardous choice, wanting to "go down in the books" by being the first man to ever listen to the Sirens song and live. In consequence he possibly endangers the rest of his crew from safely reaching home by endangering himself. While Odysseus’ many adventures are very exciting, he spends a considerable amount of time cheating on his wife (with

Do you know anyone who wants to fight for ten years? One man was willing. He was a determined man who was willing to face a lot of challenges to return home. He was the great Odysseus. A hero is a person who is loyal,determined, and brave. Heroes are role models that anyone should look up to. Also, they will sacrifice themselves for something they think is important. Heroes are favored by others. Odysseus is an epic hero from Ithaca and has a wife named Penelope and a son named Telemachus. Odysseus was a Greek soldier and fought in a ten-year war called the Trojan War, which was fought outside the walls of a great city called Troy, and he was trying to get home for ten years. Throughout Odysseus’ journey, he shows many heroic and flawed traits. Although he had many flaws, he is a hero.

Throughout the Odyssey, Odysseus can be seen making quite risky decisions that put his men in danger. Nonetheless, Odysseus still has redeeming qualities because he tries to bring all of his men home. In Homer’s, The Odyssey, Odysseus' bad qualities, or his arrogance, pride and being self-centered hurt his men throughout the epic poem.

Although Odysseus is the captain of his men on the ship, he is a bad leader in the story. “ ‘I say, Cyclops! He didn’t turn out to be such a milksop after all, did he, when you murdered his friends and gobbled them up in your cave? Your sins were sure to find you out, you cruel brute!” (117) Odysseus is very boastful when he has victory over his opponents. He outsmarts Polyphemus, and then mocks him after escaping the cave. This shows that Odysseus is not setting a good example for his crew of men. “ But I was determined not to listen, and shouted again in my fury: ‘I say Cyclops! if ever any one asks

Odysseus frequently displays hubris as a result of his tremendous courage and justifiable pride throughout books 9-12 of Homer’s epic poem, The Odyssey, although this flaw reveals that even heroes can have imperfections. For instance, concealing his identity is key to Odysseus defeating the Cyclops, however his arrogance leads him to reveal himself as a “raider of cities” (9.561), demonstrating his desire to be recognized for his destructive power. Furthermore, even though he only flatters himself, Odysseus successfully motivates his men in the face of yet another threat, by boasting that his “tactics saved [them] all” (12.230), as if his actions alone rescued the rest of his crewmates. Odysseus’ crew admires him for his fearlessness, and they

The epic, The Odyssey portrays Odysseus as a man of great respect and worth. Along with these great attributes, Odysseus is ill fated with the trait of arrogance, and brings death along with him wherever he goes, which conveys that his arrogance towards his men and his surroundings lead to the death of others. Homer uses Odysseus’s hubris to create a crestfallen mood, conveying that the arrogance of leaders will lead to the demise of others. Homer uses the incidents at the Cyclops Island to portray Odysseus as a man who puts himself above his men. Odysseus’ men were unwilling while they were trekking into the cyclops cave, but Odysseus “wishes to see the caveman.”

This is one of the biggest flaws of Odysseus because his self confidence drives him to failure. For example, he almost got his whole crew and ship destroyed in The Cyclops cave. Here’s text from the story about the Cyclops. “ O Cyclops! Would you feast on my companions?

Odysseus tends to make rash decisions and often finds it impossible to control his impulses. He often does things based purely on a feeling. He realizes and readily admits that opinions other than his own make complete sense yet he refuses to acknowledge them and ends up dragging others into danger Odysseus himself says “My men came pressing round me pleading: ‘Why not take these cheeses, and make a run for it? We’ll drive the kids and lambs aboard. We say put out again on good salt water.’

Odysseus is very rude with his action. he always thinks he knows everything. Odysseus behavior wasn't really that nice when the wooers took over his house. It seemed as if Odysseus wanted revenge for the wooers. “ Now that goodly Odysseus hath wreaked vengeance on the wooers, let them make a firm covenant together with sacrifice, and let him be king all his days, and let us bring about oblivion of the

Odysseus’s crew hurried to hush him because they had not escaped yet. But Odysseus continued to gloat. Polyphemus then prays to his father Poseidon to curse Odysseus and never let him go back to see his family again. Then Polyphemus picks off another mountain cliff throwing towards Odysseus’s ships, but this time the peak lands behind them pushing them away from the Cyclops Island. So that is one reason I think Odysseus shows he has a cocky trait.