Characteristics Of Odysseus

Odysseus was a great leader and hero throughout the story in many examples as I have listed below. My first example is when Odysseus was able to make a spear when he was in Polyphemus's cave. He then took the spear and drove it through the eye of the beast, blinding him. The cyclops then moved the boulder and the men escaped by hiding under sheep.This example shows that O. is a hero because he is daring. If the cyclops was to find any of them or he had missed and woken him then this surely would have meant death for them. The second reason is in book twelve when O. must pass the sirens. To do so he slabs beeswax on the ears of his shipmates. This will make it so them can not be lured into the captivity of the sirens. O. then lashes himself

One of Odysseus’ other characteristics is his intelligence. When the Cyclops asked Odysseus for his name he decided to give him a fake one, “Cyclops, / you ask me of my honorable name? Remember/ the gift you promised me and I shall tell you. / My name is Nohbdy: mother, father, and friends, everyone calls me Nohbdy. 313-316” This quality of his saves his life many times. When Odysseus and his soldiers stab the Cyclops’ eye, he cries out asking help from his fellow Cyclopes, but when he says Odysseus’ fake name to them they walk away saying for the Cyclops to pray to Poseidon. When the Cyclops eye was injured, he went in front of the door so that no one could escape so Odysseus had to devise a plan, “The Cyclops’ rams were handsome, fat, with heavy/ fleeces, a dark violet. / Three abreast/ I tied them silently together, twining/ cords of willow from the ogre’s bed,/ then slung a man under each middle one/ to ride there safely, shielded left and right./ So three sheep could convey each man. I took/ the woolliest ram, the choicest of the flock. / and hung myself under his kinky belly. 376-384” Odysseus had to think of a plan to escape right on the spot, this shows how clever he is. Odysseus has many other traits besides his intelligence which makes him a hero.

Odysseus heroic qualities are strength, courage, dignity, a thirst for glory, and self-confidence. He also shrewd and ingenious, all of which make him the ideal hero in both the physical form and the spiritual aspect. Odysseus being faithful and loyal to his wife shows his dignity. Even though he has been away from his home and family for twenty years his only thoughts are with them. He overcomes all the extreme dangers he encounters showing his strength and courage. His shrewdness and intelligence shows when he, the King of Ithaca, is disguised as a beggar before Telemakhos.

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.

I think the one heroic character trait that fits Odysseus best is “cunning”. There are many stories from “The Wanderings” that shows just how cunning Odysseus is; from tricking monsters like the cyclops, to pretending to be a beggar so he could reclaim his kingdom. Some of these stories may not sound like much but without Odysseus’s cunning trait things would have ended up completely different. If Odysseus didn’t have his cunning trait he wouldn’t have been able to trick the suitors into thinking he was a beggar, but because Odysseus is such a cunning hero he is able to have much more power than others.

In The Odyssey Odysseus stands up for his men who are traveling to war with him when Athena accuses them of not displaying much talent. It would be difficult for Odysseus to stand up for his men while talking to a goddess. However, he handles himself very wisely explaining to Athena the positive qualities in each of his men. In The Odyssey after Poseidon grows angry with Odysseus telling him he will suffer, it only makes Odysseus determination in himself increase. A hero is one who never gives up, so one major character traits they should obtain is determination Although Odysseus is beaten down by the god of the sea it does not decrease his determination. During the journey back from the war in The Odyssey after Poseidon has warned Odysseus that he will not make it home Odysseus not only works well with his men, but also is very self reliant. Self reliance is a huge part of becoming a hero because you have to be prepared at all times if something was to happen to your acquaintances, you need to have the confidence to fulfil your goal.

In conclusion Odysseus is a true hero even though he was thoughtless, selfish and deceitful. However he had respect for the gods (Athene), a strong sense of duty, (will always go back for his men) showed great honour and was highly regarded by his men and peers. He was a role model for his son Telemachus who wanted to be like him. He also showed great Athleticism which was very important and highly regarded. He was very competitive and tried to be better than anyone else and insured his name lived on forever. This is a sign of a true

Odysseus has many heroic qualities such as cleverness, physical strength,and bravery. First, Odysseus tricked the cyclops, Polyphemus, by telling him his name was “Nobody” ( The Odyssey 1058). This showed cleverness because Odysseus gave the cyclops a bottle of wine to make him drunk, which caused him to fall asleep. Then, Odysseus found some wood and sharpened it to stab Polyphemus in the eye. While Polyphemus was blind, he asked Odysseus what his name was, he said it was Nobody and made the cyclops believed that was his name. Another example of when he showed a heroic quality is when Odysseus tricked the suitors by doing an impossible task he knew no one could do and it was to string

Life is about making choices. Always do your best to make the right ones and always do your best to learn from the wrong ones, -Unknown. In the epic poem, “The Odyssey” by Homer, the main character shows positive traits of a leader. I believe that Odysseus is primarily an effective leader. Now, yes he made poor judgment calls but that’s what being human is about, making mistakes learning from them, and moving forward.

The first characteristic of Odysseus that makes him an epic hero is that he is a great warrior. Throughout The Odyssey, Odysseus fights great monsters that all want him dead. When Odysseus visited the Cyclops, he used his skills to blind the monsters eye. “Now at last, I thrust our stake in a bed of embers… Hoisting high that olive stake with its stabbing point, straight into the monster’s eye they rammed it hard… til blood came boiling up around the smoking shaft” (Homer 223). Because Odysseus already had experience in the Trojan war, he was able to think quickly under pressure and distract the cyclops. Then he and his men carried out his plan and managed to escape. Odysseus was also smart enough to know that he couldn’t kill Polyphemus because he was the only one who could lift the large boulder in front of the entrance of the cave. Then, Odysseus with his quick wit, hid his men under the bellies of the cyclops’ flock of rams until Polyphemus let them out the next morning. Another example that shows Odysseus is a great warrior is the situation with the suitors. When Odysseus returned home from his twenty year journey that no one thought he could return from. Suitors were plaguing his home in pursuit of his faithful wife Penelope. Dressed as a beggar, Odysseus defeats them in an arrow shooting contest and then one by one begins to rid the palace of its ‘rat problem.’ Odysseus first kills Antinous. Then after letting the other suitors beg for mercy, he and Telemachus begin killing them as well (440). Odysseus, seasoned from war, tired of fighting, still had enough strength left to defeat the suitors.

“ 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.

In the story Odysseus shows a lot of traits to help him get home to his family.one trait he shows in the story is the use of knowledge. During the whole journey he uses knowledge to help him back home. His knowledge helps him get away from creatures from the island but his crew does not make it but he does about them he cares mostly about his family he is faced with a lot of creatures on the island but because of the use of knowledge he is going to escape them and be able to make it home to is kingdom that he not seen for twenty years

First of all, Odysseus has a large amount of strengths. The text Homer has written, states “Me, only she permits those strains to hear”, because he is cunning and intelligent. In the Odyssey, Odysseus fought heroically In the Trojan War and had superb military strategies. Odysseus mentions “Thus with distinct precaution I prepared/My people”, indicating that he was able to travel through the siren’s land with a plan. All of these characteristics are brilliant

One of the biggest traits Odysseus shows throughout the story is his bravery. The whole story Odysseus shows his courage. Taking every mission knowing there could be death; Odysseus still did not give up. Odysseus did whatever it took to make back to Ithaca for his wife and son. Odysseus showed courage by outsmarting the Cyclops. Odysseus went to the land of the dead just to bury a dead shipmate with no fear. But Odysseus showed his every bit of bravery when planning and fighting against the suitors. Odysseus set up plans to kill all the suitors with only 3 people with him. Odysseus refused to back down from the suitors so when the time came he was prepared. When all the suitors were killed Odysseus and his family had finally reunited. After 20 years of Odysseus bravery had all paid off. That’s why I think Odysseus shows he has lots of bravery throughout the story.

The most important development to Odysseus character is the journey. I say that because the whole journey was helping him get home. Like Athena was helping him throughout the whole journey. Odysseus character is strong, smart, and confident. During the whole journey Odysseus and his men went through a lot of obstacles. They went through harsh things and good things, but he had to go through it to get home. Also sometimes he was selfish like when he was hiding under the biggest ram so the Cyclopes didn't see him and in the Sirens because only he could hear them singing. In matter of fact he dies stupid things sometime like if he was listening to the sirens singing and is men didn't listen to him and took the beeswax off they would have all died.