Characteristics Of Odysseus

Although Odysseus is one of the most well known greek heros in the world, he is also very controversial among the people as well. In the book, “The Odyssey” written by Homer, Odysseus made some choices that makes the readers question his role as a leader. In “The Odyssey”, it tells the story about Odysseus’ long journey home from the Trojan War. Along the way, Odyssey has extended his times away from home by making unintelligent decisions that led him to encounter one disaster after another. Although Odysseus has some positive attributes, he is a poor leader for the following reasons: he is too cocky and overconfident, he make careless decision, and finally, he is very selfish.

"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 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

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

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.

Being a good leader can take time and effort and although mistakes are involved one must keep going. Odysseus went through the struggle of becoming a good leader throughout his journey but he showed his good leadership through his thought out plans, quick decision making, and compassion towards his crew. The first way Odysseus showed his good leadership was with his well thought out plans. In book IX, line 377-393 Odysseus decided to get the cyclops drunk. He decides that if the cyclops is drunk and not in the right state of mind it will help with the rest of his plan. He wants the cyclops to be weak so when he stabs him, he will have a lessening reaction. Also in book IX, lines 397-398 Odysseus lies about his name. This may seem silly but when Odysseus and his men stab him in the eye he screams out to the other cyclops.

What characteristics should a powerful hero demonstrate? To me, a powerful hero is someone who is brave enough to make decisions that does not always benefit oneself but the people in their surroundings. In Homer’s epic poem “The Odyssey” Odysseus exhibits many heroic qualities. Although he made various mistakes, for example when Odysseus’ men died in the episode of “Scylla and Charybdis” Odysseus’ men died in a battle against the sea creature due to the fact that Odysseus forgot to remind his men of what was yet to come. Similarly, our modern day hero, Kobe Bryant, a recently retired professional NBA player for the Los Angeles Lakers, shows similar leadership qualities. He like Odysseus, he is determined and selflessness.

The Odyssey, A Tale of Wonder Has the world ever seemed fascinating and strange, at the same time?Here’s the story, of Odysseus but briefly, on the island of Ithaca, Odysseus is petitioned to go to Troy and defeat the Trojans, and accordingly, a certain god got mad at Odysseus and wasn’t going to allow Odysseus to go home, at least for the time being. Well in Homer’s timeless epic, The Odyssey, Odysseus of Ithaca is the hero. But, what is a hero? In this case Odysseus’s heroic qualities can be described as being, loyal to his country, loyal to his family, and loyal to his gods.

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.

Which of Odysseus’s qualities is most distinguishable? Odysseus, a character from Homer’s Odyssey fought off a large cyclops on an island. He also travels to the underworld, to meet with Teiresias. Eventually, he combats all the suitors, with just his bow and arrow. Odysseus demonstrates an abnormal level of bravery, throughout Homer’s epic.

“ 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.

Heroes show a variety of different traits that set them apart from others. These traits can make or break a character in a book or movie, and likewise affect us in our everyday lives. I think Odysseus, a male hero fighting to get home, shows many of these traits. In the epic poem The Odyssey by Homer, Odysseus shows that he is very loyal, and I believe I exhibit this trait as well. Odysseus is very loyal throughout the book.

“The Odysseus” features a hero, Odysseus, and the catastrophes and situations he encounters as he is the main character of the novel. Odysseus is a strong leader and hero, with lots of qualities. His qualities make him unique and a bold character in the story. However, with his qualities, he also has flaws as well. Being an epic hero gives him both flaws but qualities that make Odysseus unique.

Odysseus has many strengths. He “fought bravely in the Trojan war.” Also, he rescued his people from the Circe. “ I prepared my people”, said Odysseus(Homer). This all shows of him being a leader and having strength.

Although Odysseus shows many strong leadership skills, he has some fatal flaws that prove to be critical when deciding if he is a good leader or not. After taking all of his past experiences in such as; endangering his men through by giving in to seduction or forgetting his goal of getting home, I’ve arrived at one conclusion, Odysseus is a weak leader. When Odysseus