Epic Essay : An Epic Hero

“Now shrugging off his rags the wiliest fighter of the islands leapt and stood on the broad door still, his own bow in his hand” (Homer 557). In epic poem The Odyssey by Homer, Odysseus is a hero because he makes a clever decisions by gaining a close connection with Circe, he is cautious for he built his bed out of an olive tree, protecting his family from imposters, and he is cunning, for he allows his men to successfully escape Polyphemus’ cave.

These qualities are favoured and held in high regards by the gods. Which is why Odysseus has so much help from the gods, but is also the why he encounters their justice as well. Odysseus is viewed as being smart, because of the multiple times he used his intelligence to overcome adversity. Odysseus created the master plan to use the Trojan horse to invade Troy, which is what led the Greeks to win the war. Throughout The Odyssey, there are multiple situations where Odysseus uses his brilliances to get him through tough predicaments. He creates a sea worthy craft, made from what little resources he had in just one day, to leave Calypso’s island. (pg. 54-57) Which most people could never have the power to do

One of the major themes of Homer’s Odyssey is the importance of cunning over strength. This also happens to be the case with Odysseus and his long ten year journey home from fighting in Troy. Odysseus uses his intelligence over strength to ‘fight’ through tough times and bring himself home to Ithaca. Odysseus uses his intelligence when he has his men tie him down while passing the Sirens, so he himself will be able to hear their beautiful song, but not be entranced by their singing. He also uses cunning to escape from the Cyclops’ cave without being harmed. He then uses his cunning by storing away all of the armory, shields, and knives from the suitors so he is able to kill them easily.

During the middle of Odysseus journey he begins to face difficult challenges that put his intelligence to the test. In The Odyssey Odysseus has to face the cyclopes monsters. This was a hard task to

A good leader is selfless, courageous, have the ablity to think fast when faced by an unexpected issue, and overall, possesss heroic characteristics. In the Odyssey, Odysseus leads his men on a journey and faces countless amounts of obstacles that him and his crew are forced to face. Whether for Odysseus, it was fighting extravagant monsters or leading and making sure that his crew was alright at all times I definitely believe that Odysseus shows great leadership throughout the story. The first incident where Odysseus shows that he’s a good leader is when he cleverly tricks and blinds the Cyclops, Polyphemus, which saves his crew from certain death.

One of the reasons Odysseus was admired, was because he was a very wise and intelligent man. This is evident in multiple scenarios from the Odyssey, such as the time when Odysseus decided to tie himself, along with his companions, to the bellies of sheep in order to escape from the Cyclops. Before he comes up with this plan he says, Odysseus also tells the Cyclops that his name is “Nobody”, which later saves him and a few of his crewmembers. And one cannot forget his famous Trojan horse trick. These are other examples of Odysseus’s cunning nature.

In the Odyssey Odysseus demonstrates his intelligence as he is striving to get home. For example when he went to cyclops land with his crew. “where did you leave your ship? Far down the coast, or close? I’d like to know” (9.272-273). “My ship Poseidon smashed it to pieces against the rocks he border of your land” (9.275-276). He was smart to say that it was destroyed but it really wasn’t and now the cyclops won’t destroy it. It was also smart not to tell him because now they have a way to get home. Another example of Odysseus intelligence was when he told the Cyclops a fake name when he asked for it, “They call me Noman my mother, my father, and all my friends, too.” (364-365) he told him that his name was Noman so that Odysseus plan would

Odysseus is very wise; he is able to get out of any situation he finds himself in and can also deceive anyone he

In the book “How Successful People Think” John C Maxwell states “Those who develop the process of good thinking can rule themselves, even in difficult circumstances.” Odysseus faces many obstacles throughout his journey and with his cleverness he overcomes them all in order to reach his goal. Odysseus had to come up with solutions to many situations in order to survive and achieve his goal. For example, during the Trojan War Odysseus came up with the idea of the Trojan horse and this led the Greeks to victory. " Finally, they decided to resort to a trick thought of by Odysseus..." (227) This demonstrates how Odysseus proves himself by being able to come up with solutions to his obstacles in order to succeed in life-threatening situations.

Odysseus has many people who dislike him very much, and that is where he must use his intelligence

This is shown many times by Homer, in the beginning of the epic. One great example of Odysseus’ intelligence is shown when he is facing the cyclopes, Polyphemus. After stabbing the cyclops in the eye with

Beowulf possesses all twelve characteristics of an epic hero, which he uses to combat evil. This being said, they must look like a hero; they must be noble, famous, strong, courageous, humble, prideful, thick-skinned, self-sacrificing, faithful focused, be a leader, and they must have a tragic flaw. For instance, the author first introduces the character Beowulf in the epic poem Beowulf, by acknowledging his presence, “I have never seen a mightier man-at-arms on this earth than the one standing here” (Heaney 19). Beowulf appears in the poem like this once he hears about Grendel, the nefarious giant who keeps terrorizing the mead-hall at night. Although Beowulf is an remarkable hero, he is also a thane or also

We always think about fictional characters when the subject of heroism comes up. In other occasions, we go beyond our imagination and categorize doctors, militants, or even volunteers as heroes. But what really is a hero? Most people hear the word hero and think of the stereotypical individual with an incredible appearance, mind-blowing strength, and a smile to die for. This is not always accurate; some of the most legendary heroes from Greek mythology take advantage of many other qualities that sets them to be a stunning hero: intelligence, loyalty, and occasional mistakes. Homer's epic poem-The Odyssey-uncovers that Odysseus fulfills all of the requirements for an epic hero and more. His endless curiosity has gotten him into dilemmas, while his superb displays of intelligence and cleverness have helped both him and his crew escape danger. His arrogance sets him back, but his loyalty is what drives him forward on his long and treacherous expedition to return home.

He shows he’s smart on his journey, but he was the smartest when he went against the Cyclops. Odysseus was intelligent when he outsmarted Polyphemus by telling the Cyclops his name was "Nobody." He also had the plan to carve a giant stake out of a tree in order to blind the Cyclops, thus enabling him and his men to be freed from Polyphemus's cave and being tied to the underbelly of the cyclops's rams (The Odyssey). This was very smart of him because he was clever enough to lie and says he was “nobody,” by him doing this it tricks the Cyclops. To think of hiding his men under the rams was also smart because he got his men out without getting caught. Outsmarting the Cyclops got his men out of trouble.

One example to prove Odysseus’ intelligence is that he is the one who protected the Greeks in the Trojan War and assisted them in winning this long-drawn-out war by coming up with the tactic of using the Trojan wooden horse. Such tactic is the key to victory of such long-winded war.