Examples Of Odysseus As An Epic Hero

Scylla and Charybdis were extremely difficult for Odysseus to overcome, mainly because he was used to using manpower and wisdom to escape from dangerous situations. Furthermore, Odysseus knew he could not use his strength to conquer Scylla and Charybdis, instead he had to try and choose the lesser of two evils even though he knew he would lose men either way. It was a great pain for Odysseus when he had to leave his men behind. He heard their “voices come down to [him] in anguish, calling [his] name for the last time” and Odysseus had to fight the urge to turn back and try to save his men from their inevitable peril (Homer 838). To summarize, during Odysseus’s travels he met his second most difficult obstacle, Scylla and Charybdis who compelled Odysseus not to use his intelligence and

Taking Circe advice Odysseus was able to get pass Scylla and Charybdis, but the fatality was that he lost six of his men because Scylla ate them alive.

The Odyssey by Homer, is a epic based off the actions, travels, adventures, and heroic episodes of a greek by the name of Odysseus. Throughout the story, Odysseus’ travels take him to new places on new adventures with no insight on what could happen next. Odysseus refers to himself, and is referred to a number of times, as a hero. Throughout the time of book 9 to book 12, there are many scenes throughout the story that portray the qualities Odysseus possesses that lead him to be given the heroic title. On the contrary, there are numerous occasions where Odysseus does things that might not be expected of someone seen as heroic. One of the first things that stood out to me starting in book 9, was Odysseus’ pride for his native land and where he comes from. Here, Odysseus states, “Nothing is sweeter than your own country” (Book 9, Line 37). This quotes shows how Odysseus is prideful of his home, Ithaca, and believes it to be the “sweetest sight” (Book 9, Line 31). Another scene that represents Odysseus’ heroic qualities is when Odysseus and his crew were being held by the cyclops, Polyphemus, and he comes up with an escape plan. During this, Odysseus states, “And I bade my comrades cast lots among them, which of them should have the hardihood with me to lift the stake and grind it into his eye when sweetsleep should come upon him.” (Book 9, Lines 328-329). To me, this portrays Odysseus as a quick thinker and a problem solver. In this situation, the problem was that him and

First, Odysseus men came to Circe island and some of his men went off to hunt for food. To begin, One of his men come back and told Odysseus that everyone else was turned into an animal by a witch and one of them is the pig the men who stayed back were trying so hard to kill. Second, when Odysseus went back to his men he almost died from falling from the mountain that Circe house was on. Third, Odysseus boat was almost destroyed from the sand and erosion that happened to it, but that did not stop him, he fixed up his boat and went back to his journey. Finally, Odysseus did not back down from a witch that could have easily harmed him but he was not scared he wanted to keep his men safe.

Odysseus displays as an epic hero in the Odyssey. But what is an epic hero? Some characteristics of an epic hero is someone who is brave, strong, and intelligent. A hero was a leader who had not only physical strength, but mental strength as well. Odysseus faces many obstacles and life-threatening situations, but he overcomes them all. Odysseus demonstrates a lot of heroic like qualities during the reading of the odyssey.

When he passes the cliffs of Scylla, the six headed monster, he must choose to hug the cliff and know that Scylla will take six of his best men, or go over the whirlpool Charybdis and risk losing all his men. " Hug the cliff of Scylla, better to lose six men than to lose them all", Circe tells him (917). Odysseus makes a hard decision and takes her advice, and as a result of obeying the goddess, he loses six men, just as the witch Circe told him, but the rest of his crew passes and continues their journey. A final example of this is when Odysseus returns home to his palace in Ithaca disguised as a beggar, and he sees that his house has been overrun by hundreds of suitors, taking advantage of his wealth and his wife, Penelope.

“Plug your oarsmen ears with beeswax kneaded softly; none the rest should hear that song”(pg 939). Odysseus is very wise for thinking about putting beeswax in their ears. Since he did that they will now be able to continue going home. Odysseus is very wise for coming up with that brilliant idea and by saving his crews lives. Finally Odysseus approaches the Scylla in the sea. Next circe warns Odysseus of another monster he will face in the sea. “That is the den of the Scylla where she yaps abdominaly a newborn welp cry though she is huge and monstrous”(pg 939). Odysseus approaches a very scary monster. She has six serpent necks that all have heads which are all ferocious nightmares filled with multiple rows of teeth. To pass this monster Odysseus must give up six men, 1 for every head. “And no ships company can claim to have passed without loss and grief; she takes from every ship, one man for every gullet”(pg 939). Odysseus had to make a very sad sacrifice of six men to pass and if he refused the scylla would have killed everyone else and would have sunk the ship. Odysseus had a good reputation for defeating his

Him and some of his men go to explore a cave which belonged to Polyphemus, later when he returned he shut the door to his cave he noticed the men were there and he wouldnt let them go so Odysseus had to be quick thinking to come up with a plan so he said: “Approaching the branch, I cut off a six-foot length, gave it to my men and told them to smooth the wood. Then standing by it I sharpened the end to a point, and hardened the point in the blazing fire, after which I hid it carefully in a one of the heaps of dung that lay around the cave. I ordered the men to cast lots as to which of them should dare to help me raise the stake and twist it into the Cyclops’ eye when sweet sleep took him. The lot fell on the very ones I would have chosen, four of them, with myself making a fifth.” (C, Book 9 256-306) After there plan went through they escaped by tieing themselves on the bottom sides of the sheep then once they got let back out they went to the ship and esacped.

After Odysseus ship was blown away by Aeolus's bag of the winds, the first island he comes across is the island of the Cyclops. He encounters the son of Poseidon, Prometheus. Odysseus claims that the cyclops should respect and treat his mean as honored guests for they were visiting his home.

When the Cyclops entered and saw that there were men eating his food and sitting around his fire, he was not a happy camper. In the first 2 nights he ate 6 of Odysseus’s men while the other men were trapped in his cave by a massive boulder in front of the cave’s mouth. It took Odysseus’s quick thinking and intelligence for them to escape the cave with their lives. They crafted a spear out of a giant

Because of his bravery, Odysseus and his men are able to escape from the horrible creature’s grasp. In “The Land of the Dead,” Odysseus literally faces death as he stands unshaken before the ominous souls of the deceased. The fact that Odysseus is able to do these things confidently shows just how brave he

After defeating Troy in the Trojan War, Odysseus decides to pillage villages on his way home. During the pillaging they find an island with the Cicone people where they loot their villages. After partying through the night the men collapse on the beach. While they are asleep the Cicone people attack and Odysseus and his crew barely escape. When he found the cave of the cyclops Odysseus waited because he thought he was getting a present or could beat him. Instead, when the cyclops returned to the cave it ate two of his men and Odysseus feared him and his men were going to die.

There are many things that can make an epic hero. In Greek Mythology there are many epic hero's but I have chosen one that in my opinion is an epic hero Odysseus. He is an epic hero because he has done many dangerous things that many people or Greek Mythology people would've not done. He is one brave man that did a lot of things that not a lot of other brave man would do no quests like he did. Odysseus is an epic hero because he is intelligent, courage, and brave.

After the encounters with the Sirens, Odysseus had to face a terrifying creature that he feared of. Circe warned Odysseus about the dangers of Scylla. He is informed that she will snag six of his men and tells him that it is much better than loosing everyone. “Nobody would feel good seeing her, not even a god who crossed her path. She has a dozen feet all deformed, six enormously long necks, with a horrible head on each of them and three rows of teeth packed closed together, full of murky death” (Steele and Alwa, 489). Odysseus knew that in order for his survival and to be able to get to the island, he had to sacrifice his men and escape this monster. “Monsters such as the Sphinx are often represented as female, as if to imply that women are on the borderline between human and “other” than human”(Steele and Alwa, 41). Odysseus also had to deal with his love affair with the witch goddess, Circe. She lived with nymphs on a mythical island. She changed all of Odysseus’s men into animals when he showed up to see her. Hermes helped Odysseus remove the men from the spell. “Many men appear to have felt that they could truly not love women who were not educated well enough to read, write, or engage in informed dialogue with their husbands”(Steele and Alwa, 43). The love between Odysseus and Circe failed due to her lack of ability to engage with men, by

Odysseus is one of the greatest epic heros in the history of literature. The Odyssey, by Homer, is an epic poem, which depicts the journey home of Odysseus. Angering many gods, this voyage takes him through multiple obstacles, and ends up taking almost twenty years longer than it should've. Throughout his journey, “The Son of Laertes” must get his crew out of trouble multiple times. He uses his intellect and other strengths to do so, and never gives up, no matter the circumstance. Even after losing everything he needs in a storm worthy of the gods, Odysseus still never gives up, and gets himself out of trouble yet again. Throughout his entire journey, coming home from the Trojan War, Odysseus repeatedly uses many heroic traits to get himself and his crew out of many unfortunate situations. These heroic traits, how Odysseus uses them, and the steps of his journey all come together to illustrate that he is an epic hero. Odysseus characterizes himself as an epic hero based on how he almost perfectly follows the characteristics of an epic hero, gets his crew out of trouble multiple times, and follows the Hero's Journey.