Odysseus: Is He Really a Hero?
Philip Zimbardo, a psychologist said, “I'm saying to be a hero it means you step across the line and are willing to make a sacrifice, so heroes always are making a sacrifice.” In The Odyssey, an epic poem written around 700 B.C. by Homer, a main character named Odysseus attempts to reach hero status. Odysseus does not have the heroic qualities that Zimbardo believes make a great hero. However, Odysseus is close to reaching hero status through his strong instincts, but his selfish and disloyal behavior prevents him from becoming a true hero.
Odysseus is close to reaching the title of hero due to the quick thinking that allowed him and his crew to reach safety. Odysseus’ heroism can be seen when he immediately
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110-112). Odysseus’ strong instincts are exemplified by his actions done in the heat of the moment to prevent his men from losing all memories of home. He saved his crew from eternity of being trapped in the Land of the Lotus …show more content…
In order to call her before Odysseus leave to go back home he tells her, “Look at my wise Penelope. She falls far short of you, your beauty, stature, she is mortal after all” (Homer 5. 239-240). Odysseus is stating how is wife is nothing compared to the goddess. Odysseus does not want to leave the goddesses to go home to his wife. After his conversation with Calypso, Odysseus decides that it would be good to sleep with Calypso. While he was on his journey,Odysseus had affairs with other women, not just Calypso. However when he stayed at Calypso's Island, he had multiple sexual encounters with her despite his marriage to Penelope. Odysseus and Calypso make love one last time after receiving the news from Mt. Olympus that it is time for Odysseus to leave. Homer says, “And now, withdrawing into the cavern’s deep recesses, long in each other’s arms they lost themselves in love” (Homer 5.250-251). Odysseus is unfaithful to Penelope by sleeping with women on his journey home, while Penelope has remained loyal for seventeen years despite the pressure from the suitors as well as others. Odysseus good heroic quality does not overtake his characteristics of not becoming a heroic
Heroes in real life have supernatural abilities. People also find characteristics of heroes in regular people, like parents, famous people, or just who have made a big impact in their life. The main character of The Odyssey, Odysseus, is shown as a hero because him and his story fit the epic hero cycle. However, just because he is an epic hero, means that he is automatically a hero. He shows us throughout the collection of books that he lacks humility and is unfaithful, proving that he is not a hero in any sense. In Homer’s The Odyssey Odysseus’s lack of boundaries throughout his voyage back to Ithaca show that he is not a true hero.
“Heroes may not be braver than anyone else. They’re just five minutes longer”, Ronald Reagan ounce said. The quote can tell how any ordinary person can become a hero if they just do the right steps, overcome challenges, and accept all the help that is given to them. Odysseus did just as and was a brave hero who went through many trials to get to his home and to what he loved. This
A major part of being a hero is trying to protect the ones you love from any harm, hurt, and danger. Odysseus, however, does not protect his family from harm because he leaves Ithaca for so long. In particular, Odysseus does not protect his wife from hurt when he cheats on her. Every minute of each day that Odysseus was gone, Penelope was mourning the absence of her husband, not knowing that he was deceiving her. Odysseus not only cheats on Penelope once, but twice. First, Odysseus is held sex captive by Calypso, a nymph goddess, on her island for many years. This means that at some point Odysseus had fallen for temptation. Odysseus then cheats on his wife yet again with another goddess named Circe. Although this affair does not last as long, Odysseus still sets
Odysseus is the perfect hero because he is brave. For example one reason why odysseus is a hero because he is brave. Odysseus shows bravery when he goes back for his friends from the lotus eaters saying “but i bought them back, back to the hollow ships (9.110). This shows bravery because Odysseus could've left and not risked his life for his friends. It was a dangerous situation, but Odysseus was brave and went back.
In homer's Odyssey the main character Odysseus is a person who only tries to help himself. Although he earns the trust of his men while in Troy, he loses it on his perilous journey home. Many times in the epic he manipulates others, commits foolish acts and is full of hubris. He tries to take shortcuts and as a result of this is men are killed and his boats destroyed. He plays with the lives of his men and he is punished for it. Odysseus is not a hero because, he is foolish, lacks faithfulness and is consumed by his Hubris and selfishness.
This is a key point in Odysseus and Penelope’s relationship. Declining eternal life with a beautiful, young woman, not needing to work a second longer for the rest of your life show’s true love and devotion. What is different between Odysseus’s affairs and his marriage with Penelope is that Odysseus remains loyal to his wife, no matter how many temptations he faced and long and excruciating his journey was because what they had was true and pure love, unlike him and Circe or
One reason why I believe that Odysseus is a hero is because in Homer’s text, Odysseus warns his crew about the Sirens. Since he warned his crew, he was able to prevent the Sirens from killing his crew, and saved their lives. In the text, it says, “I prepared for my people.”, meaning that he already had a way to protect them from the deadly Sirens. During his travels, he went through lots of danger to get home.
In conclusion, Odysseus was a bigger hero because he was idolized for courage, he had outstanding courage, and he had noble
Odysseus has respect for no one but himself. He values his life more than that of his crew, a crew that looked to him for guidance. Despite the fact that the crew was willing to die for Odysseus, he calls
Odysseus is a hero because he acts courageously while facing the many challenges he encounters. Odysseus’s shows great bravery when he engages in physical challenges. Odysseus daringly fights against the suitors, while significantly outnumbered: “For I must
Joseph Campbell once said, “A hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself.” True heroes are those who do something for others rather for themselves, Odysseus doesn’t exactly show this trait in The Odyssey. In The Odyssey, Odysseus along with his men try to go back home to Ithaca but due to Odysseus nature, only he actually returns alive. In Homer’s The Odyssey, Odysseus proves he is not a hero because he is arrogant, secretive, and unfaithful; resulting for readers to believe that every action has an consequence.
Odysseus's wife, Penelope plays a crucial role in Homer's ‘The Odyssey’, with not only providing the motivation for Odysseus's return to Ithaca, but she is also the center of the plot involving the suitors and the fate of Telemakos and Ithaca itself. Therefore the objective of this essay is to analyze the importance of Penelope’s role in ‘The Odyssey’.
Odysseus is unheroic because he is not loyal. Odysseus has committed acts of adultery throughout his journey that is improper because he is married to his only faithful wife, Penelope and had a son with her, Telemachus. When Homer wrote, “As he thus spoke, the sun went down and darkness came; and going to the inner chamber of the hollow grotto, they stayed together for the happy night.” (Homer 62) This quote shows that Odysseus went with a goddess, Calypso, to be happy in her small picturesque cave. In other words, that meant they went and had intercourse since the author described the night’s mood as “happy” in her hollow grotto (what else do they do in her dwelling?). On page 127, it says, “Poor fools where are we
A true hero will go through immeasurable lengths to benefit not him or herself, but the people around them. Heroes are neither selfish nor uncaring. They seek every opportunity they get to help those in need. One must have also gone through the entire hero’s journey to be deemed a hero. He must start off naïve and inept and through his challenges, transform into someone worth calling a hero. Most importantly, a hero is not perfect. He must listen to other’s ideas and utilize them. However, in The Odyssey by Homer, Odysseus disrespects his crew men and the gods’ advice, lets hubris interfere with his men’s lives, and is unfaithful to his wife Penelope.
In Homer's epic, The Odyssey, Odysseus is an epic hero with an epic wife, Penelope. Penelope is also the Queen of Ithaca, a vital role indeed. Penelope's love and devotion towards Odysseus is proven when she waits nineteen years for her husband to return from the wine dark sea, rather than losing faith and marrying another man. Penelope's character is strong and solid, and her personality remains consistent throughout Homer's Odyssey.