Odysseus: A Hero In Homer's The Odyssey

In my eyes a hero is a person who shows courage, is humble, does not give up, and is someone everybody can relate to. The protagonist in “The Odyssey” by Homer, Odysseus is a hero because although he is emotional throughout the book and lets his emotions take over his actions, he displays immense courage and perseveres through his journey and hardships.

“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.

The majority of those who read The Odyssey consider the protagonist of the story, Odysseus, a hero. On many occasions, however, Odysseus makes decisions beneficial to himself alone. For example, when Odysseus and his men find themselves on Polyphemus's island, Odysseus's actions are self-centered and at the expense of his men. This can be said for most of Odysseus's actions in the story, as his main objective is to reach his home. Having his men by his side when he returns seems a trivial thing to him. Odysseus could be considered a hero, but many of his actions say otherwise. Due to the many unfaithful and self-centered decisions he makes in the story, Odysseus is not a hero.

Finally, Odysseus is also a selfish leader who is full of hubris. An example of

Odysseus’s actions may seem selfless and/or heroic however they are actually being mistaken for acts of selfishness. “They tied me up, then, plumb amidships, back to the mast, lashed to the mast and took themselves again to rowing” (Homer 1134). Homer is describing the crew lashing Odysseus to the mast so that he may hear the sirens sing. Odysseus thinks he is being heroic and manly, but he is actually placing his life and that of the crews in danger all because he wants to hear the song of the sirens. Odysseus knows how loyal his crew is to him so, if one of them was to untie him they could have all ended up dead. Odysseus might think he was performing a heroic action but in actuality he was performing an act of selfishness. When Circe captured Odysseus’s men he was advised not to save them by his best man, Eurylochus, however “Against this advice, Odysseus rushes to save his men from the enchantress” (Homer 1125). Odysseus appears to be heroic but looking closer this rash decision was selfish. He rushed to save his men for honor. He cares more about honor than the safety of his crew. The rest of his crew that wasn’t under Circes spell would have been lost if Odysseus died because they rely so heavily on him. When a leader mistakes his selfish decisions as heroic it can place him and the people around him in danger. Odysseus’s inability to think through his rash decisions and recognize the right choice over the honorable and selfish one makes him unfit to be a

For generations, heroes have always fascinated people and people have strived to achieve certain qualities of their heroes. In Homer’s The Odyssey, Odysseus is considered the hero of the story. While Odysseus does demonstrate some qualities that are not heroic, he is still defined as a hero because of his better, more heroic qualities in which he is far superior in than any other man. The qualities in which define Odysseus as a hero are courage, intelligence, and leadership.

Odysseus is definitely a strong character. Not just physically strong, but mentally strong too. He is intelligent, arrogant, and godlike. Throughout the Odyssey by Homer, Odysseus proves that he is able to take on any challenge that he runs into headfirst. In Ancient Greece, Greeks looked up to him and wanted to be him, Almost like how Christians want to live like how Jesus or Mary did. People thought of Odysseus as a perfect person. He was one of the greatest ancient Greece heroes. Looking back on him now, he doesn’t look as excelling as he did to the people in ancient Greece. Calling Odysseus a hero is still up to debate today, but one thing for sure is that he is definitely a strong person.

In the story The Odyssey the main character Odysseus is not a true hero. A man with so much hatred and anger should not be someone to hold to a high prestige, or want to be. The needless killing and disrespect to other people 's wishes is not part of what a hero should be, or is to endanger the people that he is in charge of. This is why odysseus is not a true hero.

More specifically, the results leading to the announcement that Odysseus was not an epic hero was mostly due to his personality. Odysseus did not value the opinions of his men, or lives of his men, as the reader was lead first to believe. “Why not take these cheese, get them stowed, come back, throw open all the pens, and make a run for it? We’ll drive the kids and lambs abroad” (Homer 8). While in the land of cyclopes, Odysseus’ men told him to leave the cave and take all of the cyclops’ belongings. However, Odysseus did not listen, he wanted to see what else the cyclops had to offer, so he risked the lives of his men for his personal needs. Time and time again Odysseus, the “epic hero” and “brilliant leader,” risked his men’s lives for little or no reward. This is shown again later in story, as where his impulsiveness, arrogance, and greed lead to another reason why he is not suited with the description of an epic hero. In the Odyssey, Homer wrote Odysseus’ words, “Cyclops if ever a mortal man inquire how you were put to shame and blinded, tell him Odysseus, raider of cities, took your eye; Laertes’ son, whose home is Ithaca!” This quote shows Odysseus’ arrogance after he blinded the cyclops. Believing he had defeated the cyclops Odysseus decided to stroke his ego and reveal his name and put his men at risk. With this not well thought out idea, it caused the rest of Odysseus’ journey to be cursed by Poseidon. Without his men’s best thoughts in mind, Odysseus decided getting recognition was better than safety. Not to mention, after these events, Odysseus was shown as a more of an unlike leader and hero when his men soon realized what kind of man Odysseus is. “Remember

In The Odyssey, Odysseus goes on a long journey in which he takes part in dangerous adventures. Odysseus is an example of Homer’s greek hero. He is a leader of his people and they depend and follow him. Odysseus is brave; he believes in himself and trusts that he is doing the right thing. Odysseus values his honor and is confident in himself.

Insert fantastic hook here.> In The Odyssey, an epic poem written by the ancient Greek poet known as Homer, the story of Odysseus’, king of Ithaca and the conqueror of Troy, journey home. This journey takes ten years and in those years Odysseus has many more adventures and mishaps. Throughout these happenings, Odysseus is called a hero, a title that he does not deserve. Odysseus shows qualities such as abysmal leadership abilities, courage to the point of hubris and loyalty to his home, but not to his family.

“You can't relate to a superhero, to a superman, but you can identify with a real man who in times of crisis draws forth some extraordinary quality from within himself and triumphs but only after a struggle.” This very strong analysis of a hero by Timothy Dalton, shedding light to the idea that a heroic character who can seem immensely powerful are very hard to relate with, but share similar struggles. To put it in perspective, a superhero often struggles to overcome obstacles and their distinct traits. Likewise, throughout Odysseus’ journey in The Odyssey, Odysseus’ proves himself as an epic hero through his clever thinking, fearless attitude, and prideful behavior.

I am odysseus the legendary greek king of Ithace and the hero of homer's epic poem the Odyssey. I odysseus am the greatest legend that has ever been told, and I deserve to be written in the annals of actual history. I have three reason that qualify me as the greatest legend and should be written in actual history. I am determine , smart, and an all round epic hero.

This is especially evident in Odysseus’ traits of arrogance and skill with weaponry. In ancient Greek culture, boasting about oneself was considered heroic and acceptable. This becomes evident

Odysseus illustrates the quality of leadership. To be a leader, one must be loyal, strong, sharp, and wise. Odysseus demonstrates loyalty while he is trapped on Kalypso’s Island. Alone, angry, and depressed, Kalypso tempts Odysseus to fall in love with her, yet, Odysseus remains loyal to his wife and gives up the fine and tempting opportunity: “My lady goddess, here is no cause for anger./