Essay Odysseus: A True Hero

Constantly throughout the book, Odysseus shows great courage in any and every situation he is put in. We see this glimpse of courage when he fights the suitors, or when he saves his whole crew from the Cyclops. In book 9 as Odysseus and his crew are journeying through the cave of a Cyclops, Odysseus decides to make a very bold decision and blinds the Cyclops. “Hoisting high that olive stake with its stabbing point, straight ingo the monsters eye they rammed it hard.” (page 223, line 427-428) In this scene Odysseus drives a stake into his eye, in result blinding him. This was a very courageous decision because of the fact that he and his men are up against a Cyclops. At the same time, Cyclops’s are very strong and big, and Odysseus could have easily been killed . It turns out that the Cyclops is a offspring of Poseidon which put him and his crew into a lot of trouble and danger later in their journey, and if Odysseus knew that or not it was still a brave thing to do in order to save him and his crew at that moment.

Although some believe that the epic hero, Odysseus is a fool for his arrogance and inability to take necessary precautions when dealing with the cyclops and Helios’ cattle, these do not outweigh the reasons why Odysseus is actually a hero. Overall Odysseus is a hero because he cleverly built his bed from an olive tree, since he resides with Circe he gains valuable

     Is Odysseus, the main character of Homer’s The Odyssey, really an epic hero? An epic hero embodies several heroic traits such as; having superior or super-human strength; being intellectual and courageous; and being a strong and responsible leader. An epic hero struggles and is overwhelmed with difficulties. An epic hero is on a quest of self discovery, war or some sort of goal. In the Odyssey, Odysseus is on a quest to return home to Ithaca after ten years of war in Troy. Odysseus, during his quest, is forced to venture through a merciless Cyclops, angered Gods, deeply obstinate Goddesses, the underworld, and determined suitors that are after his wife Penelope. Odysseus surmounts

Many think being a hero is having super powers, but on the contrary it's more than that. A hero is one who is distinguished for their courage and bravery, and looked upon for their great deeds. A hero like this is not just found in modern society today, but in mythology as well. In the epic poem The Odyssey by Homer, Odysseus earns the title of a true hero by conveying many qualities such as: determination, courage and leadership.

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

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.

Bravery was probably one of the traits Odysseus was known for best. Without his bravery, the story most-likely wouldn't have been as exciting and suspenseful as it was. One of the situations that displayed this trait was when they landed on the

First, Odysseus is not a hero because he is a foolish leader who makes many mistakes on his journey back home to Ithaka. His first mistake is his decision to let his men raid and

What makes someone a hero? Is it the adventures they go on, the traits they possess, or how popular they are? In The Odyssey, Odysseus embarks on one huge adventure to save his people, but barely gets back home. The struggles on this journey have proved whether Odysseus is in fact a hero, or just a fool who got lucky. Although literary scholars of The Odyssey have argued that he is not a hero, closer examination shows that he is a hero because he met the ultimate goal of defeating Troy, bravely led and sacrificed for his men, and escaped multiple enemies.

sword from my hip I went along his flank to stab him where the midriff

In Homer’s, The Odyssey, I believe that Odysseus is a true modern hero. During his long and perilous journey home Odysseus shows many heroic qualities that help save his men from many dangerous situations. He first shows his Valiant behavior during the war in Troy, he cares about his crew and survives the war. He also deeply cares about the welfare of his men on their return trip to Ithaka. Odysseus is a hero because he is a courageous leader, a quick thinker and a modest man.

This shows bravery because Odysseus could have just sent his twelve men by themselves and all alone. Instead, he goes with them and decides to fight and face the danger his men will come against. Odysseus shows bravery again when him and his men face Scylla and Charybdis, “I told them nothing, as they could do nothing” (Homer 584). In the passage, Odysseus’ bravery is shown very indirectly. He does not tell his men on what they are about to face, but instead stays brave himself and does not show fear in order for them to not be so scared.

Odysseus demonstrates heroic, god-like qualities throughout The Odyssey. In one instance, he tricks the Cyclops Polyphemus, saving his crew from certain death. In this episode odysseus shows bravery and heroism by tricking and blinding the cyclops. He is brave to have done this to save his men. And that is a real hero.

What is a hero? Is a hero a powerful being capable of doing amazing things? Or, is a hero just someone to look up to? If anyone can be a hero, then would they even want to be one in the first place? Being in the spotlight is hard as any mistake you make will ruin or hurt your “hero” status. If the hero has always been powerful and well known, like Odysseus, they would already know how to act like a hero. They would know not to make any mistakes. Odysseus is a hero and has been considered one for thousands of years, but does he really deserve that title? In many ways, he is flawed. Odysseus, just like all of us, he is not the perfect hero or person at all due to his untrustworthiness, his ego, and his human nature.

Odysseus may not be the image you get in your head when you hear the word “hero”. I’m here to say he is. He tried to save his entire crew. It was their fault that they died, Odysseus tried his best and they disobeyed him. You cannot call Odysseus a “bad leader” for that reason. His trickery and wits and also guts helped him and his crew out of Polyphemus’ cave. In the movie version, Odysseus even fought Poseidon, Polyphemus’ father. I find Odysseus as a very good hero.