Odysseus As 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.

The epic poem The Odyssey by Homer is the tale of Odysseus and his men sailing home towards the island of Ithaka from Troy. On the men’s valiant journey home they encounter several curses and diversions that kept them from reaching Ithaka for years. The gods influenced the meeting of several people and places they come across on the trip home from Troy, but of the obstacles they come across that are not god-influenced, they are because Odysseus was selfish. His selfish desire for knowledge and his other inane cravings were the undoing of many of his men. Odysseus also is selfish in the sense that he had relations with several deities and women on his voyage home, showing his lust for women to

In the “Odyssey”, Odysseus goes through obstacles throughout the book that a normal man couldn’t subside. One example is in book 9, his main obstacle that he is trying to face is to escape from being held hostage in a cave by a Cyclops better known as Polyphemus. Odysseus is a archetypal hero, he is also a role model, with an ambition to get to his homeland Ithaca. He goes through resisting temptation and using his intellect and physical strength to get him there, no matter the obstacle nor the negative flaws that he faces. Odysseus put himself and his men in that situation by being curious and wanting to know what kind of land his ship and the winds led him to. This was selfish of him because it cost him some of his men, but a leader and hero has to play that role and some lives will be dealt with on the way. Odysseus says, “The rest of you will stay here while I go with my ship and crew on reconnaissance. I want to find out what those men are like, Wild savages with no sense of right or wrong Or hospitable folk who fear the gods” (Homer 429). Saying this quote alone makes Odysseus a humble man due to the fact that not even a piece of land is going to slow him down on his journey back home.

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

In The Odyssey by Homer, the development of Odysseus’s characterization through the course of the epic portrays the hero’s journey structure. The hero’s journey chiefly consists of the departure, trials, and the homecoming; the hero matures with the successful completion of each stage. Therefore, Odysseus’s character transformation as a hero metaphorically conveys his progress in the hero’s journey. In the beginning of the epic, Odysseus is like any other young, inexperienced hero with excessive pride in his raw strength. As he truly begins his journey into the unknown (departure), he learns that his character flaws threaten his objective. Up until his encounter with the Cyclops, Odysseus was accustomed to winning with his physical might (Trojan War). However, when his strength could do him no good while trapped in a cave with a beast, he was forced to think beyond killing and combat; ultimately he met success by using his mind, something he had never done before. Yet, still an immature hero, Odysseus brooded over his success and taunted the beast as he left the island. In response, the “blind thing

Brenden Molina Pd. 5 5/24/16 The odyssey How does the gods and monsters affect odysseus voyage? There are many monsters and gods in the book The Odyssey. Whether they are good or bad they always pose a challenge to anyone. They can pose problems to you or they can help pass those problems. The story “The Odyssey” is about a man named Odysseus, who has just won a 10 year trojan war and has to get back home but is faced with many conflicts or challenges. Most of them are the monsters and gods that are in his way of going home also how they pose different life or death decisions that can devastate his troops. It is up to his characteristics to see if he really cared about the safety of his crew or only himself. One example of the monsters being a big problem by effecting Odysseus and his voyage is the Cyclops.

The Odyssey by Homer consists of many things, like Odysseus being very clever, but because of his curiosity and pride he had told Cyclops his name. That caused Cyclops to beg his father Poseidon to never let Odysseus return home. One of his countless flaws of Odysseus. His character influences many of his men and family. He has caused himself to lose many of his comrades . For example, when they entered Cyclops´s cave . It has drove him to many different lands plenty of his men dying, also from them being curious. For instance Aeolus gave Odysseus a gift of wind. His crew thought he had something like treasures hidden in the sack . Their stupidity led them unleashing the winds creating a storm called for chaos.

In The Odyssey by Homer, Odysseus demonstrates traits of a hero through his intelligence and loyalty. In book nine, Odysseus realizes that if he kills Polyphemus now, the passage leading out of the cave will still be blocked by a slab of solid rock leading to his crew’s deaths as well. After a few days of being trapped in the cave, Odysseus comes up will an intelligent plan. He holds a feast and introduces himself as Nohbdy which works in favor for Odysseus. Odysseus gets Polyphemus drunk which allows him to drive a spike into Polyphemus’ eye, deep enough to blind the Cyclops. The Cyclops yells in pain and howls loud enough to the Cyclopes nearby to hear and rush to Polyphemus’ side. They ask Polyphemus what had happened to him to which Polyphemus

Superman has super strength, The Flash has super speed, and Spiderman has his webs. All of our favorite superheroes have aquired supernatural talents, but is that the only ability that defines a hero? In Homer’s epic, The Odyssey, the readers learn that one doesn’t need to be chosen or to have superhuman abilities to become a hero. After winning the Trojan War, Odysseus and his crew voyage through the Mediterranean and encounter countless challenges along the way in order to return home to their city Ithaca. Despite the countless challenges that the gods present Odysseus with during his journey, his tenacity and wit lead him to achieve heroism through his own free will.

Imagine you’re on a ship in the deep dark sea attempting to find your way home, but instead, you discover yourself farther and farther from your loved ones. In Homer’s The Odyssey, Odysseus faces the hardship of this exact scenario. In a time of hardship, personalities are revealed, ranging from heroic to cowardice. A hero is someone who is valued by his intelligence and confidence, allowing him to be a leader. Odysseus is a hero because his leadership is valued by his shipmates, his intelligence was exemplary when a plan was needed, and his confidence was indisputable when theirs was uncertain.

In Homer’s epic poem, The Odyssey, a war hero named Odysseus spends ten years attempting to return home to his family. During his journey, Odysseus faces many challenges that test both his courage and commitment to his wife, Penelope, and his son, Telemachus. He must fight off both physical challenges, like monsters, as well as the emotional challenges of temptation. Throughout the course of the poem, Odysseus makes choices that can be considered good or bad, depending on what traits a society values. Due to the cultural differences between the Ancient Greek world and modern American society, it may be difficult to determine whether Odysseus should be considered a hero or not. Some of these lines are not entirely clear, especially when it comes

Odysseus is a hero because he went on his journey home from the Trojan War with strong determination and bravery to get him and his men home. After being already a war hero for being a great help to winning the war, he later proves himself even more of a hero when he leads his men through countless dangers hoping that eventually they will return home. The things they face on their adventure back home will take good amounts of courage and bravery.

In order for one to become a hero, one not only must have strength and bravery, but care and love for others. In The Odyssey by Homer, Odysseus shows a sense of genuine emotion rather than his usual courageous voice. Odysseus unexpectedly faces the ghost of his mother and breaks down, while learning that putting out a sense of care and emotion is a significant trait to becoming a true heroic man. First starting his journey, Odysseus’s only traits are bravery and courage. Before entering the Land of the Dead, the hero takes more than needed pride in himself when he shouts, “‘Hear me- / Poseidon, god of the sea-blue mane who rocks the earth! /

In Homer’s epic poem titled The Odyssey Homer used literary devices to characterize Odysseus as an epic hero. Such as in similes Homer compares Odysseus body to pebbles “ But the breaker’s backwash charged into him full fury and hurled him out to sea. Like pebbles stuck in the suckers of some octopus dragged from (its) lair so strips of skin torn” saying that Odysseus was drag and crushed by the waves(5.474-477). Odysseus was seen as a hero from Ino which what let her to give Odysseus the scarf to make him immortal. When Odysseus and his men get stuck in Polyphemus cave they decide to pierce his eye out so he would see them and as they did, they compared it to when hot touches cold “ It’s crackling roots blazed and hissed as a blacksmith plunges

Odysseus proves to be the most heroic character throughout The Odyssey by Homer. In an ancient world of beast, monsters, and magic. Odysseus king of Ithaca is called to war to capture Troy only to be cursed by Poseidon, god of the oceans, When he claims that he, a man won the war with no help by the gods. Even though Multiple gods helped him conquer Troy. With that said, his punishment is to be lost at sea, and he and his crew sail or drift from island to island fighting men, monsters, witches, and even gods, all in an effort to get home. That’s why throughout this epic poem, In good times and bad Odysseus is a very heroic figure