Odysseus Characteristics

One of Odysseus’ other characteristics is his intelligence. When the Cyclops asked Odysseus for his name he decided to give him a fake one, “Cyclops, / you ask me of my honorable name? Remember/ the gift you promised me and I shall tell you. / My name is Nohbdy: mother, father, and friends, everyone calls me Nohbdy. 313-316” This quality of his saves his life many times. When Odysseus and his soldiers stab the Cyclops’ eye, he cries out asking help from his fellow Cyclopes, but when he says Odysseus’ fake name to them they walk away saying for the Cyclops to pray to Poseidon. When the Cyclops eye was injured, he went in front of the door so that no one could escape so Odysseus had to devise a plan, “The Cyclops’ rams were handsome, fat, with heavy/ fleeces, a dark violet. / Three abreast/ I tied them silently together, twining/ cords of willow from the ogre’s bed,/ then slung a man under each middle one/ to ride there safely, shielded left and right./ So three sheep could convey each man. I took/ the woolliest ram, the choicest of the flock. / and hung myself under his kinky belly. 376-384” Odysseus had to think of a plan to escape right on the spot, this shows how clever he is. Odysseus has many other traits besides his intelligence which makes him a hero.

Odysseus is a legendary hero in Greek mythology, king of the island. He is the main protagonist of Homer’s epic, The Odyssey. He is also a protagonist character in the other Homeric epic, The Iliad. In the epic Odyssey, Odysseus has many defining characteristics. His most distinguishing traits are strength, courage, and confidence.

Polyphemus had strength that was no match for men. Odysseus had physical strength, but his real strength is the mind. Odysseus would find himself in many predicaments in which he would have to choose how he will tackle the situation. One

Although Odysseus is one of the most well known greek heros in the world, he is also very controversial among the people as well. In the book, “The Odyssey” written by Homer, Odysseus made some choices that makes the readers question his role as a leader. In “The Odyssey”, it tells the story about Odysseus’ long journey home from the Trojan War. Along the way, Odyssey has extended his times away from home by making unintelligent decisions that led him to encounter one disaster after another. Although Odysseus has some positive attributes, he is a poor leader for the following reasons: he is too cocky and overconfident, he make careless decision, and finally, he is very selfish.

A hero accepts who he is as an individual, but strives to change himself for the better. In the epic poem, The Odyssey, by Homer, the main character Odysseus is a valiant king who embarks on a life-changing voyage. While traveling from Troy back to his home in Ithaka, King Odysseus overcomes daunting obstacles, and in doing so discovers his place in the world. Odysseus is truly a heroic figure because he demonstrates courage, improves his character, and wins the support of the gods.

Odysseus, king of Ithaca, was probably on of the greatest warriors in the history of Ancient Greece. It is said that the poet, Homer, wrote the story of the Odyssey. In this story, Odysseus and his crew are trying to make their voyage back home to Ithaca after they have fought with the Trojans. During the long journey, Odysseus will show some of his character traits which include his bravery, cleverness, and wisdom that will assist him with the situations he encounters on his journey home.

One of the major themes of Homer’s Odyssey is the importance of cunning over strength. This also happens to be the case with Odysseus and his long ten year journey home from fighting in Troy. Odysseus uses his intelligence over strength to ‘fight’ through tough times and bring himself home to Ithaca. Odysseus uses his intelligence when he has his men tie him down while passing the Sirens, so he himself will be able to hear their beautiful song, but not be entranced by their singing. He also uses cunning to escape from the Cyclops’ cave without being harmed. He then uses his cunning by storing away all of the armory, shields, and knives from the suitors so he is able to kill them easily.

Odysseus is described as a god-like man. He is cunning, sly, suave, strong, confident and self-possessed. He accomplishes many great events like that of defeating the Trojans, slaying the suitors and travelling to and back from Hades. When on the beach in Phaeacia he confidently “stalked as a mountain lion exultant in his power strides through wind and rain and his eyes blaze and he charges sheep or oxen or chases wild deer” , and when he sees Nausicaa “He launched in at once, endearing, sly and suave” . Athena found him to be “so winning, so worldly wise, so self possessed!” . Neither does he lack in ingenuity, King Nestor said that “No one...could hope to rival Odysseus, not for sheer cunning–at every twist of strategy he excelled us all” . Odysseus has a large and gallant reputation to fulfil, but when he first makes an appearance in the book he is crying on Calypso’s island. Crying is often seen as a weakness in a man, but this makes Odysseus more endearing as it reveals the labour of his love.

The epic, The Odyssey, centers around Odysseus, whose disposition can be controversial. Like all heroes, Odysseus displays both positive and negative characteristics, which determine whether he is a admirable figure or not. In my opinion, the parts of his character that are commendable outweigh his lesser qualities, making him an honorable role in the poem. Odysseus’s three main favorable attributes are his cleverness, his determination, and his leadership.

Odysseus has many heroic qualities such as cleverness, physical strength,and bravery. First, Odysseus tricked the cyclops, Polyphemus, by telling him his name was “Nobody” ( The Odyssey 1058). This showed cleverness because Odysseus gave the cyclops a bottle of wine to make him drunk, which caused him to fall asleep. Then, Odysseus found some wood and sharpened it to stab Polyphemus in the eye. While Polyphemus was blind, he asked Odysseus what his name was, he said it was Nobody and made the cyclops believed that was his name. Another example of when he showed a heroic quality is when Odysseus tricked the suitors by doing an impossible task he knew no one could do and it was to string

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.

But the great King of Ithaca, Odysseus acquires both traits. The epic poem “The Odyssey”, shares the stories of mighty Odysseus and how he overcomes obstacles using his mind and body. Odysseus is the Greek ideal of a strong body and a strong intellect. In “The Cyclops”, Odysseus and his crew stumble upon this cave

Odysseus,a noble hero of the Greeks. He traveled the world for ten years leaving his family,, facing dreadful temptation and seeing horrific sights on the way(Homer). As a human he had many weakness , along with that came several strengths,but some of his minor mistakes created big conflicts! Odysseus demonstrates many strengths in Homer's literature,“The Odyssey”. When he fought in the Trojan war,his military strategies were all guile.

One of the biggest traits Odysseus shows throughout the story is his bravery. The whole story Odysseus shows his courage. Taking every mission knowing there could be death; Odysseus still did not give up. Odysseus did whatever it took to make back to Ithaca for his wife and son. Odysseus showed courage by outsmarting the Cyclops. Odysseus went to the land of the dead just to bury a dead shipmate with no fear. But Odysseus showed his every bit of bravery when planning and fighting against the suitors. Odysseus set up plans to kill all the suitors with only 3 people with him. Odysseus refused to back down from the suitors so when the time came he was prepared. When all the suitors were killed Odysseus and his family had finally reunited. After 20 years of Odysseus bravery had all paid off. That’s why I think Odysseus shows he has lots of bravery throughout the story.

Homer's epic tale The Odyssey is a story of the triumphs and downfalls that are in store for one warrior's long pillage home.  Odysseus, the hero from the Trojan wars, has led his people of Ithaca and other Achaean soldiers to victory and now wishes to return home to his wife and family of Ithaca.  Through his twenty year journey Odysseus is often tested not only of his physical strength, but his wits as well.  The many accomplishments he achieved earned him great status and recognition throughout ancient Greece.  The mistakes he made caused the deaths of many men.  Consequently, we as readers are able to see the many personas that Odysseus carries with him.