Odysseus' Journey as an Epic Hero

Around the 1200 B.C., Odysseus was sailing the Mediterranean Sea for the purpose of reaching home. In his long narrative poem, The Odyssey, Homer conveys how Odysseus desperately wishes to go home to Ithaca. However, he faces brutal treatment and obstacles from several different antagonists, and more obstacles appear when he reaches home. Odysseus came across many external conflicts, which he dealt with intelligence, determination, and loyalty.

In the epic poem, “ The Odyssey,” the powerful character Odysseus, as exemplary qualities. Furthermore, Odyssey is a courageous man that will face anything head on. More, he is an intelligent, human that can think of elaborate plans. On the other hand, Odysseus is quite sensitive.

     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

He is stricken with hunger and longs for nourishment, but he is able to triumph over this temptation by remaining mentally strong: “One day I withdrew to the interior / to pray the gods in solitude, for hope / that one might show me some way of salvation” (XII, 426 – 428). Instead of giving in to temptation, Odysseus heroically prays to the gods. In addition to physical and emotional challenges, Odysseus faces intellectual challenges, and is able to overcome these challenges with quick thinking. Odysseus must utilize his cunning wit when he devises a plan to surprise the suitors in an attack, and hide their weapons: “I / shall signal to you, nodding: at that point / round up all armor, lances, gear of war / left in our hall, and stow the lot away” (XVI, 335 – 338). This challenge tests Odysseus as a tactician, and he is able to succeed with intellectual valor. Odysseus encounters a mental challenge when he is on the Land of the Kyklopes. He quickly tells Polyphemos that his name is “Nohbdy”, and then once the Polyphemos is stabbed, the other Kyklopes think that “Nohbdy” hurt him. Then, Odysseus and his men are able to escape on the underside of sheep. Odysseus bravely risks the lives of his men and himself. Odysseus overcomes all these challenges, using his physical, emotional, and intellectual abilities. The courage he displays in each of these instances makes him more heroic.

Odysseus loves his family, homeland and men at arms, all of which are lost to him. He values these things and people greatly and so it is only natural that the story depicts him as emotional when relevant memories are

A Homeric epic hero is taken into account to be senior to a standard individual. The traits of a typical epic hero are strength, loyalty, courage, and intelligence. In fact, the Macmillan lexicon for students defines a hero as "one who is loved and researched to for valorousness, achievements, and noble qualities" (483). odysseus fulfills all the necessities for an epic hero and more. He demonstrates his ability to be an articulate speaker, and his poise aids him on his journey. His endless curiosity has gotten him into dilemmas, whereas his excellent displays of strength and cunnings have helped both him and his crew escape danger. His conceitedness sets him back, however, his loyalty is what drives him forward on his long and treacherous expedition. within the initial few lines of The Odyssey, Odysseus describes himself as "formidable for guile in peace and war". He knows that he's a formidable opponent, and there are instances where his guile has caused both harmony and violence. regardless of what challenge Odysseus faces, he invariably clearly demonstrates the characteristics of an epic hero.

Throughout the story, Odysseus 's goal was to return home to Ithaca and spend the rest of his life with his son, Telemachos, and his wife Penelope. Even though is he greatly enjoying himself on all of his adventures, there is a part of him that still longs for his native soil. He loved being on the island with Calypso, but everyday he dreamt of his wife and son sitting at home, waiting for his return. He endured all of his

Odysseus displays a praiseworthy hero in more than one way. Again, he uses strategy over strength every time he lands upon a new island. Once Odysseus lands on new, unknown lands, he does not run to the king and queen telling them his name and entire life story. He knows that bragging and being rude will not get him very far. When he enters King Alcinous’s castle, the first thing he says to the queen is, “I come to beg you for mercy” (7. 184). He knows that by saying this they will have sympathy

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.

Odysseus in The Odyssey displays a strong sense of loyalty and perseverance, maintaining these strong moral characteristics despite the suffering he endures throughout his journey to return home. After being absent for twenty years, held in the city of Troy as “Helios, the Sun God, took away the day of his homecoming” (27), “that very year came in which the gods had spun for him his time of homecoming” (27) and Odysseus is faced with the task of returning to his home in Ithaka. However, this challenge is not an easy one and Odysseus must use strength, determination, and courage in order to make a successful return, keeping that perseverance upon his return.

In The Odyssey by Homer, Odysseus is on a journey home. Along the way, gods and goddesses, creatures and monsters make his journey either easier or harder. His own human strengths help him in his journey. Likewise, his human failings halt his progress. Even through all of this he kept his goal in sight.

Odysseus faces many challenges during his passage to his home. For example, he encounters a cyclops and is also forced to choose between unavoidably losing 6 of his best men, or taking a huge risk and possibly losing all of

“A man who has been through bitter experiences and traveled far enjoys even his sufferings after a time.” (Homer, The Odyssey). Imagine standing in front of a one-eyed, ten-foot tall Cyclops, or turning into a pig, or even traveling to the underworld after being away from home for twenty years. What a crazy thought! Odysseus experienced difficult adventures like so, in the book The Odyssey, by Homer. Throughout our lives, we withstand many struggles and distractions. This results in straying off the correct paths to reach our goals. However, even though we may hit some bumps in the road, most of the time we'll end up alright. We’ll learn new things and can make better decisions for the future. One can learn valuable lessons from scenes displayed in The

Odysseus left Calypso’s Island and began his journey back home. His odyssey might be described as one’s own life struggles. There are ups and downs to every situation, and through reading The Odyssey, readers can connect parallels between Odysseus’ experiences and lessons learned in their own life. Human weaknesses can still prevail through even the strongest men you may think of; examples of this are shown in this epic. Even though there is a large gap in space between Odysseus’ travels and the present, human nature and weakness still share the same obstacles.

Odysseus must work with the kind of dauntless spirit. Especially when we are in trouble, it seems that everything went against us, or could not find a breakthrough in the matter, we should not bow to difficulties or even fear it. There is a saying that good, hard like a spring, it is weak you are strong, you are weak it strong. So whether it is the face of life or learning difficulties, and we should persevere, danger overcome it, beat it.