Odysseus The 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 Odyssey is a Greek story written by Homer about Odysseus, a greek soldier who is on a long journey that includes fighting monsters from greek mythology and dangerous quests so that he can make it back home to his wife and son. A hero is a main protagonist of a story and is typically courageous, strong, honorable, and intelligent. Odysseus is a hero because he is a selfless, reliable, and unselfish leader trying to get his men home.

Throughout childhood, children grow up with a personal hero, whether it be Batman or a simple role model. In Homer’s epic, The Odyssey, the character Odysseus appears as a Greek hero to the reader. Odysseus stands out as a bold character due to his unique qualities that make him different from the other characters. Intelligence, bravery, and confidence shape Odysseus, the hero character in Homer’s epic.

To be a veteran is a matter of being in near perfect mental and physical condition and state. Veterans have to endure life changing events and most of the time, it is hard to cope with. Veterans fight for our country so that we may have the privileges we do today. I think the legendary protagonist from Homer’s well-known epic “The Odyssey”¬ – Odysseus, is similar to all veterans.

Have you always read books where the main character is usually the hero of the story? What if I told you that in the book The Odyssey the main character isn’t the hero. As a matter of fact, there is no specific hero in the The Odyssey. Although Odysseus is the main character of the story, he is definitely not the hero. Odysseus has acquired some qualities of being the hero, but have acquired numerous of qualities of not being one. First of all, Odysseus has shown quite a few time of where he showed no respect towards others. In addition, how can he be considered a hero when he killed a mass of people. Lastly, he has been unfaithful towards his wife Penelope. Overall, Odysseus have proven that he isn’t a hero through his traits that appeared throughout the story.

The admirable character or hero in Homer’s The Odyssey is Odysseus. Odysseus shows multiple heroic traits throughout the story, but a clear trait is displayed when Odysseus and his men are sailing through the land of the Sirens. Some might argue differently, that Odysseus has methods that are to cruel or harsh for a leader, but there is evidence to prove this wrong, and support the claim that Odysseus is the hero in The Odyssey.

He charged into battle on the front line, he swung the sword and sliced off the enemy soldiers head clean off. There were only ten soldiers on the front line. The Odyssey is a series of books about a man named Odysseus, he went to war and got captured, it took him ten years of fighting and traveling to get home. Odysseus is considered a hero to the ancient Greeks because they wanted a hero to be intelligent, brave, and relatable and Odysseus fit that criteria. The ancient Greeks valued intelligence in a hero; Odysseus had that trait.

During the episode on Polyphemus’ island, Odysseus needs to improve on using wisdom/logic. Odysseus takes his men into the cave and they very quickly get the idea that the Cyclops do not want them there. His men tried to turn him back, but they stayed despite the Cyclops obvious bad intentions and Odysseus acted as if he would be treated as a well-respected guest. Only after many of his men are devoured by Polyphemus does Odysseus start to formulate his plan. While in the cave, Odysseus says that Polyphemus “beat their brains out, splattering the floor” (Homer 194). Odysseus should have thought through the situation and tried to create an escape plan much faster. He needed to use his judgment and common sense to spare several of his best men’s lives instead of telling the Cyclops that “any gifts/ you give – as custom is to honor strangers”

Homer’s, The Odyssey, is an epic story about a hero named Odysseus using his courage, intelligence, and charm throughout his extraordinary journey. As the king of Ithica, Odysseus and his soldiers egress from the belly of a wooden Trojan horse and slay the town of Troy. Ten years of battling, traveling, and hiding, Odysseus and his men conquer Troy, which leads to the ten-year excursion finding his way home. Unlike many heroes, he is mortal and does not have supernatural powers such as being able to fly; therefore, the God’s gambit his journey, especially Athena. The trip that should have taken a few months, turned into ten years as he kept getting enticed into traps and tossed from shore to shore. Because he is mortal, he gets lured into human weaknesses, but his courage, intelligence, and charm help eliminate some of these problems.

Odysseus is an excellent example of a hero who proves himself through his bravery, kindness, and strength. In The Odyssey, written by Homer, Odysseus is the king of a Greek city named Ithaca. He is called upon to fight in the Trojan War along side of Menelaus to retrieve Helen, Menelaus wife. He has to leave his new born son, Telemachus, and his wife, Penelope, to follow the oath he took as king. He tries to act insane so he would not have to be sent away to war and leave his family. This does not work because after refusing to run over Telemachus he has no choice but to leave. The war in Troy last ten years, and after angering Poseidon, God of the Sea, he and his men face many more years and trials to get home. None of them know however that Odysseus will be the only one that will ever see the Shores of Ithaca again and even then there will be challenges facing him.

In the story The Odyssey, Odysseus is the king of his home Ithaca. He won the battle of Troy and is trying to find his way back home. His wife, Penelope and son, Telemachus are back in Ithaca waiting for his patiently for his arrival. Along the way home he comes across many things that slow him down but he is still determined to get back to his family and Ithaca. Along the way Odysseus has shown many characteristics of a hero. Some things are when this is said in the story, “...weathered many bitter nights and days in his deep heart at sea, while he fought only to save his life, to bring his shipmates home.” ( The Odyssey page. 371). This shows that Odysseus was not only protecting himself but also protecting his shipmates. Knowing that he

What is a hero? Someone who fights for themselves, or shows bravery? Homer’s The Odyssey, follows the journey of Odysseus back to his homeland, Ithaca. Along this journey, Odysseus performs some actions that some consider heroic. Although modern literary scholars of The Odyssey have argue that Odysseus is a hero, closer examination shows that he is indeed not a hero because he only cares about himself, he does not finish his mission successfully, and he kills innocent people.

As the great Arthur Ashe once put it “True heroism is remarkably sober, very undramatic. It is not the urge to surpass all others at whatever cost, but the urge to serve others at whatever cost.” The epic, Odyssey by Homer highlights the determination of a certain character to return to his homeland and family after many years at war. However, with determination comes important decisions to do what is right and what is best for all. In most cases, a hero must take some kind of guidance from his acquaintances. In addition, the extensive qualities of a hero can range from being loyal to others and putting their own life behind everyone else’s. By these standards, in the Odyssey, main character Odysseus can not be considered a hero because he

In The Odyssey, an Epic written by Homer, the story showcases the journey of a man named Odysseus on his return home to his wife and son after fighting in the Trojan War. Odysseus is the leader of his men on the trip and attempts to return with all of the crew back to Ithaca. The protagonist of a story is typically the character that has the most information provided about them and has a goal that they are trying to accomplish, but with trying to achieve the goal comes many struggles. Out of the pieces we have read this year, Odysseus is the most effective protagonist. Throughout Odysseus’s voyage home, he faces multiple challenges that are often times brought upon or worsened by some of his faults, such as his lack of humility in the episode, “The Cyclops.” After being held captive on the island of the cyclops, Polyphemus, Odysseus and his men eventually were able to elude him, but rather than immediately leaving, Odysseus became prideful and said many things to aggravate Polyphemus nearly making matters worse.

Odysseus was such a great man. He saw his palace was in distress, he had to make it right. I agree with what he did to everyone involved. Because of this, some might dislike him, some might now praise him. The fact that Odysseus took care of what was his and fought for it back amazes me. I call that loyalty to him. You have to be loyal to yourself before you’re loyal to anyone else.