Odysseus is the hero in the Epic “The Odyssey” by Homer. He embodies many characteristics of a typical Epic hero, but he still strays from the norm in some ways, which makes him unique. He values Ithaca, his home, so much that he spends years getting back, struggling the whole way, and doing what it takes to protect his home. Throughout the whole story, Odysseus is trying to get home. Odysseus’s purpose is to get his men and himself back to Ithaca. On the way, he and his crew face many challenges meant to prevent them from getting home, such as harsh sailing conditions provided by Poseidon, a god who is mad at Odysseus for blinding his son, the Cyclops. Throughout the story he uses his intelligence to fulfill the goal of getting back …show more content…
After about 20 years, Odysseus finally made it home back to Penelope, his wife. The fact that it took him so long shows that he values his home so much that he will take as long as it takes to get home. In book 22, he shows how much he values his home again by killing all of the suitors who were at his home. Odysseus also values his intelligence. He is known for his wisdom and continues to prove he is wise throughout the story, like when he outsmarted the Cyclops. His wisdom is important to him. Odysseus has many characteristics that make him a typical Epic hero. He is of high social status, so he is well-known and well-liked by people. All of the gods are on his side other than Poseidon, but that is only because Odysseus blinded his son, which had to be done for Odysseus to get back to Ithaca. Despite his appearance, many women want to make him their husband because of his high social status and wisdom. In book 21, Antinous said that no man is equal to him. This shows the reader that Odysseus’s social status is so high that other people can not even compare. People were ecstatic when he returned to Ithaca because they all know of him and like him. Odysseus is also intelligent, another characteristic of an epic hero. He lived while all of his men died because he was wise and his men did not do as they were told by Odysseus. For instance, Odysseus was wise
Epic heroes are featured in literature throughout history. Most notably, the epic poem The Odyssey by Homer is about Odysseus, an epic hero. He is the king of Ithaca who goes to fight in the Trojan War. After 20 years, Odysseus finally returns home, although through many obstacles. Once in Ithaca, Odysseus kills the suitors who plague his wife, along with all other disloyal subjects. He fits the definition of an epic hero, which is an admirable character who displays courage while working towards a noble cause. More specifically, Odysseus is an epic hero because he makes complex and important decisions, has supernatural help, and is associated with beautiful women.
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.
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.
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
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
Homer’s story, The Odysseus revolves around Odysseus’s journey through many tribulations that he has to overcome. Odysseus, the main character faces many challenges in the battles at Troy and in the attempt to trace his way home to Ithaca. Odysseus is a hero is this story for numerous reasons. One of the major reasons is his escape, triumph over the trials he experiences and the way he maintains composure in the wake of tribulations such as his descent to the land of the dead, captivity, subjection to multiple marriage propositions, defying death, escaping the god’s wrath and the offer of immortality.
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.
In Homer’s poem, The Odyssey is a heroic hero named Odysseus who is trying to get home after the events of the Trojan War which lasted an entire decade. He battles mythical creatures and faces the rage of the gods. Odysseus meets the criteria of an epic hero because he surpasses Zeus’s punishment with having superior strength, defeats cyclops with intelligence, and braveness when facing Charybdis as well as Scylla.
An Archetype Hero In the famous epic poem, “The Odyssey”, Odysseus is known to be the larger than life hero. Although some parts of this may be true, like his bravery, victories, and great accomplishments, Odysseus also has his faults. He is unfaithful, has a large ego, and is very selfish towards his men. His wrong doing cancels out and rises above his hero-like qualities.
Odysseus is classified as an epic hero in the “ Odyssey.” In the story Odysseus wanders around the ocean and islands in search for his solution to get back home safely. Although he wanders for twenty years without his family, just crew members, he possess characteristics of being a brave warrior, a loyal husband, and a creative mind tricking person.
He has loyalty, bravery, and courage. In The Odyssey, Odysseus is very loyal toward his men and will protect or rescue them if necessary. He’s brave and courageous when it comes to fighting and won’t hesitate to act. He’s also very clever. For example, Odysseus outwitted the Cyclops, Polyphemus, by giving a false name to disguise his identity. Amid all these qualities, there are still kinks in Odysseus’s character. His pride becomes evident after his confrontation with the Cyclops, where, after a narrow escape, he wished to bother Polyphemus again. His men had to plead to him, saying, “Godsake, Captain! Why bait the beast again? Let him alone!” Odysseus also struggles with selfish actions. For example, he feasts with Circe instead of rescuing his men first. The temptations got the better of him and in turn led him down the wrong
The ancient hero Odysseus of the epic The Odyssey possesses numerous notable heroic traits, many of which have influenced the modern perspective of a hero in literature, real life, or otherwise. For instance, he demonstrates paragon amounts of loyalty throughout his return voyage to Ithaca, along with leadership, courage, and persistence. As Odysseus is primarily an archetype in addition to his heroic characteristics, his influences have endured the odyssey of time, and have become comparable in themselves to their prior forms present in the adventurous hero Odysseus. Although the modifications in the perceptions of Odysseus (or, generally, similar heroes of his time) and modern heroes do not differ in extremely significant or outstanding
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.
The epic poem The Odyssey, written by Homer, centers around the main protagonist Odysseus and his long journey back home. Odysseus, the king of Ithaca, returns home after defeating the Trojans in a ten year war. On his way back, he angers Poseidon, god of the sea, by blinding his son, Polyphemus the Cyclops. Due to Odysseus’ actions, Poseidon refuses to let Odysseus reach home, and Odysseus and his crew are forced to go through a series of obstacles throughout the epic. Through this adversity, Odysseus must show his heroic attributions in order to survive. Homer portrays Odysseus as a hero by giving him characteristics such as: craftiness, loyalty, and bravery.
Odysseus is one of the greatest epic heros in the history of literature. The Odyssey, by Homer, is an epic poem, which depicts the journey home of Odysseus. Angering many gods, this voyage takes him through multiple obstacles, and ends up taking almost twenty years longer than it should've. Throughout his journey, “The Son of Laertes” must get his crew out of trouble multiple times. He uses his intellect and other strengths to do so, and never gives up, no matter the circumstance. Even after losing everything he needs in a storm worthy of the gods, Odysseus still never gives up, and gets himself out of trouble yet again. Throughout his entire journey, coming home from the Trojan War, Odysseus repeatedly uses many heroic traits to get himself and his crew out of many unfortunate situations. These heroic traits, how Odysseus uses them, and the steps of his journey all come together to illustrate that he is an epic hero. Odysseus characterizes himself as an epic hero based on how he almost perfectly follows the characteristics of an epic hero, gets his crew out of trouble multiple times, and follows the Hero's Journey.