The Hero Of Odysseus As An Epic Hero

Being able to conquer Troy, have the god Poseidon against you, and dealing with many life threatening things on your long journey home are all things Odysseus overcame. Odysseus is an epic hero for making the long journey home and defeating monsters along the way. Epic hero's typically have larger than life qualities, are extremely skilled fighters, and are natural leaders. They can be smarter than everyone else and stand alone. In this essay, the three traits that will be focused on for Odysseus are having larger than life qualities, being smarter than everyone else, and being a skilled fighter.

     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

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.

Ten years after the fall of Troy, Odysseus a great hero has yet to return to his home in Ithaca. It begins with Athena and Poseidon who helped the Greeks during the Trojan War. Athena turned against the Greeks and convinces Poseidon to do the same. The Greeks are hit by storms on the way home and many ships are destroyed and the fleet is scattered. The war and his distress at sea keep Odysseus away from Ithaca for twenty years.

A true epic hero has many very defining characteristics. Usually you will find this hero to be the ‘alpha male. ' With an almost super hero personality, epic heroes are extremely above an average human being. This character must be of noble birth, and as a result, this gives them great respect and many resources. There is a deep reverence for the gods and this helps the hero through tough times. An epic hero is bravery than the other characters. They are willing to take bigger risks and reap greater rewards. Despite these strong traits, there is usually an element of deep suffering that the character must deal with through out his story. No matter what, however, the epic hero will always win out in the end in a good vs. evil type of

Odysseus tends to use strategy over strength to be a hero when it comes to challenges. Instead of beginning with fighting the Cyclops, he takes his time and sets up a plan. Everytime he enters a new island, he does not start telling everyone that he is Odysseus, king of Ithaca. Instead, he charms the people he meets and uses his wise words that cause them to help and pity him. Odysseus represents what being a hero is actually all about. Throughout the novel The Odyssey by Homer, Odysseus continuously shows his personality of being an admirable hero to everyone by using strategy instead of strength.

For generations, heroes have always fascinated people and people have strived to achieve certain qualities of their heroes. In Homer’s The Odyssey, Odysseus is considered the hero of the story. While Odysseus does demonstrate some qualities that are not heroic, he is still defined as a hero because of his better, more heroic qualities in which he is far superior in than any other man. The qualities in which define Odysseus as a hero are courage, intelligence, and leadership.

A Homeric epic hero is considered to be above a normal human being. The traits of a typical epic hero are strength, loyalty, courage, and intelligence. In fact, the Macmillan Dictionary for Students defines a hero as "one who is admired and looked up to for valor, achievements, and noble qualities" (483). Odysseus fulfills all of the requirements 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, while his superb displays of strength and cunningness have helped both him and his crew escape danger. His arrogance sets him back, but his loyalty is what drives him forward on his long and treacherous expedition. In the

Homer 's The Odyssey follows the incredible journey of the main character Odysseus, and his long trip home to the Island of Ithaca. The Odyssey is an epic poem written in verse, and is fittingly named after the epic hero Odysseus. An epic hero is defined as a character who possesses superhuman strength, craftiness, and confidence, is helped or harmed by the gods, and usually possesses a natural position of authority. Without a doubt, Odysseus is an epic hero; he is clever and cunning, he has a good relationship with the gods, and excels as a leader.

Many people refer themselves as heroes but Gavilan has made The Hero’s Journey which shows the requirements of being a hero. Odysseus is considered a epic hero according to Joseph Campbell article The Hero’s Journey and the qualifications of an epic hero. Odysseus was lost at sea coming across lands that is unknown and may be dangerous. After 20 years he finally makes it back home safely, in the epic poem The Odyssey by Homer. In The Hero’s Journey by Joseph Campbell it shows what skills or events the stories must meet to be required an hero’s journey. Odysseus qualifies as a hero because he meets the following components based on that he has to complete a quest, he has a mentor, and he has allies.

Lance Armstrong once said, “Pain is temporary. It may last a minute, or an hour, or a day, or even a year, but eventually it will subside and something else will take its place. If I quit, however, it lasts forever”. This quote resembles that one of the most important qualities of a hero is persevering through rugged obstacles. As the quote refers to time, Odysseus’s journey took 20 years to accomplish and throughout it he faced many trials, showing how great heroes are made up of those trials in life. Throughout the Odyssey written by Homer, Odysseus journeys home to Ithaca and throughout the journey, he gains qualities of an epic hero by facing and overcoming numerous challenges.

Odysseus the Heroic The Odysseus, by Homer, is a story about adventure and courage. The Odysseus creates an atmosphere where it’s all about Odysseus and how he handles the danger. Three questions people have about the Odysseus are: what makes Odysseus an epic hero? What are his qualities and flaws? Why is Odysseus considered an archetype?

Odysseus shows he is an epic hero by responding to his crews’s betrayal of him by the opening of the sack of air from Aeolus. With home in sight and Odysseus sleeping, his men open the bag of wind thinking that it contains gold and silver. “The bag of wind thus escapes and[JA1] blows the ship all the way back to Aeolus’s island” (Homer 10.5-6). Odysseus men have set them back months in their journey while Odysseus was asleep.[JA2] Odysseus’ men betray him and go behind his back. He perseveres and sticks with them and starts the voyage again to return home.

Ruby Mendoza                                                                                                12-10-16                                                     The Odyssey In The Odyssey written by Homer, Odysseus once said,‟Be strong, saith my heart; I am a soldier; I have seen worse sights than this.” Odysseus, King of Ithaca, overcame many obstacles in the Iliad and the Odyssey to return home. It is his courage, intelligence, and ambition are what make him a perfect model of an epic hero because these traits helped him overcome those obstacles.     Odysseus was a perfect model of an epic hero because of his courage.

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.