The Importance Of Odysseus 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.

Moreover, the ancient Greeks held intelligence in high regard; so Homer made the decision to make Odysseus capable of solving complex problems in a creative manner. This intelligence is quickly shown when Odysseus creates a plan for him and his men to escape the cyclops cage. The stone in front of the entrance was monumental in size; something Odysseus and his men could never move without extreme aid. Therefore, he decided to manipulate the cyclops with wine into a languorous state and blinded him with a flaming stake. When the cyclops, Polyphemus, awoke he immediately cried

Odysseus uses his brains, rather than his brawn, in The Odyssey written by greek poet Homer, to make it past the obstacles in his quest to travel home. Since Odysseus is a warrior, he could have fought his way home, but he chooses to use his brains to figure out ways to return home, in which less of his men die. When Odysseus is trapped on the Polyphemus's island he devises a strategy so him and his men can escape the cave they are held in, before they are eaten. When he arrives on Ithaca, instead of going home, Odysseus disguises himself as an old man, with the help of Athena to find out what has been going on, in the time he has been gone. Odysseus uses his brains many other times throughout the book, to save himself and others.

When Odysseus becomes trapped in the Cyclops, Polyphemus’s, cave, he realizes that now is the time to use his strategy rather than strength. It all starts with his ‘libations’ to the Cyclops. Odysseus consistently gives Polyphemus wine “to top off the banquet of human flesh [he has] bolted down!” which is the crew members that Cyclops has eaten ( 9. 222). The most crucial part of Odysseus’s plan is when he tells Polyphemus his name is “Nobody- so my mother and father call me” (9. 223). This particular name that he tells Cyclops helps him escape the other cyclops on the island. Once they stab Polyphemus’s eye with a burning hot stick, the other cyclops wake up to ask him if anyone else is in there with him. Polyphemus, thinking that Odysseus’s name is actually ‘Nobody’, tells them that ‘Nobody’ is in there with him, While escaping death from the cyclops, Odysseus also blinds the cyclops, and saves the rest of his crew. Odysseus chose to use his strategy in place of trying to use his strength which would not have helped him escape. In this situation, strength is no use, seeing as the cyclops is ten times as strong as him.

This gives him the title as chosen one. His intention was to get home to Ithaca but he remarks with over prideful insults towards the gods. This low point results in punishment from the gods to face some of the worlds monsters. Through it all, he receives aid from those who think he can amount to more. He receives news of home from his grieving mother, and his prophecy from Tiresias. “For not to everyone will gods appear.” (pg.294) The only reason why Odysseus was able to survive through the quests was because Athena’s fondness for him. She covers him with a disguise when he finally returns home so that he may win his last battle. His restoration came with absence of pride and ego from all the horrors he has perceived. Although he had to fix his character, Odysseus is still known as a hero not only because of his cleverness but also how he fixed 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

Odysseus’ journey home was a long difficult venture which resulted in the loss of some of his crew, due to various monsters. Once Odysseus finally returned to his kingdom, he was disguised as a beggar and said that he was a friend of Odysseus. After a few days of witnessing his house be trashed by suitors, he revealed himself to his son, Telemachus, who the suitors planned to kill. Odysseus and Telemachus came up with a plan to kill all of the suitors while at the feast they were planning to hold. Penelope was also planning on holding a competition to figure out which one of the suitors she should marry.

While Odysseus was on his long quest, his son, Telemachus, was also on a journey to find his father. Thus, leaving no one on Ithica to defend Penelope, Odysseus' wife. Because of this, many suitors have tried to take the throne of Ithica. When Odysseus returns from his quest and sees the suitors he is infuriated. He knew that he had to defeat them , but they are "a strong foe indeed" and that needed a clever plan to defeat them (1232). Odysseus used a combination of both brute force and cleverness to overcome his enemy. First, Odysseus cleverly removed all of the suitors weapons from the great hall so "all they could do was yell in outrage" (1246). Because the suitors do not think the situation through and use wisdom to reason with Odysseus, they go straight to using brute force to try and get

Odysseus has trials and tribulations throughout this entire wandering, and he is faced with tremendously challenging decisions that only courage could allow him to properly make. One of the keys to surviving on foreign soil is the ability to

Odysseus’ curiosity and desire for adventure, driving him inland, somewhat hinder his attempt to return home. Odysseus’ men want to loot the goods and return to the ship. But, despite the pleading of his men, Odysseus wants to meet the cave-dwellers and see what they have to offer. This came to be a dire mistake. Polyphêmos enters the cave, and after brief words, he, in one swift motion, grabs, dismembers, then proceeds to feed on two of Odysseus’ men. After a brief stay in the cave and a few more dead men, Odysseus congers a plan which defeats Polyphêmos and returns Odysseus and his men safely back to the ship. This episode cost Odysseus the lives of men - lives lost for pure curiosity and his yearn for action. Directly after escaping Polyphêmos, Odysseus cries out in anger at the Kyklops, who proceeds to toss boulders at Odysseus’ ships. After each cry, Polyphêmos gets closer and closer with his tosses. Then, unintelligently, Odysseus, for sake of false confidence, reveals his name to Polyphêmos. Polyphêmos then prays to his father, Poseidon, against Odysseus’ voyage home to Ithaka. Instead of the men’s, now Odysseus’ actions endanger their lives.

Heroes are everywhere, no matter how small their heroic actions may be. However, what is a hero? A hero is someone who helps others without regard to themselves. A person like Atticus Finch from To Kill a Mockingbird, who put Tom Robinson in front of his own reputation, and was called a “black lover” in the racist community for doing the right thing. In Homer’s The Odyssey, Odysseus has done this more than once on his journey home, however he also has been selfish. Odysseus is a man who has been both heroic, like when he rescued his men from Circe, but he has also done unheroic actions, like when he didn’t tell his men about the dangerous bag of wind.

His greed, not only for materialistic wealth, but also for human connections and high stature, creates unnecessary obstacles in his path to success. For example, after sacking the Cicones’ land by robbing its treasures and enslaving its women, he becomes so concerned with wanting more that he travels to the land of the cyclopes. There, he traps himself and his men in a cave, leading to many deaths, and a risky escape that all could have been avoided. In addition, when his ship passes the sirens, Odysseus is obsessed with hearing the sirens’ song, and surviving their call. His “heart was filled with such a longing to listen” (Homer 162), that he nearly jeopardizes his mission to reach home by making himself and his crew vulnerable to defeat. Odysseus is also very egotistical and this exaggerated self importance causes him to make selfish decisions. When he finally escapes the cyclopes’ island, he is so thirsty for recognition of this conquest that he endangers his men’s lives by revealing his envied name to Polyphemus, son of Poseidon. This conceited action ignites Poseidon's anger against Odysseus and his men on their journey home. Continuing, Odysseus’ self pride results in him undermining trust in others. For instance, when Odysseus is given a bag of winds by Aeolus, he does not notify his crew of the important contents, leading to a failure in reaching Ithaca. Indeed, when the Phaeacians later take Odysseus to

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 no god.  He is man, and with that comes the mistakes and errors in all of us.  In many situations Odysseus' mortal side is seen.  An example of the power of Odysseus coinciding with his human flaws is his battle with Polyphemous the Cyclops (son of Poseidon).  After escaping the lure of the lotus-eaters and their island, Odysseus and his men find themselves on another island, rich with food and shelter.  After feasting, the men grab a large container of potent wine and go off exploring the new island.  Later in their search they stumble across a large cave filled with food.  Curious where the owner's whereabouts are the men encourage Odysseus to steal the food.  Odysseus (showing his hospitable and genuine character) decides to instead wait for the

When Odysseus arrives at the island of the Cyclops, his first mistake occurs when he decides that he and men should stay in the cave and meet Polyphemus, even when his men advised him to take the goods and leave (IX.215-217). At this instance, Odysseus’s decision is influenced by his ego. He sees all the goods in the cave and the reason he stays is because he hopes that the Cyclops would give him a gift of hospitality. This is interesting because Odysseus does not know whether the Cyclops is civilized or a brute; however, Odysseus goes forward with his plan because he believes the Cyclops will listen to him since the gods are on his side. In this instance, Odysseus is calling himself powerful because he has the support of the gods especially Zeus, when he threatens the Cyclops that “Zeus avenges strangers and suppliants” (IX. 262). If his ego was not already high, Odysseus boosts it even more when he believes that he has outsmarted the Cyclops by not falling into the trap of telling the location of his ships (IX.273-277). At this point, Odysseus