The Odysseus: A True Hero

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 an amazing piece of literature. Some people question whether the main character, Odysseus, is a hero or not. Odysseus is not a hero because he was not a good leader. He leads his followers into lousy situations where many people were hurt.

Odysseus portrays himself as anything but a hero throughout Homer’s The Odyssey. Odysseus goes through his life believing he is the best. He has no regard for anyone’s feelings but his own, and he believes nothing and no one can harm him, not even the gods. Odysseus feels he is always the leader and no one can tell him otherwise. Odysseus should not be considered a hero because he portrays himself as a selfish man that failed his crew, and is controlled by his hubris.

Many think being a hero is having super powers, but on the contrary it's more than that. A hero is one who is distinguished for their courage and bravery, and looked upon for their great deeds. A hero like this is not just found in modern society today, but in mythology as well. In the epic poem The Odyssey by Homer, Odysseus earns the title of a true hero by conveying many qualities such as: determination, courage and leadership.

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.

In Greek literature of mythology, we have examined Odysseus. Students and scholars alike have held debates about Odysseus. The discussion is whether Odysseus was a true hero, as read in The Odyssey. There is abundant supportive evidence to verify all sides of the debate and opinions held about Odysseus. Odysseus had encompassed many qualities that I believe make him a hero. The qualities he embodied were mental strength, physical strength, and spiritual strength. I would like to advocate for why Odysseus was a hero.

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.

     Odysseus: a hero in every way. He is a real man, skilled in the sports, handy with a sword and spear, and a master of war strategy. Most of the challenges and adventures in his return voyage from Troy show us this even if we had no idea of his great heroic stature and accomplishments in the Trojan war. I found in my reading of the Odyssey that most of the trials the gods place upon him are readily faced with heroic means. These challenges are not

Everybody has their flaws but we all admit to them at one point, even if it takes someone getting hurt for us to admit them. Nobody wants to be flawed, but we all are. Odysseus, on the other hand is so ignorant that even when someone gets hurt because of him, he still believes he has no flaws. One of the things defines a hero is that they save the day, which Odysseus did but not before being the reason for deaths. He saves the day without apologizing for upsetting the Poseidon, not trusting his crew, and being the reason for some of his men’s deaths. Odysseus is not a hero due to his lack of a good heart.

In Homer’s, The Odyssey, I believe that Odysseus is a true modern hero. During his long and perilous journey home Odysseus shows many heroic qualities that help save his men from many dangerous situations. He first shows his Valiant behavior during the war in Troy, he cares about his crew and survives the war. He also deeply cares about the welfare of his men on their return trip to Ithaka. Odysseus is a hero because he is a courageous leader, a quick thinker and a modest man.

After many heroic deeds and much danger and peril Odysseus journeys to the underworld and back, escaped the sirens, evades Charybdis and Scyylla, and loses all of his men. His men eat the sungod’s cattle even after promising Odysseus that they wouldn’t, so Zeus kills all of his men by striking their ship with a bolt of lighting (Odyssey 11-13:1-452).

Odysseus was a great hero in Greek mythology, he was best known for defeating many monsters, but what is often disregarded is that Odysseus started his quest as a soldier. What make Odysseus unalike is strength that makes a soldier but is also a courageous view of the world that makes a hero. Odysseus served in the Trojan War and survived because of his skills in combat and leadership.

Heroes today are portrayed with a daring and powerful character, almost inhuman. Displayed in movies with dazzling smiles, bold capes, and an extreme physicality, hero’s show us their ability of overcoming hardships but they lack the realistic aspect of a human. In the epic “The Odyssey” written by Homer, the central character Odysseus is subject to many trials and feats throughout the course of a 10 year long journey. Unlike our cliché movie heroes, Odysseus has traits that help him defeat the odds and at the same time show his flaws and overall human character. A set mind, courage and fear, and intelligence are traits that Odysseus exemplifies, allowing him to be truly successful hero.

Odysseus is not a hero. He was arrogant, boastful, and too proud. He got his men stranded, transformed, eaten, abandoned his family, and committed adultery against his wife, at least twice, while he was being tossed about the sea by Poseidon after he maimed his cyclops son. He is stated to have become desperate and humbled by our story’s end, but I don’t feel like that is the case. I think he revamped his old characteristics when he slaughtered the suitors in rage and revenge that had been squatting in his house for the decade he was gone. He was supposed to be a king and he didn’t act accordingly.