The Qualities Of Odysseus In Homer's The Odyssey

The Odyssey written by Homer highlights the character development of Odysseus, the epic hero, in his journey of self-discovery. Odysseus is accredited with many strong traits including his nobility, smarts, and bravery. Having one tragic flaw, being his arrogance, was put to the test throughout his heroic journey. Homer stripped the protagonist of his arrogance as the story goes on, by giving him many challenges, giving dire consequences for his mistakes, and allowing him to continue to overcome obstacles. The main purpose of Odysseus’ journey was to reach his home as a humbled man. The hero’s journey can be used as a way to look at life’s morals. The reader is able to see the protagonist continue to make mistakes, because of his arrogance and continue to be punished by the gods. Once he overcame this, he is greatly awarded with the security of his home. This essay will analyze the arrogance of Odysseus along with his extraordinary traits, the molding of his identity, and his new found lesson of humility.

Since the cyclops’ vision is impaired, Odysseus “tied them silently together, twining/cords of willow from the ogre’s bed/then slung a man under each middle one/to ride there safely, shielded left and right/So three sheep could convey each man” (Homer 500). Odysseus possess the trait of cleverness which is demonstrated through his quick thinking and by only using using the resources available to free his men from Polyphemus’ grasp. He is a man to be revered because he uses his cunning skills to help others reach safety. Odysseus is also the last man to exit the cave because he puts their lives before his. He is also willing to take the responsibility and consequences of their actions. For example, if the cyclops were to notice him he would force his men escape and leave him behind to be devoured. Odysseus is a hero, for his willingness to put his companions’ lives before his own and use of his wits to save those around him.

Odysseus’ courage in the cave of the Cyclops Polyphemus banishes his crew’s trepidation and eventually gets them out of there. When Polyphemus returns to the cave after capturing them, Odysseus takes the risk to get the Cyclops’ attention so he can manipulate the one-eyed giant into drinking the potent wine. Odysseus’ bravery is catching and he inspires those with him. Once Polyphemus has passed out, Odysseus and a few other men stab the giant’s eye. This quote of Odysseus inspiring his men in the Cyclops’ cave shows how Odysseus bravery never abandons him even in a situation where it seems he cannot win: “Now, at last, I thrust our stake into a bed of embers to get it red-hot and rallied all my comrades ‘Courage—no panic, no one hang back now!’” (9. 420-422). Odysseus’ boldness ultimately leads to an escape. Without the courage that never seems to

He is stricken with hunger and longs for nourishment, but he is able to triumph over this temptation by remaining mentally strong: “One day I withdrew to the interior / to pray the gods in solitude, for hope / that one might show me some way of salvation” (XII, 426 – 428). Instead of giving in to temptation, Odysseus heroically prays to the gods. In addition to physical and emotional challenges, Odysseus faces intellectual challenges, and is able to overcome these challenges with quick thinking. Odysseus must utilize his cunning wit when he devises a plan to surprise the suitors in an attack, and hide their weapons: “I / shall signal to you, nodding: at that point / round up all armor, lances, gear of war / left in our hall, and stow the lot away” (XVI, 335 – 338). This challenge tests Odysseus as a tactician, and he is able to succeed with intellectual valor. Odysseus encounters a mental challenge when he is on the Land of the Kyklopes. He quickly tells Polyphemos that his name is “Nohbdy”, and then once the Polyphemos is stabbed, the other Kyklopes think that “Nohbdy” hurt him. Then, Odysseus and his men are able to escape on the underside of sheep. Odysseus bravely risks the lives of his men and himself. Odysseus overcomes all these challenges, using his physical, emotional, and intellectual abilities. The courage he displays in each of these instances makes him more heroic.

Another poor decision Odysseus made was sending half of his men to explore Circe’s island. While Odysseus knew nothing about this thickly wooded island, he still sent half of his men to explore it. Only one of his men came back, claiming a sorceress turned them all into swine. Odysseus is then forced to go search for his men, and ends up staying on the island for “many seasons.” If only Odysseus would have just left and went to a different island in the first place, none of this would had happened. Or, if Odysseus and his men had no other choice, they could have stayed by the sea shore and they would have been safe. Circe caused the men to be distracted for “many seasons” again delaying them from getting

His pride has continuously caused a lack of trust from his crew. An example of this is when he does not tell his crew about the bag of winds, which makes his crew believe that it is treasure that Odysseus wants to keep to himself. Another example is when he does not tell his crew that they will die if kill the cattle of Helios. Odysseus does not tell the men about these things because he is to full of hubris. He seems to believe that he is the only person who can know about these things. It has been shown time and time again that Odysseus trusts his crew, probably more than he should. So other than because of his pride, he has no real reason to not tell his crew about these

In the Odyssey, Odysseus is quite the legend known to people, whether you are high up in the sky with Zeus, or deep in the ocean with Poseidon, everyone knows Odysseus. In the epic poem, the Odyssey told by the one and only Homer, the brave, the godlike human, Odysseus is finding his way home after the big battle victory against the Trojans. This story is about his travels home and how he got caught up in other business. Let’s just say he stabbed Poseidon’s son, had his crew turned into pigs, faced a six-headed monster and whirlpool, and that is to say the least. He may as well be on America’s most wanted list with all the trouble he was causing. Even though Odysseus is a troublemaker, he has multiple great characteristics of a leader. Odysseus, when it comes to his crew and family, is confident, compassionate, wise, and always knows a way to get out of any problem.

Along the journey home, Odysseus and his men are presented with many situations that act as tests of their personal character and self-control. Whether it be the temptation of revelry, the ability to escape their worries, or gluttony, the men must choose between their own selfish desires or resistance for the communal good. Throughout Homer’s Odyssey, the failure of Odysseus’s men to recognize their lack of self-control due to foolishness results in them bringing misfortune upon themselves and ultimately their community. In contrast, their king and commander, Odysseus, successfully displays how to avoid this lack of self-control by possessing tremendous amounts of self-discipline and prudence.

Odysseus might’ve been a very strong mortal, but throughout the story he learns that cunning overpowers physical strength. In some parts of the story Odysseus knew that with his strength, he wouldn’t be able to defeat the obstacles by with his physical strength so he used his cunning powers and outsmarted his opponent. Just like in the passage The Cyclops, Odysseus states, “Cyclops, try some wine, there is some liquor to wash down your scraps of men,” (Line 296-297.) That explains that Odysseus knew that he couldn't out strengthen the cyclops with his physical strength, so what he did was that he gave the cyclops some wine to get Polyphemus drunk and stabbed his eye so then Polyphemus wouldn’t be able to see and they could escape with the sheep with no problem. Also in the story, The Challenge, the narrator says, “Penelope says she will marry the man who can string Odysseus’ bow… the suitors try and fail.

When Odysseus is in the cyclops cave and he needs four men to help him blind Polyphemus he leaves it up to chance, instead of just picking the best men from his crew. “As luck would have it, the men I would have chosen won the toss four strong men, and I made five as captain.”(749) Odysseus should have just chosen the best men for the job because what would have happened if he had gotten the weakest men. This shows he has a shortage of control over his men. Odysseus then loses control over his men again, and this time, it results in their deaths. When Odysseus and his men arrive on Helios’ island, the only thing to eat there are the sacred cows of Helios. Odysseus warns his men that if they eat the cows Helios will strike them down. His men ignore his warnings and instead decide that they would rather die by a god's wrath than by starvation. Eurilochus, one of Odysseus’s men speaks up and says, “But if he [Helios] flares up over his heifers lost, wishing our ship destroyed, and if the gods make cause with him, why, then I say...”(430) Eurilochus goes on to convince the rest of the crew that they should eat the sacred cows. While all of this is happening Odysseus is somewhere else on the island asleep. Odysseus should have been with his men observing them to make sure they didn’t defy his orders. Again, this shows the little control Odysseus has over his

Shortly after entering the cave, the Cyclops who dwells within the cave, Polyphemus, returns and vows to devour his intruders. C. Odysseus wisely persuades the Cyclops to believe his name to be “Noman” (123) and to take from him the gift of wine. When the Cyclops falls into a drunken slumber, the men blind Polyphemus and make their escape. Once they make it to their ship, Odysseus’ men urge him to not chide the Cyclops as the Cyclops throws boulders at them. D.

This event portrays that the journey is more important because Odysseus learns not to be swayed. Another example that portrays the idea that the journey is more important than the destination is when he and his men are confronted by the Cyclops. One night Odysseus and his men come across the land of the Cyclopes. The are lead to a cave and come upon a large supply of lamb, milk, and cheese. Odysseus’ men advised Odysseus to help themselves quickly and be off, however Odysseus doesn’t listen and remains to linger.

In this scene, Odysseus could have taken ownership of all treasures and woman since he is the one in charge of the men that accompany him, but he decides to be equal and not make a single person feel worthless. Next, he and his men arrive to an Island called Cyclops, this scene demonstrate that Odysseus is very intelligent and very good at planning things out. A selection of the Odyssey states, “Odysseus says ‘I was thinking about drawing my sharp sword and driving it home into his chest where the lungs hide behind the liver… Another thought hit my hand: We would die to a man in that cave” (Homer 306). Odysseus is a brilliant man due to the fact that the man in the cave who is a very tall man by the name of Polyphemus, had put a big boulder rock covering the entrance to the cave and not even him with his men combined could move it out of the way. In addition to that, Odysseus thinks and develops a plan to get with drunk and blind him so that he can move the boulder out of the entrance and they can

The Odyssey is an epic poem that showcases the heroic actions contrasted with the grave disasters of Odysseus, a tragic hero on his way home from the war in Troy. The author, Homer, shows through Odysseus’ actions that even a hero such as he, has flaws. Flaws that if not acknowledged and learnt from, can spell grave disaster in the journey yet to come. Many Greeks recognize Odysseus as the most renowned hero of the Trojan war, thanks to his own accounts of his years away from Ithaca. Following the Greek beliefs, many believe that Odysseus couldn’t have kept himself away for so long, for only the gods can do something like this, and Odysseus can’t be the cause of the crew’s deaths, only the gods could be so cruel. While

Odysseus left Calypso’s Island and began his journey back home. His odyssey might be described as one’s own life struggles. There are ups and downs to every situation, and through reading The Odyssey, readers can connect parallels between Odysseus’ experiences and lessons learned in their own life. Human weaknesses can still prevail through even the strongest men you may think of; examples of this are shown in this epic. Even though there is a large gap in space between Odysseus’ travels and the present, human nature and weakness still share the same obstacles.