The Qualities of Heroism

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.

From the Odyssey, there’s a character named Odysseus, who is a very complex character. He is proud, wise, and extremely brave. Within the Odyssey, Odysseus is a man with a large ego, he even taunted someone who nearly killed him. Even though his pride can be fatal, he’s intelligent and can get out of any situation. Lastly, Odysseus’ is fearless, even when he was placed in life or death situations, he wasn’t never cowardly.

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.

Bravery was probably one of the traits Odysseus was known for best. Without his bravery, the story most-likely wouldn't have been as exciting and suspenseful as it was. One of the situations that displayed this trait was when they landed on the

A hero is one who sets a goal in which takes bravery and dedication in order to achieve. The book The Odyssey written by Homer reveals a story of a true hero. The main character is a man named Odysseus who displays hero characteristics throughout the book. Odysseus is a hero because he returns home with a changed perspective which reflects his heroic abilities, such as his bravery and dedication to return home.

Being a legitimate hero is not all about having the extraordinary supernatural powers commonly seen on television. Heroes are people who aid others, often putting themselves at risk to do so. They made the decision to fight, not necessarily physically, for their values. Odysseus, the main character in The Odyssey, should be considered a hero. He put his own life in jeopardy to protect his men from the supernatural threats that they faced throughout their journey. Odysseus should be regarded as a hero because he is brave, clever, and cautious.

Being brave requires massive strength of mind, body, and spirit. It is being prepared to face adversity. It allows people to face their greatest enemies without fear. Out of all of the characteristics that Odysseus portrays, bravery stands out above all. There are many cases in which this shows up in The Odyssey by Homer. Specific examples that represent Odysseus's bravery are the battle of Cicones, the events at the cyclops cave, and the events with the lotus eaters.

Heroes have achieved many feats that support the belief of a greater good and expressing valor and selflessness through the ages. There are fictional or real life accounts that have recognized these men and women for their vigor and marked them as heroes due to their events of success and motives of committing the heroic deeds. Yet there are copious amounts of people who have sacrifice themselves for a greater good but they have been lost through time even if their actions were prosperous or doomed in the end with a valiant purpose. They are unsung heroes who committed the actions based on their inner fire of what is right or honorable or rather than the fame they hope to achieve from those acts. The world or a populous may not know of their actions, but the actions and beliefs of an individual or group can entitle them of being hero-like without the necessity of recognition and success. They have lost their lives or a part of themselves to a cause based on righteousness rather than self-gain. They presented selfless heroism rather than the the intention to receive praise from the victories. Sacrifice contributes more to Heroism because the individual invested his or her own determination, valor and accepting the opportunity to risk their self-health (physical or psychological) based on great intentions rather than reaping the accolades of committing good deeds.

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.

In the Odyssey, written by Homer, Odysseus displays heroic qualities such as bravery. As Odysseus is on his journey home, he comes across a lot of challenges to prove his bravery. For example, Odysseus was brave when three of his men did not come back to the ship because they ate some lotus fruit. Odysseus has to force them to come back. As quoted from the book, “...those who ate this honeyed plant, the Lotus, never cared to report, nor to return: they longed to stay forever, browsing on that native bloom, forgetful of their homeland. I drove them, all three wailing, to the ships, tied them down under their rowing benches, and called the rest:

The definition of a hero changes so much as time passes. A hero can be a regular everyday person or a billionaire who is trying to do their best by the people. In The Odyssey, Odysseus is the main, heroic character that goes through a long journey to get back to his wife and son. He makes a wrong decision along the way but he is still considered a hero. Knowing the differences between what a hero should and shouldn't be, can change your whole perspective on who deserves to be a hero.

Throughout the many traits Odysseus has, his bravery is the most outstanding. Odysseus shows his bravery in the quote, “We lit a fire, burnt an offering, and took some cheese to eat, then sat in silence around the embers, waiting.” (Homer page 760 lines: 219-221) Odysseus was waiting for the cyclops. His bravery was shown when he broke into the cyclops home, took the cyclops food, and sat there and waited for him. Usually when you break into someone's home you do not give them an offering and take their stuff for them to find. In the next quote Odysseus shows even more bravery to go home and not fear the consequences if someone recognizes him. “... Odysseus, in his beggar disguise, finds his way to the heat of Eumclaus, his old and trusty swineherd.” (Homer page

Some people think of a hero as someone with courage, determination, or someone that have risked their lives for others. Others think of a hero as someone who has outstanding strength and is clever. A hero, not only has physical strength, but also has mental strength as well. Odysseus, ruler of Ithaca, proves he is a hero by having all of these traits. Odysseus fights through hard times and overcomes obstacles, he kept his men together for most of the story, and he avenges himself when returning to his home, Ithaca. All of those are very heroic.

Odysseus displayed bravery in the fact that he did not run straight home to his family to embrace them. Though he had been away from them for nearly seventeen years, Odysseus went to see a friend, and found out that there were men infiltrating his house, plundering his wealth and stealing his family. Odysseus was afraid that charging into his home would result in a mass murder of him by all the suitors. So, instead of being bold, Odysseus displayed bravery in his meekness. Odysseus made himself look like an old beggar, and did not immediately reveal himself to his son and wife when he saw them. If this does not require bravery, I’m not sure what does. He must have surely been yearning for their presence, though understood that it could not be attained until he got rid of the suitors. So, disguised as a beggar, he went to his home, and joined the suitors. His wife, assuming he was lost at sea, or gone for good, decided to have the suitors shoot and arrow through axes, and whoever could do it, would win her hand in marriage. The thing is, the bow and arrow they were to use was Odysseus’, so their frail bodies (in comparison to Odysseus) could not string the arrow in the first place. So, Odysseus, dressed as a lowly beggar, observed the suitors’ failed attempts and took his turn. As they all laughed at him, he strung the arrow on the bow, and shot it through all of the axes. At that moment a small war broke out in the home of Odysseus. It was a bloodbath, in which all of the men were slaughtered. Odysseus’ son was over joyed for his father’s return, and his wife was ecstatic. The family had reunited, after much bravery was displayed on Odysseus’

One of the biggest traits Odysseus shows throughout the story is his bravery. The whole story Odysseus shows his courage. Taking every mission knowing there could be death; Odysseus still did not give up. Odysseus did whatever it took to make back to Ithaca for his wife and son. Odysseus showed courage by outsmarting the Cyclops. Odysseus went to the land of the dead just to bury a dead shipmate with no fear. But Odysseus showed his every bit of bravery when planning and fighting against the suitors. Odysseus set up plans to kill all the suitors with only 3 people with him. Odysseus refused to back down from the suitors so when the time came he was prepared. When all the suitors were killed Odysseus and his family had finally reunited. After 20 years of Odysseus bravery had all paid off. That’s why I think Odysseus shows he has lots of bravery throughout the story.