The Tale Of Odysseus Is 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 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 displays as an epic hero in the Odyssey. But what is an epic hero? Some characteristics of an epic hero is someone who is brave, strong, and intelligent. A hero was a leader who had not only physical strength, but mental strength as well. Odysseus faces many obstacles and life-threatening situations, but he overcomes them all. Odysseus demonstrates a lot of heroic like qualities during the reading of the odyssey.

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.

The protagonist of the epic poem The Odyssey by Homer is Odysseus, who is a man of many qualities. Odysseus's skills and intellect are honed through the hardships he experienced on his very long journey away from home. Through his adventures, Odysseus gained for himself the reputation of a hero who survived shipwrecks, battled monsters, faced the wrath of the mighty gods, and met many people of various foreign lands. On top of other classic epic hero traits, Odysseus proves to be the very definition of a Homeric hero through his portrayal as a character who is faithful, loyal, and mentally capable.

Robert Green Ingersoll defines heroism as, “when the will defies fear, when duty throws the gauntlet down to fate, when honor scorns to compromise with death” (Website). During The Odyssey, various steps of Odysseus’ hero’s journey promote behavior which exemplifies such traits. His experience in this process catalyzes personal advancement as he metamorphoses into an intelligent yet humble hero who is able to defy fear, challenge fate, and confront the will of the gods. Without such events, he would not qualify as an epic hero as he would have never gained the traits necessary to achieve this status. In Homer’s The Odyssey, Odysseus develops as an epic hero through stages of his hero’s journey including challenges at the hands of Poseidon following a display of hubris, displays of humility before the Phaeacians, and personal restraint upon return to Ithaca.

Thesis statement: Throughout Odysseus long journey home to Ithaca, he faces numerous challenges, which he overcomes, giving him qualities of an epic hero.

During The Odyssey, Odysseus shows us many of his “epic” traits. Some of the these

The Odyssey shows the Epic Hero characteristics of Odysseus and also his human characteristics. It introduces the relationships in his life, telling his story. The Epic Hero characteristics that Odysseus portrayed were courage, kindness, compassion, and the ability to be a leader. There are also ordinary man characteristics such as anger, selfishness, and the need for revenge. Many important, major events happened to Odysseus and they shape his journey into the tale that would be told for centuries.

Have you ever heard of a man- a very mortal man- who can defeat a cyclops, outwitt any opponent, kill men six times in number, and survive twenty years at sea? This man, is Odysseus, the son of Laertes. Odysseus can be read about in the epic poem called The Odyssey written by Homer. An epic poem is a long narrative poem about a serious event. Odysseus is the epic hero of this poem. An epic hero is a character who is smart, powerful, and fears almost nothing. Odysseus fits the definition of an epic hero.

This work fits into the genre because the main character, Odysseus, is an epic hero who goes on the Hero’s journey to save people using his special abilities (Literary). The Odyssey can be compared to a comic story. Odysseus had many moral responsibilities on his plate, as well as having the characteristics of a superhero featured in popular culture. Also, one can state that Odysseus and his crew are doing "extraordinary things, like Batman and Superman." In addition, the book also has supernatural characters, such as gods and goddesses, which is a characteristic of most epics. For example, the gods intervene in Odysseus' life by making it more difficult for him to return home, and even preventing him from getting home. In addition, Odysseus and his crew think that the gods are being too harsh towards them.

When I first read "The Odyssey" by Homer I thought that Odysseus was an intelligent and strong leader. It was after reading the poem again, discussing it with my mom, and reading other student's answers that I came to the conclusion that Odysseus was actually more clever than intelligent. He's also courageous, determined, cunning and boastful. He was a hero.

I believe that the most significant epic hero character trait that Odysseus obtains is his capability to be cunning. Odysseus’s ability to be cunning has saved himself and his men numerous times during their venture to get home and has gotten him out of several problematic situations.

Critics question why readers are awestruck by this epic tale written centuries ago. The question of what makes the tale captivating lies in the characters themselves. Readers are fascinated by Odysseus, the protagonist and his ubiquitous character. His heroism makes it seem like he is an epic hero, but that is not absolutely determined. Throughout generations stories have been published about heroes and their life encounters, including one of the earliest ones, The Odysseyand the modern thrilling seven part