The Virtue of Odysseus We are a species of black and white. We take pleasure in sorting people into definite categories with little room for variation. In the arena of virtue, we are no different. Even though virtue may be difficult to define, people are considered either virtuous or unvirtuous depending on the trends of their actions. Virtue, however, is probably not best categorized this strictly. Rather, we should allow shades of gray for the not-quite virtuous. Odysseus from The Odyssey illustrates why quite well. Odysseus is incredibly virtuous in his quest for home and reunion, yet he also commits egregious crimes that make it impossible for him to be a paragon of virtue. In order to classify Odysseus, we must first attempt to understand …show more content…
The tales Odysseus tells to the Phoenicians are all ones characteristic of Odysseus: tales of cleverness overcoming all challenges. From his use of the name Nobody to trick the cyclops and gain freedom to the way he disguises himself and crafts a master plan to kill the suitors with his guile, it is indisputable that Odysseus is often the cleverest man around. Athene herself watches over him because of it. His bravery is also showcased in the stories, as well as in his murder of the suitors. He goes back to Circe’s house even though his men have all turned into pigs, and he takes on multiple suitors even though he only has himself, his son, and two servants. Thus, his bravery is displayed in every situation. What these two characteristics lead to are his great acts of virtue: his protection of his family and men. Even though all his men eventually perish, Odysseus still tries to save them all. He goes back to Circe to transform back his men, as well as putting on armor in a futile attempt to possibly save more men from Scylla. As for his family, he dresses up as an old man, takes plenty of abuse, and kills the barbaric suitors in order to save his family. As such, it would appear that Odysseus is somewhat of a paragon of
The majority of those who read The Odyssey consider the protagonist of the story, Odysseus, a hero. On many occasions, however, Odysseus makes decisions beneficial to himself alone. For example, when Odysseus and his men find themselves on Polyphemus's island, Odysseus's actions are self-centered and at the expense of his men. This can be said for most of Odysseus's actions in the story, as his main objective is to reach his home. Having his men by his side when he returns seems a trivial thing to him. Odysseus could be considered a hero, but many of his actions say otherwise. Due to the many unfaithful and self-centered decisions he makes in the story, Odysseus is not a hero.
The epic, The Odyssey, centers around Odysseus, whose disposition can be controversial. Like all heroes, Odysseus displays both positive and negative characteristics, which determine whether he is a admirable figure or not. In my opinion, the parts of his character that are commendable outweigh his lesser qualities, making him an honorable role in the poem. Odysseus’s three main favorable attributes are his cleverness, his determination, and his leadership.
There was a time when the goal of all good, great, and decent men was to obtain honor. Every motive, dictated by their sense of honor, was aimed at bolstering it or regaining some that had been lost. To fulfill their sense of honor, men of valor slay the dragon, overthrow an evil villain, or defeat the monster. In Homer’s epic poem The Odyssey, the hero Odysseus is considered honorable for his actions on his journey home to Ithaca.
In homer's Odyssey the main character Odysseus is a person who only tries to help himself. Although he earns the trust of his men while in Troy, he loses it on his perilous journey home. Many times in the epic he manipulates others, commits foolish acts and is full of hubris. He tries to take shortcuts and as a result of this is men are killed and his boats destroyed. He plays with the lives of his men and he is punished for it. Odysseus is not a hero because, he is foolish, lacks faithfulness and is consumed by his Hubris and selfishness.
Odysseus does everything in his power to save his men when bad things happen. In the Cyclops cave, he tries to trick him. The book states “...mother, father, and friends, everyone calls me Nohbdy” (Hom. 9. Line 274-275). He does this so if Cyclops says something about him to someone else, they will think he’s crazy. Odysseus gets him to drink the wine, and once the Cyclops passes out Odysseus gets his men to stab him in the eye, so that way he moves the stone so they can all get out. Next, on the island Circe turns all of Odysseus’ men into animals. Book 10 shows that Odysseus is scared of losing his men, it says “...Odysseus rushes to save his men from the enchantress” (Hom. 10. Blue text). But there are a few conditions Odysseus has to do in order to save them. The Odyssey says “She
First of all, Odysseus is deemed a hero in the eyes of the Achaians. His intelligent mind renders him a heroic figure among his people. Although he has killed many people, his actions are deemed justifiable because the suitors were "reckless" in their action against his household. He is praised by Athene for his ability to quickly devise a false tale. In the Achaian world, intelligence is more highly treasured then a hard working man. Odysseus' cleverness makes him "godlike" and comparable to the immortals, and he even had opportunities to be among the immortals, as exemplified by Kalypso's offer for eternal life and youth. Despite the fact that he is cheating on his wife, an amoralistic act, Odysseus is still regarded as a great man; glorious and honorable.
Odysseus was known for his many of his mental traits, but his most useful ones were his bravery cleverness, and wisdom. Without these helpful traits he probably would have died from the very beginning. Fortunately, he was granted with these traits so that he could come back to his kingdom of Ithaca to see his wife and son for the first time in twenty years and to also kill the suitors that tried to kill his son and take his wife, land, and possessions from him.
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.
Odysseus heroic qualities are strength, courage, dignity, a thirst for glory, and self-confidence. He also shrewd and ingenious, all of which make him the ideal hero in both the physical form and the spiritual aspect. Odysseus being faithful and loyal to his wife shows his dignity. Even though he has been away from his home and family for twenty years his only thoughts are with them. He overcomes all the extreme dangers he encounters showing his strength and courage. His shrewdness and intelligence shows when he, the King of Ithaca, is disguised as a beggar before Telemakhos.
Again, Odysseus' darker and 'immoral' acts could be viewed could viewed as metaphors for and/or accurate reflections of the imperfection of the human race. Characteristics that show that heroes too are flawed. A hero who has some shortcomings is a more believable character, they may be godly in the sense that they do what no one else can, but that they are still only human. Drawing on this, Odysseus can be considered a hero for modern times. He possesses admiral skills, such as commitment and knowledge, which are still considered heroic today. He uses these traits to protect himself and his crew as they make the long journey home. Although Odysseus is renowned for his expertise in fighting, he is
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.
In the latter, however, some of his more ignoble traits are revealed: he is a braggart, he almost dishonorably uses poisoned arrows, and he shows conceit in his victory over the Cyclops. It is sometimes difficult to reconcile this man with the one who willingly gives up eternal life for the moral condition and the chance to return to his wife. Largely, the problems with understanding the moral position of Odysseus stem from his immense experience and cleverness, which make him at once mortal and fantastic.
According to both Greek and Homeric values humans should have reason, but very often they express passion, which leads to contradictory emotions and obstacles in life. Odysseus, a man with a complex life, struggles with many internal, personal contradictions that have a collective impact on his decisions throughout his existence. The most important contradictions Odysseus faces are loyalty and betrayal; humility and hubris; and wisdom and folly,
Another way Odysseus is also a hero is he always finds a way to survive whether he is in conflict or out on the sea. One of the many situations Odysseus survives is his encounter with Skylla. Six of his crew members do perish but through his hard work and dedication he survives. He makes another smart decision in choosing to go through Skylla instead of Kharybdis because only six of his crew members die instead of the whole crew. Another decision Odysseus makes to survive is not eating the cattle of Helios while on Thrinikia, his crew members choice in eating the hallowed cows results in their death, but Odysseus knew the consequences and did not touch a cow. Another way Odysseus' quick-decision skills helps him is when he chooses to leave the island of the Lotous-eaters, because he realized his whole crew would have fell under the curse if he had stayed there. Odysseus is also a master tactician whose complex plans save his crew and help him regain his crown. One of these plans was his ingenious idea to trick Polyphemos, which shows he is a hero by saving countless lives. Another plan he implemented was to kill the suitors which is also a success because Odysseus and Telemakos themselves kill over a hundred men without an injury to themselves .Odysseus is a quick-thinker whose resourceful ideas save many lives.
When people think of a hero, they think of a tall, handsome, loyal, brave, and a type of man that could do no wrong. The “hero” that is portrayed in the Odyssey is a man named Odysseus. This “hero” may be tall and handsome, but he is often arrogant, disrespectful, conceited, and rude. Odysseus consists of positive and negative characteristics that is shown in the text by Homer. These characteristics impact the characters day to day, or in the book’s case, the quests. In the Odyssey, Homer values the characteristics hospitality and cunning, but he objects bad leadership.