How Does Odysseus Show Courage

Odysseus’ bravery makes him an epic hero and also a role model, but what makes him a better one is his intelligence.

For instance, he acts irrationally by deciding to reveal his identity to Polyphemus resulting in Odysseus’ crew, “having our precious lives, but not our friends” (Homer 505). For example Odysseus yells out, “Cyclops/if ever mortal man inquire/how you were put to shame and blinded, tell him/Odysseus, raider of cities, took your eye”’ (Homer 503). The cyclops becomes enraged by Odysseus’ taunts, so Poseidon curses the boastful man, leaving him with a lonesome, treacherous journey. A leader must put his men first, but Odysseus is arrogant for he instead only cares about basking in the glory of defeating the cyclops. For instance, Odysseus will regret not listening to his crew’s cries to stop irritating Polyphemus, for he eventually is the one to indirectly cause death among them. Another example arguing foolishness is his failure to take the necessary precautions when warning his men about Helios’ cattle. After days on Helios’ island his men were driven by hunger and “ignore Odysseus’ warning not to feast on Helios’ cattle...To appease Helios, Zeus sends down a thunderbolt to sink Odysseus’ ship” (Homer 529). The leader of Ithaca is not a hero because he is threatening the lives of his crew who would die for him, because he is careless and unaware about the importance of informing his men about the dangers that they will face. Even though his past actions have had severe

Homer's two central heroes, Odysseus and Achilles, are in many ways differing manifestations of the same themes. While Achilles' character is almost utterly consistent in his rage, pride, and near divinity, Odysseus' character is difficult to pin down to a single moral; though perhaps more human than Achilles, he remains more difficult to understand. Nevertheless, both heroes are defined not by their appearances, nor by the impressions they leave upon the minds of those around them, nor even so much by the words they speak, but almost entirely by their actions. Action is what drives the plot of both the Iliad and the Odyssey, and action is what holds the characters together. In this respect, the theme of humanity

Odysseus, King of Ithaca, and the main character in homer’s The Odyssey, was gone for twenty years before finally returning to his family and his homeland. He struggled through many hardships and lost many loyal companions. The King of Ithaca would not have made it home without the assistance of the Greek gods. Despite all of the help and advice that Odysseus receives from the gods, he is a very brave man because his courage and daring in the cave of the Cyclops, his inability to give up and abandon his men on Circe’s island, and his flawless following of the gods instructions are acts of bravery that is uncommon in most men.

What heroic qualities does Odysseus show? Explain the situations in which Odysseus shows these qualities.

A hero isn’t shaped by his strengths but by the values he possesses. Homer’s epic, The Odyssey, reveals the moral and ethical constitution of the ancient Greeks. Over time, certain cultures have grown to value a number of human characteristics. Those who acquire such values become respected heroes. After the fall of Troy, the protagonist of the epic, Odysseus, set sail for his home, Ithaca, where his faithful wife and son were waiting for him. Over the course of his journey, Odysseus faced some of the most ferocious opponents known to the Greeks. Even through this formidable journey, Odysseus and his family have stayed true to the diverse aspects of the ancient Greeks. The Odyssey exemplifies the human ideals of hospitality, loyalty and

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.

Odysseus, king of Ithaca, was probably on of the greatest warriors in the history of Ancient Greece. It is said that the poet, Homer, wrote the story of the Odyssey. In this story, Odysseus and his crew are trying to make their voyage back home to Ithaca after they have fought with the Trojans. During the long journey, Odysseus will show some of his character traits which include his bravery, cleverness, and wisdom that will assist him with the situations he encounters on his journey home.

Odysseus’s arrogance is shown throughout the poem, but it is clearly shown during his time with a cyclops named Polyphemus. When Odysseus and his men enter a dangerous cave because of their leader’s foolish curiosity and meets Polyphemus, Odysseus says “It was our luck to come here; here we stand,/ beholden for your help, or any gifts/ you give-as custom is to honor strangers,” (256-268). Here Odysseus is practically demanding that the cyclops treat him and his men with courtesy just because he is a guest. His arrogance and pride makes them stay with the dangerous cyclops even though they had a perfect chance for escaping from cyclops at the very beginning before the conversation even started. If only they quickly left with some cheese or nothing at all, Odysseus wouldn’t have lost so many men. Because of Odysseus’s arrogance, six of his men were eaten by the cyclops. Another example when Odysseus arrogance is shown was just

One of the major themes of Homer’s Odyssey is the importance of cunning over strength. This also happens to be the case with Odysseus and his long ten year journey home from fighting in Troy. Odysseus uses his intelligence over strength to ‘fight’ through tough times and bring himself home to Ithaca. Odysseus uses his intelligence when he has his men tie him down while passing the Sirens, so he himself will be able to hear their beautiful song, but not be entranced by their singing. He also uses cunning to escape from the Cyclops’ cave without being harmed. He then uses his cunning by storing away all of the armory, shields, and knives from the suitors so he is able to kill them easily.

In the “Odyssey”, Odysseus goes through obstacles throughout the book that a normal man couldn’t subside. One example is in book 9, his main obstacle that he is trying to face is to escape from being held hostage in a cave by a Cyclops better known as Polyphemus. Odysseus is a archetypal hero, he is also a role model, with an ambition to get to his homeland Ithaca. He goes through resisting temptation and using his intellect and physical strength to get him there, no matter the obstacle nor the negative flaws that he faces. Odysseus put himself and his men in that situation by being curious and wanting to know what kind of land his ship and the winds led him to. This was selfish of him because it cost him some of his men, but a leader and hero has to play that role and some lives will be dealt with on the way. Odysseus says, “The rest of you will stay here while I go with my ship and crew on reconnaissance. I want to find out what those men are like, Wild savages with no sense of right or wrong Or hospitable folk who fear the gods” (Homer 429). Saying this quote alone makes Odysseus a humble man due to the fact that not even a piece of land is going to slow him down on his journey back home.

In The Odyssey Odysseus stands up for his men who are traveling to war with him when Athena accuses them of not displaying much talent. It would be difficult for Odysseus to stand up for his men while talking to a goddess. However, he handles himself very wisely explaining to Athena the positive qualities in each of his men. In The Odyssey after Poseidon grows angry with Odysseus telling him he will suffer, it only makes Odysseus determination in himself increase. A hero is one who never gives up, so one major character traits they should obtain is determination Although Odysseus is beaten down by the god of the sea it does not decrease his determination. During the journey back from the war in The Odyssey after Poseidon has warned Odysseus that he will not make it home Odysseus not only works well with his men, but also is very self reliant. Self reliance is a huge part of becoming a hero because you have to be prepared at all times if something was to happen to your acquaintances, you need to have the confidence to fulfil your goal.

Odysseus shows his heroism through his bravery. When Circe turned his men into swine, Odysseus confronted her: "I drew my sharpened sword and in one bound held it against her throat"("Circe, the

To start, Odysseus’ pride is shown during one of his first trials he overcomes when trying to get home: the Cyclops. This is part of the beginning of the Tests, Allies, and Enemies stage of his Hero’s Journey. After he had successfully defeated the Cyclops with his guile, he and his men successfully escape and are making a run for their ships. Odysseus taunts the Cyclops, despite his crew members’ warnings. Odysseus then says, “I would not heed them in my glorying spirit, but let my anger

The truth behind twenty years of carrying on courage, faith, and hope all for love...An incredible leader he is, Odysseus, King of Ithaca. Odysseus exudes courage and unconditional love when he is forced to go an an extremely challenging mission. He is sent by the goddess Athena to defeat the Trojans. He goes to multiple Greek Islands for this mission and then has to find his way home, with Poseidon angry and against him. On one of his encounters, he comes across Polyphemus, the cyclops who eats one of his men. When we were together, he stated... “I will never forget the true terror I had inside, but I knew I could not show it.” In another spine-chilling incident, Odysseus crossed the path of Circe. Circe is the wicked goddess that turned