Homer’s The Odyssey describes the story of the main character’s, Odysseus, 10 year journey traveling back to Ithaca from fighting in the Trojan War. Odysseus, the king of Ithaca is, in fact, the hero of the story. A hero is a person that is admired for his noble qualities, achievements, and his strength and courage. The traits that exemplifies his heroism also causes to have many problems throughout the poem which is justifiable because he is not perfect. He is mortal and flawed like every other human. Through his long and ultimately successful travels back home, Odysseus’s traits of dedication, bravery, and intelligence illustrate his heroism. Although it took Odysseus 10 years to get back to Ithaca; he never gave up. He always did anything he needed to get back home; no matter how difficult the circumstances were. …show more content…
His strategic thinking and problem-solving mind gets him and his men through so many obstacles. A little earlier in the poem, Odysseus and his men had to face the Cyclops. Homer describes, “I poured him another fiery bowl—three bowls I brimmed and three he drank to the last drop, the fool, and then, when the wine was swirling round his brain,’” (Book 9, 404-406). When Odysseus and his men were talking to the Cyclops, Odysseus makes a plan to get the Cyclops drunk. When he got drunk and then fell asleep, Odysseus stabs his eye out. Because of Odysseus’ resourcefulness they were able to escape and continue their travels back to Ithaca. Odysseus’ dedication motivates himself and his men to keep on fighting to get back home. If never loses sight of what’s the main goal; getting back to his family. Because he is brave, his men are brave too. Finally, he would not have been able to get out of bad situations if he could not think on his feet. Although some of these attributes back fired on him, he is mortal and mortals make mistakes. He ultimately achieved his goal and returned to his
The Odyssey, a Greek epic written by Homer has many characters that could be considered heroes, but none as greatly debated on whether he should be called a hero as Odysseus. Odysseus is a hero due to the fact that he wants to protect the ones he loves, shows courage through his actions and words, and as a leader is able to inspire others to have courage. Odysseus’s family
By Poseidon disrupting their journey, Odysseus and his men were faced with many obstacles, which they had to overcome. With the help of us men, Odysseus conquered these obstacles because of his heroic traits. Odysseus is a hero because he is strategic, brave, and determined.
Odysseus was brave enough to conquer these many obstacles on his way home. He never gave up trying to get back home to Ithaca. “Cyclops, if ever mortal man inquire/ how you were put to shame and blinded, tell him/Odysseus, raider of lost cities, took your eye: Laertes son, whose home’s on Ithaca.” (1062)This shows that Odysseus is brave because he fights the
Odysseus is one of the most legendary heroes since ancient times. He is the type of person you picture when you hear the word “hero”. He is extremely noble and brave, but sometimes his other traits are overlooked. In Homer’s Odyssey, Odysseus shows attributes of cleverness, altruism, and courage, and the use of these characteristics could be perceived as heroic or the opposite. Odysseus demonstrates profound cleverness throughout the book.
In this story Odysseus is the hero but, in the beginning he is not a true hero yet, he is just the ruler of Ithaca. Odysseus has to go to war in order to protect his country, right after his son is born. He thought he was going to be back soon, but remained away, encountering many difficult tasks to overcome for about twenty years. All the time he was gone, he remained loyal to his country, family and his god(s). Do you
Odysseus’ Journey as a Hero In the epic The Odyssey, Odysseus is our main character and hero. An epic is a long poem narrating the deeds and adventures of heroic or legendary figures. Odysseus has many heroic qualities such as being courageous, noble, caring, brave, humble, determined, and fearless. In this epic, Odysseus shows qualities.
I took my shipmates along with me” (10.62,64). This shows Odysseus is full of strength because he was so close to reaching Ithaca, Odysseus’s hometown. When his ignorant crew mates opened the sack, they went all the way back to where they started their journey. However, Odysseus still looks out for his men throughout the rest of the journey. This proves Odysseus as a hero because he stays patient and doesn’t abandon his men, even after they betrayed him.
Odysseus had mythical creatures and gods against him that in the end wanted him dead, to suffer or to not get home. Whenever Odysseus tried to get back on track to get back to Ithaca a new obstacle got in his way that put his life in danger which was most of the time. He could barely progress on his journey to get back home because he always had a setback. Odysseus had to keep on going even when he saw his mother in the Land of the Dead and saw his men get killed. He grieved those deaths and was more still able to continue on with his journey to get back home.
As odysseus returned home from his 10 year journey he found his house infatuated with suitors stealing his food and being unfaithful to his wife. Odysseus did everything to protect his wife and son “ I would not stay my hands from the slaughter, until I had taken revenge for all the suitors' transgression. Now the choice has been set before you, either to fight me or run, if any of you can escape death and its spirits. But I think not one man will escape from sheer destruction.” Odysseus used his bravery Odysseus exemplifies several of the characteristics that are necessary to portray a hero.
In the epic story the Odyssey by Homer, Odysseus is returning from the Trojan war, and on his way home he finds many obstacles ahead of him. Odysseus is the ruler of Ithaca and he is trying to return home to his land. Many creatures try and stop him from achieving his goal of returning home, but he and his crew have to push through and get home. Odysseus portrays bravery and courage leading his crew through these tough challenges. Odysseus heroically leads his crew and himself through dangerous obstacles, but also foolishly endangers them during the journey home.
The Odyssey by Homer is an exemplary story that teaches life lessons to those going on a journey for themselves. It illustrates how the challenges and obstacles one may face can help someone become a better leader. The Odyssey highlights one man, Odysseus, a man filled with excessive pride, experiencing the wrath of the god Poseidon. He expects to arrive at his home, Ithaca, safely to reunite with his wife, Penelope, but unfortunately faces many temptations and setbacks. Due to the challenges he faces, it prevents him from arriving home as early as he thought he would.
Before he leaves for Troy, he was a great king and family man. In Troy, he was converted to a warrior, whose actions directly led to the deaths of men. After Troy, he was supposed to be able to return to Ithaca and see his family once again—but he is unable to make it there without intense suffering. From the beginning, Odysseus’s one goal is to return home, as he states many times: “But even so, I want to go back home, and every day I hope that day will come. If some god strikes me on the wine-dark sea, I will endure it.
He has to overcome his foes and his environment. In the cavern with the cyclops, Odysseus must fight to survive. He and his men have to use wit and strategy to escape the cave. After the first attack on his men Odysseus knew he would need to develop a plan to survive. Odysseus and his men are put in danger as they encounter their foe:“Neither reply nor pity came from him, but in one stride he clutched at my companions and caught two in his hands like squirming puppies to beat their brains out, spattering the floor” (Homer 903).
A hero is someone who is revered for his or her exceptional achievements and bravery. Anyone who puts themselves before others not for recognition or an award, but because it is the right thing to do, is a true hero. In "The Odyssey," written by Homer is an epic poem about a man named Odysseus and his crewmates competing against the power of the gods to return to their homeland, Ithaca. Throughout his journey, he loses almost all of his men, but Odysseus finally arrives home, concluding his prolonged twenty-year voyage. Odysseus must battle the suitors that have taken his wife Penelope, and may soon kill his son Telemachus.
Odysseus’s traits help him achieve his goal of returning to his home. Odysseus and his men have a lot of willpower to continue traveling after some dangerous and life risking experiences with cannibals, lotus-eaters, cyclops and many more creatures that could of killed Odysseus and his whole crew. Odysseus's confidence and epic hero traits only increase as the story goes on, his confidence in his men increase as he starts noticing how strong and powerful his men can be, and also shows confidence in