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Epic Zero: Odysseus As An Epic Hero

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Epic Hero or Epic Zero
Would one think of Odysseus as an epic hero? Although he had excessive pride and cheated on his wife, he has many traits that makes him an epic hero. For example, Odysseus was able to come up with a genius plan to injure Polyphemos before he could eat any more of Odysseus’ men, that demonstrates the trait of intelligence. Odysseus has been through many hardships and has always used his traits to help him get through any obstacle. Throughout Odysseus’ journey home, he demonstrates leadership, intelligence, and superhuman strength.

Odysseus highlights leadership many times throughout his journey. For example, in “The Lotus Eaters” episode, Odysseus declared, “I drove them all three wailing, to the ships, tied them down …show more content…

For example, in the episode “The Land of the Dead”, Odysseus reported, “Then I addressed the blurred and breathless dead.” (Homer 1065). This represents bravery because Odysseus went to the Underworld to see Tiresias, the Underworld is an extremely fiery, spine-chilling place. It takes a truly brave person to go there. The author uses imagery in the quote, by saying “the blurred and breathless dead”, it helps the reader visualize the dreary people Odysseus is seeing. They are extremely gloomy, and they call out to Odysseus. It takes a brave person to be able to look at dead, pale souls and not feel for a second they should go back, they thrive through their obstacles. Odysseus shows bravery by going into the Underworld with no fear, to be an epic hero one must be able to not let fear overcome …show more content…

Odysseus shows leadership by taking charge and bringing his men back to the ship. He uses intelligence to know that he should not tell his men about Scylla and Charybdis. Lastly, Odysseus reveals bravery when he goes into the Underworld. As Napoleon I once said, “True heroism consists in being superior to the ills of life, in whatever shape they may challenge us to combat.” This quote means that to be true hero one must be able to stand tall and fight through any obstacle they are faced

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Leaders come in all shapes and sizes, however, what gives someone the title of a good or bad is decided by the decisions they make and how those decisions affect others. Odysseus led the squadron of soldiers in the trojan horse and is a hero of the Trojan War and the king of Ithaca. Consequently, this gives him experience when it comes acting in difficult situations. This experience should guide him to choose correctly when being put in a tight spot.

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In Homer’s The Odyssey, Odysseus is an effective leader in chapter twelve. A leader who has too much pride is now showing too much humbleness for what’s important by following all the things he has told to do to save his crew and himself. He does what he is told to do to save his crew and keep them safe. “ But now, fearing death , all eyes fixed on Charybdis now Scylla snatched six men from our hollow ship, the toughest, strongest hands I had, and glancing backwards over the decks, searching or my crew I could see their hands and feet already hoisted, failing, high, higher, over my head, look wailing down at me, comrades riven in agony.

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If you were to think about a man with great abilities like being strong, courageous and intelligent, you could think of people you personally or like me, you could think of someone such as Odysseus. Odysseus fits the definition of an epic hero because he is quick thinking, strong and courageous. Odysseus is one quick thinking individual. He has gotten him and his crew out some some sticky situations with his clever plans. One of these plans were how to get away from Polyphemus, a cyclops who was the son of Poseidon.

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