Who needs a hero? Throughout human existence, societies have always looked upon heroes and champions as a gleam of hope in times of desperation. “Like a champion, like a warrior he will stir up his zeal; with a shout he will raise the battle cry and will triumph over his enemies.” In the Odyssey by Homer the main character Odysseus displays many of the great qualities that define a hero and thus forevermore he has been remembered, honored, and reverend by multitudes as an epic hero. Odysseus’s courageous leadership in time of war, his volatile journey home, his strengths and his flaws, have made him immortal for generations to come.
What defines an epic hero? First of all, the word epic is defined by Merriam Webster as “a long narrative poem in elevated style recounting the deeds of a legendary or historical hero.” Additionally, an epic hero is described as “a brave and noble character… admired for great achievements and or affected by grans events.” Odysseus “Son of Laertes and gods of old…master marine and soldier…formidable for guile in peace and war” will forever be remembered as an epic hero for “[his] fame has gone abroad the
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It was through his keen intelligence that he was delivered from the hands of the gods, from Polyphemus. While he and his man awaited a sure death at the hands of the Cyclops, Odysseus “drew on all [his]