Examples Of Heroism In The Odyssey

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Courageous, brave, fearless, and daring are just a few ways to describe heroism. But how would you describe and define heroism? Well, there is no one way to define such a word. It all depends on how you look at things in life and how you would justify the word. If you look up the word in the Merriam-Webster dictionary, it will say “the qualities of a hero”; but what exactly are the qualities of a hero? Wouldn’t it depend on a specific situation if someone is a hero or not? For example, if someone is attempting to mug someone on the street and someone attacks the mugger, they would be the hero right? But what they kill the mugger, will the killer still be a hero? Or would he be a murderer? The question rejects itself. How can we have qualities of someone or something if we don’t even know what it is? In The Odyssey, heroism was shown with intelligence, bravery, and most importantly, strength.

I say heroism is much more than just the qualities of a hero. Are you willing to put your life in danger to make sure someone …show more content…

For starters, who in their right mind would fight or even come close to approaching a GIANT? Apparently Odysseus and his crew, that’s who. This is an act of courageousness. The intelligent side of Odysseus devises a plan to poke out the eye of the Cyclops to stop him from seeing the crew. The plan works perfectly. He figures out that he can’t necessarily kill the Cyclops, he must outwit him, he says “But I was already plotting . . . What was the best way out? How could I find Escape from death for my crew, myself as well? My wits kept weaving, weaving cunning schemes – Life at stake, monstrous death staring us in the face – Till this plan struck my mind at best. That flock.” (9, 469)
Odysseus devises a master plan to protect him and the rest of his crew. He put himself in a position to protect everyone around him even if it meant putting his life in danger. This is an act of heroism. He thought, he protected, and he