Hero Characteristics In The Odyssey

A hero is a person who is admired or idealized for courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities. There might be a lot of people admired, but there's not a lot that are idealized. To be idealized, you must be a person that has more characteristics than the one given in the definition. An example of all these characteristics is a man named Odysseus from The Odyssey, an epic poem by Homer. Odysseus is a perfect hero and has all of the characteristics it takes to be one.

One of the characteristics that makes a hero is selflessness and Odysseus is an example of that. One example is Odysseus trying to save his men from eating lotus,”Any crewmen who ate the lotus, the honey sweet fruit. Lost all desire to send a message back, much less

For example when Odysseus convinces Circe to help him on his journey... “Circe, now make good a promise you gave one once. It’s time to help me home.”(10.532). This shows him staying true to his main goal, because he was fine and safe there, but wants his men to return home. He is also staying true to his wife too, because he could have stayed with Circe, but he wants to be with Penelope. Another example is when he has to hang on the tree for his life, “Clutch at the fig-tree's height. Like a bat I clung on to its trunk for dear life.”(12.245). This shows Odysseus’s perseverance, because when all of his crew dies he could have tried to save them, but would have died with them. He is holding on for a longtime, because he is staying true with returning home and not giving up. The final example is when Odysseus is on Calypso’s island and she says,”why cover the same ground?...it goes against my grain to repeat a tale once told, and I said so clearly.”(13.488). This shows Odysseus’s ability to not let people sway his mind, because Calypso tries to convince him to stay with her forever. Once again Odysseus stays true to returning to Penelope rather then spending the rest of his life with a goddess. Through these couple examples, he turns down two goddesses and let his men die so he could return home.

Odysseus is a perfect hero and has all of the characteristics it takes to be one. He cares about his men deeply and wants the best for his men. One thing that makes him special is his mind, he is very clever in getting home. The main point, is that he was able to return home against all odds. All of these characteristics made him be idealized and not just