Heroes In The Odyssey

Throughout our lives, there will be people we think of as “heroes.” We look up to them and aspire to somehow become the type of person that they are. Some people say that their parents are their heroes and some say athletes are theirs, so therefore, I pose the question: what makes a hero a hero? The Oxford Dictionary defines a hero as “a person, who is admired or idealized for courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities,” which is quite possibly the truth, but I believe there is more into making a person a hero. The perfect example of a hero is the protagonist of the epic poem, The Odyssey, Odysseus. Mentally, physically, and spiritually he demonstrates the ideal characteristics of a hero. Though, heroes and the characteristics of

Maybe it is because as humans we think of strong and beautiful people as put together and someone to aspire to, so of course, the male protagonist of The Odyssey is both strong and handsome. Now, Telemachus can be both if these things, but he may just not be able to use them to his benefit like his father. The abnormal strength that Odysseus has is, well, abnormal: he is the only person able to string his bow, which is not saying that other have never tried. All of the Suitors did everything they could to string that bow, but only this barbarian of man, Odysseus, possesses the pure and raw strength to string the bow. He uses it to his advantage and strings that bow and kills the Suitors with it. Thus, inspiring his son to become more heroic and take charge for once: most likely making him think of Odysseus as even more of a hero. The whole beauty aspect of Odysseus does not quite make him a hero, but it does aid him in some of the aspects that do make him a hero. Well first off, we know that he is handsome because Circe forces him to stay on her island and become her lover, which can infer that the man is “easy on the eyes,” at least to Circe. This beauty helps him in his guile of princess Nausicaa, who offers Odysseus shelter because of her affection based purely on his looks, giving him just what he wishes to gain. The fact that Telemachus is most likely strong and handsome but does not use it like Odysseus could add to his thought that Odysseus is a hero, because his father is able to utilize their shared characteristics to his