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Homer's Odyssey: What Makes A Hero

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The question raised by homer when evaluating a hero is first what makes a hero? A hero is someone who demonstrates substantial quantities of courage or outstanding achievement. Furthermore, a hero is not someone who does heroic things for no purposes or just for the sake of doing something, they do things because they are obligated to do them, also a force greater than them wills them to do so. A hero takes a risk knowing the danger in addition to embracing it, a hero is as brave as they are strategic, they look death in the eye and death blinks. A person like this must be a mortal, someone who endures pain, feeds on it, is forged from it. Odysseus is great because he is rough, tough, and full of suffering that fuels him to be great. He doesn’t …show more content…

He also reflects true suffering and struggle. Homer compares feasting and suffering very closely to show that struggle results in something deeper than the result of feasting. The significance of struggle is that you take everything head on despite the fact you could fail. The foremost reason Odysseus is unmatched is because he has no need for nice things, only need for destiny/ things of relevance. Not only does he commit countless heroic acts in situations of high pressure where he could die, he also never loses faith. He continues to believe in Ithaca and dreams of his queen and never loses sight of his goal despite the years and many distractions. Odysseus takes risks, an example of this is in book IX, when he enters the Cyclopes cave not knowing what’s inside. He does many things throughout the epic that seem to lack judgement, but later show he always had it under control. Another quality that supports Odysseus being a hero is that he is blessed by a god, meaning they notice something great or godlike in him. Lastly the most important aspect of his heroism is that he isn’t a textbook hero, unlike Hercules, Odysseus embraces his flaws and mortality which makes him stronger. One key thing that aids his journey is, Odysseus does not escape his struggle and immerse himself in feasting and partying, he experiences only what he is supposed to in addition to nothing that isn’t relevant. Odysseus is able to improve himself, ultimately

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One of the reasons those people might say that is because Odysseus has a hero’s key traits: he was loyal, compassionate, and cunning. Odysseus was loyal to his family by trying his best to get home and succeeding. Compassion was shown by Odysseus when he was patient while plotting against the Trojans. Last but not least Odysseus was cunning when he defeated the Cyclops in the cave whilst escaping.

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Odysseus often follows a Machiavellian approach to being a hero, saving the day at whatever cost and usually in a way that is most beneficial to himself. So although he “went through the motions” of being a hero and completing the hero's journey, he didn’t come out of it transformed or as a better person. As a character and hero, his arc is incomplete. Odysseus has completed his hero’s journey in the classic

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Odysseus is a hero because he saved his men from the cyclops, ended the Trojan war and was a great leader. Odysseus was special because he was brave, courageous, and powerful . Odysseus was intelligent through his good ideas, one of which ended the Trojan war . Odysseus is a hero because he saved his men from the cyclops and was brave enough to stand up to him . Odysseus told his men to build a wooden stake and Odysseus stabbed the cyclops with it and was a hero to stab the cyclops and let the men escape.

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Odysseus went through a lot of adventures. And through good and bad time he almost always is getting out of the situation. Through all the adventures he showed an “Epic Hero Trait” and that is clever. He always makes a plan or decides something important. He got through the Sirens, Scylla, Charybdis, and now even his own home.

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This reveals Odysseus as an outdated hero. In Greek society, there was an emphasis, especially in places like Sparta, on the success of the group as a whole, such as in battle, with losses being expected and planned for. In contrast, modern society places much more value on individual human lives than the Ancient

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Overall, Odysseus is often portrayed as a “model hero”, but in reality he has many faults such as being untrustworthy, arrogant and

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Odysseus is the spitting image of what an ancient Greek hero would be like but in today’s society or just in general, Odysseus is not heroic. He may have super hero qualities such as extreme strength and cleverness but he doesn’t embody them the way one should. In many cases he only saves himself, he is selfish, and he isn’t humble. These reasons alone leaves me, and should leave you, to believe that Odysseus is not heroic.

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He fights to the best of his abilities against many monsters such as Polyphemus, Circe, and the sea monster Scylla. There has been many claims that Odysseus isn’t hero because he lets his crew die. Just because his crew didn’t survive, it certainly does not mean he isn’t a hero. He tries his very best and even test his limits in order to get him and his crew back home. An example of this is in Homer’s

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Although there were some setbacks, Odysseus manifests his ability to persevere through vast setting due to great mental and physical strength. The hero is able to withstand 20 years away from home while at sea and deals with obstacles along the way, having to sacrifice himself and his men. Consequently, his intelligence and power makes it possible to navigate through treacherous conditions and adversaries while at sea and survive. Likewise, he is characterized with a “combination of wisdom and power that enables him to return home after 20 years at sea” (Ford 1). With this depiction of an enlightened and robust hero, Odysseus prospers through his endeavors undoubtedly and

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The ancient archetype of heroism is commonly quantified by the amount of incredible and perilous feats overcome by one individual, so it should come as no surprise that Odysseus is able to overcome many of these daunting obstacles.

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In the book The Odyssey, the main character, Odysseus, is a man who is loved and respected by many. In the beginning of the book, we learn that Odysseus has left on a journey and, since it has been many years since his departure, many people assume that he has passed. On his journey, he portrays his many traits, not all of them being good ones either. Some of his good traits include his cunning, bravery, and hard work ethic. On the other hand, his negative traits are his excessive pride, immense curiosity, and rather large temper.

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Odysseus’s traits help him achieve his goal of returning to his home. Odysseus and his men have a lot of willpower to continue traveling after some dangerous and life risking experiences with cannibals, lotus-eaters, cyclops and many more creatures that could of killed Odysseus and his whole crew. Odysseus's confidence and epic hero traits only increase as the story goes on, his confidence in his men increase as he starts noticing how strong and powerful his men can be, and also shows confidence in

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He could have left and kept going straight for home but he instead went back to save them, this leading into another quality of Odysseus. Bravery. Throughout his venture he has stayed courageous, getting past the Cyclopes, Circe, and sirens. Now, he does have a multitude of great qualities but, despite all of the good that he has done, Odysseus still has flaws.

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