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Odysseus As A Hero In Homer's Odyssey

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When the word hero is spoken, many may immediately think of a character like Superman. Superman can fly and has extreme strength, allowing him to help his city. What truly makes Superman a hero is how he puts these skills to use with his outstanding personality qualities. Odysseus, from the Odyssey, also has overlapping traits of a hero. He is not gifted with supernatural capabilities but still put in an effort to help his men and community. Odysseus shows characteristics of bravery, kindness, and intelligence throughout his adventure.
Odysseus’ representation of bravery allows him to put other safety and well being before his own, and he doesn’t let fear hold him back from accomplishing great deeds. At one point in his adventures, he passes …show more content…

Under the threat of death or injury, a clear head and quick thinking is essential in how successful a plan will be. When facing Polyphemus the Cyclops, he is forced to save himself and 12 of his men from death. Before attacking the Cyclops, Odysseus is smart enough to respond with, “My name is Nobhdy… / everyone calls me Nobhdy” (274-275), when asked his name. This later tricks the Cyclops to call out for help, claiming “Nobhdy’s tricked [him}” (317), without releasing he sounds crazy, and Odysseus remains unidentified. This shows how cunning he is and how he thinks on his feet to benefit himself and his crew. Before reaching Ithaca, Tiresias tells Odysseus when he stops on the Island of the Sun god to refuse consumption of the cattle. Odysseus is the only man intelligent enough to ignore his hunger and ends up being the only to survive the punishment given towards the consumer. When Odysseus finally reaches home, he is faced with the challenge of hundreds of greedy suitors and a wife who may not have stayed loyal since he left. Instead of letting his emotions take control and immediately returning to his house, he takes the time to let Athena disguises him as a beggar to first safely investigate the situation at hand. When making decisions, Odysseus keeps in mind the consequences before jumping in. This is shown in each example where Odysseus is

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Superman also has limitless speed, nigh-invulnerability, heat vision, flight, and freeze-breath to defeat all of his foes. Superman is a hero because of the multiple lives he has saved. Odysseus is only a hero because, according to Homer, he was loyal, compassionate, and cunning. Superman was all those except he saved multiple lives while expressing those traits. Some may say Odysseus is the ideal hero.

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Hero: “a man admired for his achievements and noble qualities” (Merriam-Webster) Evident in many classic stories, the hero is always the character that makes the justifiable choice. Their role as the hero is never questioned. The hero always prevails, and in the end, the hero accomplishes the journey with greater wisdom, knowledge, and reestablished views of the world that compensates for the horrors they encounter along the journey.

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Odysseus’ lack of control over his crew demonstrates how he puts his own possessions in greater priority than the well-being and comfort of those that he works with, not an action that a hero would take. Finally, Odysseus does not hesitate to engage in a fight when ired. While disguised as a beggar, he quickly quarrels with the actual town beggar, later escalating to a real brawl. Odysseus states: “Old man though I am, I just might haul off and bust you in the mouth.”

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“I took them three by three; each ram in the middle bore a man while the other two rams either side would shield him”(225). With this plan Odysseus was able to escape flawlessly, without

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Without these peculiar, but precious traits, Odysseus would never had made it home. Odysseus’s quality of craftiness and quick thinking contributes to his intelligence. When he fought the cyclopes in “Book 9,” he had to think quick on his feet to help save him and the

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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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In the epic poem, The Odyssey, the main character, Odysseus, has to face many obstacles on his way home to Ithaca. For example, Calypso holds Odysseus on her island for seven years, until Athena finally convinces Zeus to send Hermes to make Calypso let him go. Also, Circe, the sea witch, captures Odysseus; she turned half of his men into pigs! Odysseus has three major character traits that help him eventually get home. One good character trait is the fact that Odysseus is extremely courageous.

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In the epic poem, Homer’s Odyssey, Odysseus goes through many trials and obstacles. Many people think Odysseus isn’t a hero and others do. Odysseus goes travels for ten years and sails to the end of the earth just so he can go back to his family. Why would Homer write a huge voyage with all these dangerous trials that Odysseus has to go through, if it's not to show everyone that Odysseus is a great hero of the Greek world? Although his struggles changed the man he is, he was a hero because he faces extremely dangerous trials, lead his men with bravery, and stays faithful to his gods.

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Odysseus ' speedy speculation combinded with his capacity to talk extremely well and numerous different attributes has gotten him and his team out of perilous circumstances. One circumstance,

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In The Odyssey Homer makes Odysseus’ journey to his beloved Ithaca excruciating. Odysseus encounters many friends and foes throughout his journey and has to be a leader throughout his experiences. As an example, he encounters Polyphemus and Poseidon, both of whom make his journey mentally and physically painful. Odysseus faces countless scenarios in which he has to save multiple people in those situations. He also encounters the suitors, who are a group of men that try to marry Penelope, when he returns to reclaim his home.

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This character is brought to light using several incidents and events that help to analyze and interpret the ancient Greek world and the values surrounding them. Each episode supports and allows for the development of Odysseus’ character and acknowledges the effects of these features. Through these specific incidents, the reader uncovers the quality of Odysseus and how his characteristics relate to those praised by Greeks and those that were criticized. Persistent components of Odysseus’ character include cleverness and pride, while major themes that are reiterated are Greek ideals and the struggle to reach home. Conclusively, definitive occasions in “The Odyssey” establish and expand upon the character of Odysseus and how it impacts himself and

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Odysseus was a man of great stature and strength; however, Odysseus was not only physically strong, but mentally strong as well (Olson). We can see Odysseus’ mental strength, or cunning, and bravery when he is in the den of Polyphemus and devises the plan to save him and his crew by calling himself nobody and stabbing out the cyclops’ eye. He also recognizes that he

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In a situation like this, a typical person would easily have given up knowing that all odds are against them. Odysseus, though, took the initiative to come up with a plan despite the size disadvantage and his crew members being paralyzed by fear. This text also shows how he fearlessly confronts the giant and tricks him despite knowing he might get killed in the process. Both of these instances demonstrate how much courage Odysseus has because of his willingness to do what frightened the rest of the crew. This, in turn, made him a hero because his courage allowed him to get his crew out of harm's way.

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Odysseus is constantly warned not to eat any of Helios’s cattle of the sun, and he warns his crew not to either or else they will be punished severely by the gods; however, Odysseus’s men decide to eat the cattle while he is sleeping. Odysseus wakes up to find out about the information, stating, “Just then my slumber / left me in a rush, my eyes opened, / and I went down the seaward path. No sooner had I caught sight of out black hull, than savory odors of burn fat eddied around me; / grief took hold of me . . . (XII, 469-474). The feasting of the cattle eventually leads to Zeus killing everyone in Odysseus’s crew except for Odysseus.

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Odysseus is an epic hero because of his bravery and confidence during every obstacle throughout his journey In Part 1 whie Odysseus is about to come across cyclops cave, he says “I brought along and victuals in a bag, for in my bones I knew some towering brute would be upon so soon- all outward power, a wild man, ignorant of civility. “ Odysseus is showing his bravery of not being petrified of what he might come across, like the cyclops. Odysseus has no intention of harming them, but he is not sure what their intention is. This example is important because not only does it show confidence in himself, he also shows confidence in his men. In Part 2 Odysseus also shows his confidence in his men in part 2 where Eurylochus says, “Are you flesh and blood, Odysseus, to endure more than a man can?

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