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Odysseus As A Hero In Homer's Odyssey

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Heroes can be found in anyone. In the epic poem the Odyssey by Homer he conveys a hero can have many traits but some of the most powerful ones are to be cunning, to be brave and to be clever. He coveys this theme with the main character Odysseus and his twenty-year journey home from the Trojan War. Throughout his journey, Odysseus uses his cunning personality to convey his heroic actions. One instance where he had to be cunning was when he stated " Your game is over-you, you've shot your last.... You'll never escape your own holding death...You killed the best of Ithaca-our fine prince". Homer 440.During this part of the epic poem there is a war within Ithaca because the suitors have just found out that the beggar was actually Odysseus. This …show more content…

Being intelligent helps him a lot during his journey because he can think his way out of hard situations. One way that he is being intelligent is when he is talking to the Cyclops. we can see this when he explains, "Nobody. That's my name." Nobody- so my mother and father call me, all my friends. "(Homer 223). During this part of the story, Odysseus is talking to the cyclopes, trying to make him release his shipmates and himself so they can be on their way, but he is also thinking about how he is going to kill him. This is him being intelligent because he knows that when he is killing the cyclops, the cyclops will say nobody is killing me.There fore Posiden cannot be mad at Odysseus because he cannot know who is killing the cyclopes. Another way we can see him being intelligent is when he disguises himself as a beggar so that the suitors won't know it's him in the house. This when Telemakus says "You suitors control yourselves." No insults now, no brawling, no war between us." (Homer 419)During this part of the story they are about to have their dinnered, it's the first one with Odessyus home dressed as a beggar so they are all mocking him and teasing at him without knowing it Odysseus because if they knew it was Odysseus they would have tried to fight him so they could marry Penelope. This is him being intelligent because he will not let them kill him while he is unarmed and he is just taking the insults that the suitors are giving him, knowing that he will eventually get his

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