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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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In Book 9, Odysseus demonstrates that cleverness is one of his strengths, but also that arrogance, or hubris, is a major weakness for him. For example, Odysseus demonstrates his cleverness on the cyclops island of Polyphemus. When he arrives on the island and Polyphemus asks for his name, Odysseus says that his name is “Nobody,” which confuses Polyphemus. After Odysseus blinds him, he yells “Nobody’s killing me” (224). His cyclop friends are also confused and think he is ridiculous.

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According to Joseph Cambell. “A hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself.” In the epic poem, The Odyssey, one of the main characters, Odysseus, can relate to this quote because he gives up 20 years of his life to get back home. Odysseus saves many of his men, but also gets a lot of his men killed for his foolishness. Throughout The Odyssey, Odysseus shows he is a hero because of his strength, intelligence, and leadership.

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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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He shows this quality throughout the six books. One example is in Book 10. When his comrades are losing hope of getting back to Ithaca, he tells them,”O friends, however sad, let’s not descend to Hades’s halls before our destined day. No, just as long as there is food and drink in our swift ship, forget your fears of starving (Mandelbaum, Book X, pg. 196).” In Book 16, Odysseus had arrived on Ithaca, and plotted with his son Telemachus to kill the suitors who were trying to marry his wife, Penelope, for the past 20 years.

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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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In the Odyssey, the most important trait that is exhibited by Odysseus is intelligence. When Odysseus was curious to see what the Cyclops were like, he took his crew to the Cyclops’ home. They ended up in the cave of Polyphemus, which is Poseidon’s one-eyed monster son. Odysseus and his men had to find a way out before he ate them all. “If I killed him we perished there as well, for we could never move his ponderous doorway slab aside.”

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When he wins the battle of Troy, he yells to the gods he doesn’t need them on his side to have won the battle. Odysseus is egotistical When he visits the land of the Cyclopians. He was so focused on getting a guest gift he ends up fending off Polyphemus and ending up having to fight to live. “And we came upon a cave and helped ourselves to as much cheese as we wanted.” Odysseus is a narcissist.

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Odysseus was thought to be violent and cruel. This is his weakness. But most of the time had his flaws. A great flaw he had was having humbleness and admitted that the gods have helped him his struggles. passing out advise to his son Thelemachus.

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