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Odysseus As A Hero In Homer's The Odyssey

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Heroes are not invulnerable, every Superman has his kryptonite, and all light is born from darkness. These traits of a hero are evident in life, and in the 3000-year-old epic poem, The Odyssey, written by Homer and translated by Robert Fitzgerald. In The Odyssey, Odysseus, Master Mariner and Soldier, is attempting to return home after the Trojan War, to his wife Penelope, son Telemakhos, and his throne as the king of Ithaka. With Poseidon desperately trying to halt his journey, Odysseus faces a multitude of monsters, and distractions on his travels. “The Odyssey-- the return of Odysseus from troy to reclaim his threatened home on Ithaca-- is a superb story, rich in character, adventure and incident… and making the household, rather than the …show more content…

One of the more conspicuous examples of Odysseus showing prudence was when he goes back to his kingdom disguised as a beggar. He could’ve easily stormed his castle and killed the suitors, but he decided to air on the side of caution. “Count up the suitors for me, let me know what men at arms are there, how many men.” (Book XVI Lines 278-279). This quote is Odysseus telling his son Telemakhos to count up the suitors so he can make a plan of action; it shows the caution in his new technique of battle. Also during his battle with the suitors, Odysseus accepts help from Telemakhos and Athena during the fight. “At this moment that unmanning thunder cloud, the aegis, Athena’s shield, took form aloft in the great hall.” (Book XXII Lines 330-332). This is a quote from The Odyssey, at the exact moment during the battle against the suitors that Athena joined in on the fighting, and swiftly ended it. Furthermore, Odysseus is very emotional about his family. crying throughout his journey because of the misery he felt from being separated for so long. This emotion is highlighted upon his return to Ithaka. “ Held back too long, the tears ran down his cheeks as he embraced his son.” (Book XVI Lines 223-224). “Cries burst from the both as keen and fluttering… so helplessly they cried, pouring out tears.” (Book XVI Lines 255-260). These quotes show that Odysseus is no longer only self-centered …show more content…

Odysseus was egotistical, and as a result, it cost him and his allies great losses. However, by the end, Odysseus becomes a selfless person, someone who can be deemed a true hero. “Odysseus doesn’t have a linear growth pattern like Telemahkos; he already exhibited his manliness and his warrior self during the Trojan War. His trials have more to do with the gaining of wisdom and judgement beyond the heroic code, which will make him a better king. He gradually learns prudence and self-restraint. He learns to act less on impulse and to follow a strategy. By the end of the epic, Odysseus seems to be wiser and more perceptive than in the beginning of his travels.” (Reading the Odyssey - Kristina Passman - Page 15). Human nature says that nobody is perfect. Whether it be impulsiveness, greed, or impertinence, not a single person can honestly say that they have no downfalls. But, with a little work, and a little time to mull these imperfections over, you can improve them. Heroes are not perfect, but that is ok, because that means that they can improve, just like

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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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In this story, however, the main character cannot be justified as the hero; he can only aspire to be one. Throughout the epic poem, The Odyssey, Homer vividly illustrates how often times, a person who has gained a certain title will struggle under the pressure of maintaining the continuous justification of the role. This is seen through Odysseus’ endeavor to maintain the responsibilities of a hero along his journey as well as managing the role that come with being a hero. Although Odysseus ventures to become the responsible, classic hero, he acts irrationally whenever he encounters an obstacle as seen through his confrontation with Scylla and Charybdis, proving his intentions of a hero but the lack of ability to execute his heroic actions to the fullest.

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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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No person is perfect, and challenging the ideas of who a hero is reveals the illusion of perfection. Humans make mistakes, and seeing Odysseus’ failures humanizes him and makes him more realistic. Odysseus has clearly made mistakes

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For all the great strengths of these heroes it’s important to remember they’re still human. Humans are naturally flawed beings, in fact their exaggerated strengths seem to make their weaknesses more dramatic. These fatal flaws constantly get between the hero and reaching his goal contributing to setbacks, loss, and sometimes death. Odysseus’s fatal flaw is pride, usually in himself he lets his positive regard for his own abilities and wants get in the way of his decision making process. One example is his military leadership, he makes both very good and very bad military decisions in his time commanding men, Odysseus is, as Homer says,” polytropos, many-sided, mixed, multi-colored, piebald.

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Odysseus is extremely selfish by betraying his crew. His crew believes that Odysseus is trying to help them return home, when he is actually only concerned about himself.

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A hero is someone who is revered for his or her exceptional achievements and bravery. Anyone who puts themselves before others not for recognition or an award, but because it is the right thing to do, is a true hero. In "The Odyssey," written by Homer is an epic poem about a man named Odysseus and his crewmates competing against the power of the gods to return to their homeland, Ithaca. Throughout his journey, he loses almost all of his men, but Odysseus finally arrives home, concluding his prolonged twenty-year voyage. Odysseus must battle the suitors that have taken his wife Penelope, and may soon kill his son Telemachus.

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In the book called The Odyssey by Homer, it mainly follows the story of a king of a village called Ithaca, hundreds of years ago-This man, is named Odysseus. Odysseus goes through many adventures after the victory of the Trojan War. However, this is where Odysseus, is not being as strong as a great war hero and a king as he should be. Although Odysseus was seen as a very strong person, physically and mentally, he lacks the appreciation and the care of his crew throughout the trials and didn’t think through many of his actions thoroughly and how they would affect not only his crew but people around him.

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Through being conceited, unfaithful to his wife, and lacking in leadership, Odysseus has shown readers that he does not have what it takes to be a true hero. Odysseus is not a good role model for anyone, so he teaches readers many lessons on what not to be like. Readers can learn that not everything is about them, they have to understand that to be a true hero, everyone else comes before them. They can also learn that leaders have to be strong and selfless, not strong and arrogant. Arrogance will never get anyone anywhere, it only makes people lose trust and lose respect.

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Although he is viewed as an expert and a hero, he does have weaknesses. He is hesitant to trust others due to his different hardships. Odysseus is characterized as a heroic, likeable character that is pitied by others, but has difficulty trusting those who support him. Odysseus is successful in many different disciplines. While Nestor speaks to Telemachus, he mentions how Odysseus excelled above all the other soldiers in his strategic ways during the Trojan War (3. 136).

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This describes Odysseus, the epic and legendary hero that faced malicious creatures and life-threatening events, yet exhibited heroic and convenient traits to achieve his objective successfully. In the epic of The Odyssey, Homer depicts that Odysseus is an epic hero by facing the difficulties and accomplishing his goal in returning home to his family using the traits of intelligence

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Weakness is a trait all groups of humanity find themselves bound to in many senses, whether it be mentally or physically, but much like Odysseus in Homer’s epic poem, The Odyssey, translated by Robert Fitzgerald, strength can be found within this turmoil. The tale begins on the island of Ithaca where Telemakhos, the son of the warrior Odysseus, is confronted by the goddess Athena. The Grey-Eyed-Goddess tells Telemakhos to step up and make something out of his life, by setting out on a quest to learn about his father, who has been away for 20 years. While Telemakhos is set off on his journey to find his father, Odysseus is trapped on the island of Kalypso, lusting for his home. He then sets out on a long journey in an attempt to get back to his wife, Penelope, and his family back in Ithaca.

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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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