Odysseus As A Hero In The Odyssey By Homer

An admirable, achieving person with many abilities could be defined as a hero. However, the definition of a hero is different to everyone. In the epic poem, The Odyssey by Homer, the character Odysseus was able to show what we consider a hero today even though it was written hundreds of years ago. Out of all the characters he was the one who stood out as the most courageous and showed his heroic traits. Odysseus develops into a hero as he goes through many obstacles, while also showing his leadership qualities, and achieving a set goal no matter how difficult it is.

No one is born a hero, but they can become a hero through all the trials and tribulations they go through in life. The obstacles that Odysseus went through made him more of

The difference between a hero and an average person is that a hero can learn from their mistakes and become a better person. Odysseus made some mistakes through his journey, but as he learned from them, he became a better leader. Leadership is a strong trait for a hero because they have to be smart and someone you can look up to and depend on. When Odysseus told the story of how he left Troy and raided a city even though there was no need to, you might already think that he is not a hero. “There I sacked the city, killed the men, but as for the wives and plunder, that rich haul we dragged away from the place…” (Homer.9.47). Not only was this not hero like, it also shows that he is a bad leader who can’t control his men and does not care about the innocent lives of those in the city. Then, very soon after, when they approached the land of the Lotus eaters, there was a change in Odysseus. His crew went out to the natives to eat the lotus, but once they ate it, they just wanted to linger there and not go home. Odysseus knew that he had to step in as their leader and leave no matter how hard it was. “But I brought them back, back to the hollow ships, and streaming tears- I forced them, hauled them under the rowing benches, lashed them fast and shouted out commands to my other steady comrades,”(Homer.9.110). As their voyage home continues, you can see the crew really depends on Odysseus to get back. They know if something

Even after so many years at sea and obstacle after obstacle, he has only one thing in his mind and it's to get home to Ithaca. A hero must have the determination and the motivation to get their goal because if they don’t, then they won’t get anything done and can’t strive for greatness. For example when Circe warned them by saying, “Leave the beast unharmed, your mind set on home, and you all may still reach Ithaca- bent with hardship true- but harm them in any way, and I can see it now,” (Homer.12.148) as she goes on to explain all the hardships he must go through to get back to Ithaca. Even though Odysseus is now informed of how difficult it will be, he went straight to his ship and told his comrades to set sail quickly. He could have turned around or gave up at any point, but he chose to move forward and try even when the gods were against him. All of this shows that when you have the will to achieve your goal, you will attain it because after it all, even when his entire crew died, Odysseus finally reaches Ithaca. “ Ithaca… heart racing, Odysseus that great exile filled with joy to hear Athena, daughter of storming Zeus , pronounce that name,”(Homer.13.283). He at last gets to stand on native ground after about twenty years. Throughout all that time, even when it seemed like all hope was lost and even some of the gods were against him, he