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Odysseus As A Hero In The Odyssey By Homer

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Many have heard the tales of the Trojan War and the men who fought in them, most of which come from Homer's epic, The Odyssey. From these stories, we learn of the hardships many faced returning home after the bloody war. Within the tales, lies a man, whom some call a hero, and others do not. In Homer's epic poem, The Odyssey, the main character Odysseus should be viewed as a hero because he is clever, strong, and perseverant.
Throughout the epic, Odysseus shows great knowledge and cleverness with his ideas and plans. When fighting in the Trojan War, he came up with the brilliant plan of the Trojan Horse. This ingenious plan consisted of his army hiding in a giant wooden horse. They left one of their men to act like he was left behind with the …show more content…

The first example of his strength comes when he was sailing off the island of Ogygia. Poseidon, angered by Odysseus’s freedom, unleashed an awful storm with massive waves. Odysseus did not just let himself drown. He fought the waves and held on with every last part of his huge biceps to the wood of his destroyed boat. With the help of goddess, Odysseus was able to reach a shoreline. When he was back at Ithaca near the end of his journey, he was put up against the enormous Irus. Disguised as an old homeless man, everyone expected Irus to win. However, it was still Odysseus. With one punch, he knocked the 400 pound man onto his back. It takes incredible strength to do that. Another time, when his men ate the sacred cattle of Helios, a wicked storm was set upon their ship. Odysseus was casted into the sea, where he had to swim as fast as he could so he would not get sucked into the sea’s swallowing mouth. He found a tree on one of the rocks. For countless hours, he held on to the branch while waves continuously smashed against him. Not only did he have physical strength, but also mental strength not to let go and die. It is almost as if for those years that his back was continuously against the wall. He could of easily died, but he kept going. Odysseus shows great heroism for leading himself and his men through the countless struggles he faced. His physical and mental strength would help him with perseverance through his

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His strengths were many, such as his literal strength, such as physical, which enabled him to fight for so long at Troy and the 10 years after whilst he was trying to reach Ithaca. Other strengths included his mental strength, which helped him outsmart the cyclops Polyphemos and escape his island. Odysseus’ weaknesses, however, proved to take position over his strengths at times. An example of this is when he stayed with the witch Circe for 5 years and slept with her during his stay, even after the original plan for his men’s physical release form their animal form was over. Odysseus’ physical desires took over for those 5 years, and again on Calypso’s island 3 years later.

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He has to overcome his foes and his environment. In the cavern with the cyclops, Odysseus must fight to survive. He and his men have to use wit and strategy to escape the cave. After the first attack on his men Odysseus knew he would need to develop a plan to survive. Odysseus and his men are put in danger as they encounter their foe:“Neither reply nor pity came from him, but in one stride he clutched at my companions and caught two in his hands like squirming puppies to beat their brains out, spattering the floor” (Homer 903).

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Ethan Pfeiffle Mr. Kawel ENGL 2 February 21, 2023 Working title This paper will be about how Odysseus became a hero and the obstacles he faced during his journey home, and how my choice text “Long way down” compares with the Odyssey. This essay comes from the odyssey written in the 7th century BC by Homer. Before he was lost at sea and missing for 10 years he was a war hero, he is the one who won the trojan war for the greeks with his genius idea of the trojan horse where they made a hollow horse that they stuffed warriors into and they gave it to the trojans as peace gift but after they celebrated and got drunk and fell asleep the warriors came out and opened the gates to troy and they killed all of the trojans and won the war.

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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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