ipl-logo

Odysseus As A True Hero In Homer's Odyssey

834 Words4 Pages

According to Zeus “A true hero isn’t measured by the size of his strength, but by the strength of his HEART.” In the Odyssey, Odysseus tries to get home to his wife and son, but he always seems to get set back. Along the way, Odysseus faces obstacles on his journey home. Odysseus shows he is a hero throughout the story when he saves his crew from the Cyclops, he makes sure his crew doesn’t die from the Siren’s songs, and he had the favor of Zeus against the men he fought for his kingdom, highlighting that he was the hero in Zeus’ eyes. Odysseus having the favor of Zeus is a big deal because he taught good meaning, Odysseus is a hero. Early on in his journey, Odysseus shows he is a hero when he saves his men by coming up with a clever plan to …show more content…

I drew it from the coals and my four fellows gave me a hand, lugging it near the Cyclops as more than natural force nerved them; straight forward they sprinted, lifted it, and rammed it deep in his crater eye, and I leaned on it turning it as a shipwright turns a drill in planking, having men below to swing the two handled strap that spins it in the groove” (Homer 9.280-295). This emphasizes how Odysseus’ leadership helped save them by keeping their courage up to drive the pike in the Cyclops’ …show more content…

After landing on the Island Aeaea, Odysseus discovers that Circe has doomed his men with magic, turning them into pigs from Eurylochus’ lips. Odysseus heroically goes to save his men, despite Eurylochus’ fear. He then runs into Hermes, who is a hero also who supports Odysseus with a plant that allows him not to be protected by Circe’s power. He threatens to kill Circe after she offers him a magic drink that doesn’t affect him and she turns his men back to men but puts them in a trance and later she allows them to go after a year but first they must visit the land of the dead, “Circe gives Odysseus a magic drink, but it does not affect him and he threatens to kill her with his sword. Circe turns the pigs back to men, but puts them all into a trance. They stay for one year, until Odysseus finally begs her to let them go home. She replies that they must first visit the land of the head and hear a prophecy from the ghost of Tiresias” (Homer 10.45). This shows that Odysseus was willing to risk his life to save his men despite the fear of Eurylochus and shows how he saved his crew once more from a horrible

Show More
Related
580 Words | 3 Pages

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.

Read More
463 Words | 2 Pages

“Nohbdy that's my name Nohbdy so my mother and my father call me all my friends”. When Odysseus says this it's a plan because Odysseus and his men blind the Cyclops, but when the Cyclops calls to his friends he's going to say nobody hurt me so his friends won't believe him and think he's messing with them. There are many ways Odysseus is a hero but this example shows his intelligence and his Larger than Life quality which makes him the hero he is.

Read More
452 Words | 2 Pages

Throughout the story, Odysseus has to find a way to bring his crewmates and him back home safely. Eventually, he returns back home and sees his family. Although some may claim that Odysseus is not a hero, he should be considered one due to his bravery and cleverness. Throughout the story, Odysseus proves he is a hero through his unwavering bravery.

Read More
465 Words | 2 Pages

It also proves that he thinks that he is a better person than everyone else. Some people may argue that Odysseus is a hero. There is evidence of this when he is trapped on the island of the Cyclops. It is shown that he is a hero when he says “I drew it from the coals and my four fellows gave me a hand, lugging it near the Cyclops as more than natural force nerved them; straight forward they sprinted, lifted it, and rammed it deep in his crater eye.” (9,

Read More
992 Words | 4 Pages

These lines say, “I drew it from the coals and my four fellows gave me a hand, lugging it near the Cyclops as more than natural force nerved them; straight forward they sprinted, lifted it, and rammed it deep in his crater eye” (Homer 329-332). Showing courage in these lines, Odysseus and his men pierced Polyphemus’ eye knowing they could be killed while the action is being done. They follow through with the dangerous plan, for the chance to escape his cave. With these two examples odysseus shows great courage for him and his men, in the face of terrible

Read More
533 Words | 3 Pages

Odysseus tells his men to stay by the ship while he and others go to explore the Cyclop's home, which is a grave mistake. Many consider Odysseus not a hero for this very reason as he dealt with the cyclopes poorly but he survived using his cunningness. For example, despite his men’s worry, he decides to stay inside the Cyclops cave expecting a gift. While that was an awful choice, he made up for it with his cunningness. Odysseus said, “It would have been indeed better if we had done so

Read More
526 Words | 3 Pages

In The Odyssey by Homer, Odysseus should be considered a hero! Odysseus has done more good deeds than bad deeds throughout the years of the Odyssey. Odysseus has saved lives more than he has taken them for no good reason. Odysseus has honored people more than dishonored people. Today’s hero code is completely different than in Odysseus’s time.

Read More
681 Words | 3 Pages

A hero to most people is someone who has risked or sacrificed his life for others. Odysseus often displays himself as being physically and mentally capable of withholding cleverness, courage and strength. This is why Odysseus is a hero. Odysseus oversees those who seek him dead and remains truthful for his goal of getting back home. Odysseus shows cleverness in tricking the Cyclops, having courage in braving the sea and having the strength to face a thousand chances to surrender and never giving up.

Read More
865 Words | 4 Pages

In The Odyssey Homer makes Odysseus’ journey to his beloved Ithaca excruciating. Odysseus encounters many friends and foes throughout his journey and has to be a leader throughout his experiences. As an example, he encounters Polyphemus and Poseidon, both of whom make his journey mentally and physically painful. Odysseus faces countless scenarios in which he has to save multiple people in those situations. He also encounters the suitors, who are a group of men that try to marry Penelope, when he returns to reclaim his home.

Read More
619 Words | 3 Pages

In conclusion, Odysseus is obviously a hero. He is brave, and admired by almost everybody for his great achievements. He fights in war, deals with gods, fights monsters, and he also has to help his men. If he wasn’t brave, then he would have never made it home. Being admired also helped him.

Read More
852 Words | 4 Pages

Hoisting high that olive stake with its stabbing point, straight into the monster’s eye they rammed it hard” (422-428). According to this, it shares how Odysseus leads his men into sphereing the Cyclops' eyes. Throughout the story, he leads his men to survival. During the Odyssey, Odysseus shows leadership while overcoming obstacles with him and his men. To follow up with this, Odysseus also shows he is heroic due to his trait of being brave and strong.

Read More
500 Words | 2 Pages

I think Odysseus is heroic because of his characteristics that he has. One of the reasons I find him heroic is his intelligence. He uses his intelligence to get out of sticky situations. Just like when him and his shipmates got stuck inside the Cyclops's cave. He used his intelligence to figure out a way to get him and his shipmates out of the cave.

Read More
409 Words | 2 Pages

First, Odysseus was not a hero because he was cold hearted and a selfish man. He basically did anything that he could to get home. He had killed many people. 1 SENTENCE HERE. He only cared about himself and no one else, not even his own men.

Read More
524 Words | 3 Pages

Some think Odysseus is a hero for many reasons, mainly because he helps many people including his family and his crew. Even when terrible things happen to him and his crew he perseveres and continues on his journey home. Even though Odysseus and his men do bad things like eating the sun god’s cattle there still are many reasons why he is a hero. One reason to support my claim is that he saves his crew many times. One example is when they sailed by the Sirens.

Read More
541 Words | 3 Pages

Odysseus is an epic hero because of his bravery and confidence during every obstacle throughout his journey In Part 1 whie Odysseus is about to come across cyclops cave, he says “I brought along and victuals in a bag, for in my bones I knew some towering brute would be upon so soon- all outward power, a wild man, ignorant of civility. “ Odysseus is showing his bravery of not being petrified of what he might come across, like the cyclops. Odysseus has no intention of harming them, but he is not sure what their intention is. This example is important because not only does it show confidence in himself, he also shows confidence in his men. In Part 2 Odysseus also shows his confidence in his men in part 2 where Eurylochus says, “Are you flesh and blood, Odysseus, to endure more than a man can?

Read More

More about Odysseus As A True Hero In Homer's Odyssey

Open Document