Odysseus displays many heroic features throughout The Odyssey such as acting selfless and brave. He is well-known for his twenty year long voyage, creating the Trojan Horse, and his heroic actions. The Odyssey describes Odysseus’ long expedition to make it back to Ithaca including all of the setbacks he encounters. This includes all of his interactions with other gods and goddesses who guide him in the right direction with his decisions.
One of the numerous ways Odysseus embodies the characteristics of an epic hero is through his leadership of his men. “I drove them, all three wailing, to the ships tied them down under their rowing benches, and called the rest” (Homer 564). Odysseus leads the group to the ship because the three men who had become addicted to the lotus flowers needed to be tied down. This shows his act of leading because he notices that those men will only slow them down which results in him securing them down to the benches. “My ship? Poseidon Lord, who sets the earth a-tremble, broke it up on the rocks at your land’s end” (Homer 567). He lies to Polyphemus to protect his men. As he lies to Polyphemus, it dodges a possible set back in his trip back to Ithaca. These actions indicate that Odysseus
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“Saying no more, she tipped her golden wand upon the man, making his cloak pure white, and the knit tunic fresh around him” (Homer 596). He has now been transformed into someone who is unrecognizable if they were to question him as Odysseus. The transformation was so effective that Odysseus’ son, Telemachus, could not believe that it was his father. “Stranger, you are no longer what you were just now!” (Homer 596). To Telemachus, Odysseus is a stranger once disguised. This demonstrates the immense power Athena embodies which implies that Odysseus is an epic hero. All of the actions performed are to aid in his continuation of the journey back to