ipl-logo

Odysseus Is A Hero Essay

538 Words3 Pages

Is Odysseus a Hero? What is an epic hero? One must first ask this question before classifying Odysseus in this way. An epic hero is certainly of cultural significance. He or she must possess many characteristics that make them good leader, one who can affectively execute operations using these very traits. Unfortunately, along with these benefits they must be flawed (hubris). With his incredible courage and his unmatched wisdom, King Odysseus has been equipped with many great qualities. Sure Odysseus’ arrogance may take up the better half of his personality, but underneath his tough, self loving shell is a great leader. One well deserving of the title hero. Perhaps Odysseus’ most present characteristic is his bravery. He possesses tremendous courage which may possibly be considered to be a flaw. Simply embarking on this journey took a lot of guts. He did not know when or if he would return home. And then he continued to fight and fight hard. The mighty land of Troy he conquered! “What of my sailing then from Troy?” (Homer 1047). He was unstoppable, and to the readers knowledge, not a single shadow of a doubt entered his mind in the battle. This …show more content…

Odysseus’ has been know to, on numerous occasions, be able to get out of predicaments with nothing but his mind. Perhaps the most famous example of this is in his encounter with the cyclopes. Him and his men were trapped in a cave with this mighty, human hungry beast. Never could they conquer him physically. What Odysseus did was simply genius. When asked for his name he responded by saying “My name is Nohbdy: mother, father, and friends./ everyone calls me Nohbdy” (Homer 670). He then managed to get the giant to fall asleep from drunkenness. After blinding the beast the cyclops arose screaming in pain “Nohbdy has blinded me!” A brilliant plan executed perfectly. This was just one example of the wisdom Odysseus’

Show More
Related
806 Words | 4 Pages

When Odysseus was stuck in the Cyclops cave with his men, he tricked the Cyclops into thinking his ship was destroyed. By saying “‘My ship? Poseidon Lord, who sets the earth atremble, broke it up on the rocks at your land’s end” (9. 273-274), he prevented the Cyclops from thinking about attacking the ship. This statement shows he was thinking ahead and using his intelligence and cleverness to keep them safe. When the Cyclops asks who he was, he said his name was “Nohbdy” (9. 360-361).

Read More
820 Words | 4 Pages

Under the threat of death or injury, a clear head and quick thinking is essential in how successful a plan will be. When facing Polyphemus the Cyclops, he is forced to save himself and 12 of his men from death. Before attacking the Cyclops, Odysseus is smart enough to respond with, “My name is Nobhdy… / everyone calls me Nobhdy” (274-275), when asked his name. This later tricks the Cyclops to call out for help, claiming “Nobhdy’s tricked [him}” (317), without releasing he sounds crazy, and Odysseus remains unidentified. This shows how cunning he is and how he thinks on his feet to benefit himself and his crew.

Read More
602 Words | 3 Pages

In the epic tale The Odyssey by Homer, we are introduced to Odysseus, King of Ithaca. Odysseus is on a journey to get back to his wife and son. Throughout his journey, he runs into many challenges that attempt to stop him from getting reaching his destination. We learn about many of his traits as we travel with him on his journey. When he finally reaches home all of his traits become clear: his strength, arrogance, wit, charm, and courage.

Read More
1041 Words | 5 Pages

These points may come off as bad traits as a person, but as a leader they got the job done. On a journey that was extremely dangerous and risky, his cold-heartedness came in handy. The death of the people on his crew was inevitable, and Odysseus was able to keep a level head throughout the continuous losses. He was not afraid to sacrifice some of his men in order to reach his goal, and that allowed for him to make more daring plans. When Odysseus had tied all of his men under different sheep, he made sure to save the largest sheep for himself.

Read More
1177 Words | 5 Pages

However, examples within the literary narrative of the Odyssey leaves the discussion open with regards to his leadership. Thus, the question of leadership supersedes the topic of Arete. Was Odysseus the ideal leader or did he portray undesirable leadership tendencies? The examples that will presented will illustrate that Odysseus hubris, risk taking prowess, and at times unwillingness to follow instructions often placed his crew in danger as he journeyed Ithaca.

Read More
500 Words | 2 Pages

In addition, when the cyclops asks Odysseus for his name he responds

Read More
752 Words | 4 Pages

Jason Sierra Professor Williams 5 October 2014 Word Count: 752 Odysseus: An Epic Hero The definition of a hero is a person with supernatural abilities at performing specific tasks that normal people cannot typically achieve. In the epic poem called “The Odyssey” written by a poet named Homer, there is a character named Odysseus who contains these characteristics.

Read More
570 Words | 3 Pages

The concept of hero has been interpreted in many ways throughout the ages. Hero have gone from knights slaying dragons and rescuing the princess, to heroes who save the world with their supernatural-like powers, to a modern day hero who is someone who has noble qualities and is regarded as a role model. In the epic, The Odyssey, by Robert Fagles, the heroic Odysseus is a well known in Greek mythology. However, although Odysseus is the most respected, honorable hero of Greek mythology he is not a modern hero. A modern day hero is someone who puts their life on the line to save the lives of other innocent people.

Read More
338 Words | 2 Pages

The main character Odysseus is often portrayed as an epic hero. An epic hero is typically found to be a larger-than-life figure who goes on a journey and faces many challenges along the way, ultimately returning home as a changed and better person. One example of Odysseus displaying the characteristics of an epic hero is when he faces the Cyclops Polyphemus. "But resourceful Odysseus, his mind spinning with plans, replied with guile: 'My name is Nobody: mother, father, friends, everyone calls me Nobody'"

Read More
450 Words | 2 Pages

His first trait is being exceptionally skilled continued with cleverness and bravery. Despite Odysseus’s challenges he proves himself a hero because of the actions that show him as skilled, clever and brave. Odysseus is exceptionally skilled in many ways aiding him from each challenge to the next. When Odysseus is trapped in the cave with the Cyclops he decides to us his skills to make a stake to blind the monster, “[He] hewed [the stake] again to make a stake with a point at the end.” (Homer.

Read More
831 Words | 4 Pages

Well the definition of an epic hero is, “a brave and noble character in an epic poem, admired for great achievements or affected by grand events. ”(Dictionary.com) If that doesn’t describe Odysseus, I don’t know what does. He risks his life in many circumstances, and he’s widely admired for being the one of the reasons the trojans won the war. He is also affected by lots of events throughout his adventures.

Read More
574 Words | 3 Pages

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.

Read More
761 Words | 4 Pages

In the quote, “My name is Nohbdy: mother, father, and friends, everyone calls me Nohbdy,” (lines 360-361) Odysseus and his men have just gotten Polyphemus drunk and Polyphemus asks Odysseus what his name is. This quote is important because it shows Odysseus being clever when he told Polyphemus his name was Nohbdy. This quote illustrates Odysseus being a good leader by using his cleverness and not telling Polyphemus his real name to protect his men and himself. Also, in the quote, “I drew on all my wits, and ran through tactics, reasoning as a man will for dear life, until a trick came-and it pleased me well. The cyclop’s rams were handsome, fat, with heavy fleeces, a dark violet.

Read More
541 Words | 3 Pages

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

Read More
1058 Words | 5 Pages

The Epic Hero of The Odyssey The Odyssey is a tale of a great hero trying to get home. An epic hero. An epic hero is a courageous and honorable person. Homer’s character Odysseus exemplifies this in many ways.

Read More

More about Odysseus Is A Hero Essay

Related Topics

Open Document