The Qualities Of Odysseus In Homer's The Odyssey

The Odyssey is the first story of a hero’s journey, where the hero uses strength, courage, and bravery to accomplish his goals or overcome evil forces. Homer's message is that Odysseus is a man who must overcome his own base nature of arrogance, impatience, and naivety. In The Iliad and the beginning of The Odyssey, Odysseus posses these qualities. But by the end of The Odyssey, Odysseus grows to become an epic hero. r who is humble, patient, and less naive of the god’s hidden agendas.

Odysseus grows throughout his journey by becoming selfless and humble, two important qualities of an epic hero. At the start of his journey, Odysseus is arrogant, selfish, and impatient. He displays these qualities when he forcefully persuades his men into

Even after escaping the cave by blinding the monster, Odysseus invites trouble by boasting, “Kyklops, if ever mortal men inquire how you were put to shame and blinded, tell him Odysseus, raider of cities took your eye: Laërtês’ son whose home’s on Ithaka!” (Book Ⅸ, Lines 548-552). Rather than regretting, Odysseus continues to be arrogant and selfish, despite the consequences that may come from his actions. He craves the glory that is awarded to those who defeat a monster, so Odysseus quickly takes credit for his deed, without thinking of the repercussions that could come if he reveals his name. In spite of these early faults, as Odysseus continues his journey, he learns self-control and humbleness. When Odysseus returns home to Ithaka, he is disguised a beggar. At one point he is mocked mercilessly by his

Odysseus’ struggles were also mentioned in Homer’s Iliad, when he was eager to please the gods without thinking of the ulterior motives they may have. In the poem, when Odysseus is sitting apart from his crew while they load their retreating ships, Athena urges Odysseus to take a different path. She says, “Don’t delay: pass through the ranks of the Achaeans; restrain them with your gentle eloquence, don’t let them launch their curved ships on the sea.’ At the sound of her voice he knew the goddess, and casting off his cloak for his Ithacan squire, Eurybates, to gather, he set off at a run” (Iliad, Ⅱ). Despite not wanting to fight in the Trojan War any longer, Odysseus blindly follows her orders without thinking of his men or her ulterior motives. Odysseus would rather be glorified by the gods for doing their bidding rather than doing what is best for his men. However, as his journey progresses, Odysseus learns from his experiences with the devious gods because they have tricked him many times before. He begins to think and do what is best from his perspective. When Odysseus is finally released by Kalypso and set afloat on a raft to sail to Ithaka, Poseidon creates a storm to knock him into the sea. While Odysseus struggles to stay on the raft, the Nereid Ino encourages him to swim to the nearby island of Skería. Frustrated Odysseus replies, “O damned confusion! Can this be a