Traits Of Odysseus As An Epic Hero

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An epic hero is a larger-than-life person who embodies the traits that the culture values. Odysseus is an epic hero. Learning a lesson that makes him a better person than he was before his journey. Odysseus is a warrior, he takes a long journey, and the way is never clear to him. These are all traits of an epic hero.
For instance, Odysseus being a fighter contributes to him becoming a better person. There is always an end to a quarrel where either someone gets hurt, dies, or there is a resolution. Though someone in that quarrel continuously learns something for future reference. For Odysseus, it is when he goes to the island where the sirens are. Circe tells him to go to the underworld to find the prophecy, but Odysseus wonders what the siren's beautiful song sounded like, (Homer 11. background). Odysseus, being an adventurer, wants to explore the great unknown. The siren song is a rare sound to people's ears, without them going away. So being Odysseus, he went, according to the text Odysseus states about the sirens, “The lovely voices in ador appealing over the water made me crave to listen, and I tried to say ‘untie me' to the crew, jerking my brows; but they bet …show more content…

Odysseus goes on his adventure for 20 years or more. ”Odysseus arrives in Ithaca after an absence of 20 years.…”(Homer 16. Background). Imagine being away from home for twenty years. Many things change over time, for when Odysseus gets home, he sees how much he was affected after he left. According to the text, “Abandoned there, and half destroyed with flies, old Argus lay.” (Homer 17. 1175- 1176). This evidence does not just talk about Argus, Odysseus’ dog; it talks about the kingdom's state. Along his long journey, he learns he can be full of himself. For after the Trojan war, Odysseus had the opportunity to sail straight home. That wasn’t content with him, so he decided to continue his