Is Odysseus A True Hero

In The Odyssey, Odysseus sails from his home island of Ithaca, Greece, to Troy. (modern day Turkey) His army and him defeat Troy with a tactful strategy, then leave for home. On the voyage home, Odysseus makes many mistakes like conceitedly setting up camp in a cyclops cave, sending his men to meet the Lotus Eaters, and disappointing the gods by stealing food from the land of the Cicones. But Odysseus makes up for his mistakes by saving his men from Circe. He also sacrifices his

     Odysseus: a hero in every way. He is a real man, skilled in the sports, handy with a sword and spear, and a master of war strategy. Most of the challenges and adventures in his return voyage from Troy show us this even if we had no idea of his great heroic stature and accomplishments in the Trojan war. I found in my reading of the Odyssey that most of the trials the gods place upon him are readily faced with heroic means. These challenges are not

Odysseus is the leader of his men and it is his job to return them home safely. They look up to Odysseus and follow him, whether they believe he has made the right or wrong decision. When Odysseus and his men are stuck with the cyclops it is Odysseus that comes up with the plan to save them. Odysseus is smart and is favored by Athena and as such, Athena helps him devise a plan. One time when Odysseus’ men do not seek his advice they make a mistake and it costs them on their journey. “While Odysseus is sleeping the men open the bag, thinking it contains gold and silver. The bad winds thus escape and blow the ships back to Aeolus’ island.” “Book Ten, Page 916.” The quote shows that the men need Odysseus there to help them and that without him Odysseus men make stupid decisions. Because the men opened the bag Aeolus did not help them again, he believed that their voyage was cursed.

across a nymph called Circe. Circe and Odysseus start to argue because Circe turns his men

Fictional heroes are in shows, movies and books. No matter what we watch or read at the end, we realize that these heroes became heroes by improving themselves emotionally and helping others out of the goodness in their hearts. Many people argue that Odysseus is not hero but considering the things he does through his journey his characteristics began to show a little of his heroic side. In The Wanderings of Odysseus from the Odyssey a epic poem by Homer, Odysseus is on his way back to Ithaca his home island after winning the ten year old Trojan War to come see his wife, Penelope and his son, Telemachus. The journey to home takes a very unexpected turn for Odysseus and his men. Odysseus is challenged with many obstacles that show his good and bad characteristics. He faces monsters like Scylla, Charybdis and Cyclopes. He also deals with gods and goddess like Poseidon and Circe.

When confronted with temptation by the sirens, Odysseus makes his men plug their ears, but he keeps his unplugged so he can hear them. That was an unnecessary risk taken for his own self befit that could have caused tremendous trouble to himself and his crew. Another example of Odysseus’s egotistical ways is when he was sailing away from the Cyclops lair. He was in the clear after using his cunningness and telling the Cyclops his name was nobodys, when he declared he was Odysseus of Ithaka. He rubbed his victory in the cyclops face and cherishes his name like gold. Odysseus’s egotistical oppose his heroism and negatively affect his

In The Odyssey, Homer was a good hero, but what makes him a good hero? In the poem, The Odyssey, the Greek poet Homer demonstrates he was a good hero in multiple ways. Odysseus went to thirteen different places on his journey, but his goal was to get back to Ithaca. The Odyssey took place in 650 B.C. and Odysseus had plenty of wars that he didn’t let influence his plan. In the poem, Homer went to fight the Trojans and his intention was just to go home, but the Cyclops, lotus flowers, and extensive other obstacles persuade in his way. Odysseus showed he was smart, a risk-taker, and loyal to his men and people, which is what made him a good hero.

One of the reasons Odysseus is not a heroic figure is because he destroys people's homes. There are many examples in the story when Odysseus has destroyed other people's home. For example, “No man is nameless- no man, good or bad, but gets a name in

In Homer’s epic poem, The Odyssey, a war hero named Odysseus spends ten years attempting to return home to his family. During his journey, Odysseus faces many challenges that test both his courage and commitment to his wife, Penelope, and his son, Telemachus. He must fight off both physical challenges, like monsters, as well as the emotional challenges of temptation. Throughout the course of the poem, Odysseus makes choices that can be considered good or bad, depending on what traits a society values. Due to the cultural differences between the Ancient Greek world and modern American society, it may be difficult to determine whether Odysseus should be considered a hero or not. Some of these lines are not entirely clear, especially when it comes

Odysseus’ second and arguably most crucial display of intelligence takes place on the island of the cyclopes, home to Polyphemus, in Polyphemus’ cave. Due to his great intelligence Odysseus was able to foresee the coming of the cyclopes upon blinding the great Polyphemus. So prior to doing so, he came up with a brilliant plan, as seen in this quote: “My

Odysseus proves to be the most heroic character throughout The Odyssey by Homer. In an ancient world of beast, monsters, and magic. Odysseus king of Ithaca is called to war to capture Troy only to be cursed by Poseidon, god of the oceans, When he claims that he, a man won the war with no help by the gods. Even though Multiple gods helped him conquer Troy. With that said, his punishment is to be lost at sea, and he and his crew sail or drift from island to island fighting men, monsters, witches, and even gods, all in an effort to get home. That’s why throughout this epic poem, In good times and bad Odysseus is a very heroic figure

In the book, "The One Eyed Giant's Cave "written by homer, Odysseus the main character shows how heroic and brave he was. He was an adventurous character, who had his mind set on what he wanted. He travel across seas with his men all way to Ismarus, city. This was a very risky trip because this place had been known for millions of cyclones. Odysseus knew it wasn’t going to be easy but he was very strong heroic and brave. During the trip many things occurred. They were on their way home when they hit a huge storm taking them three hours in the wrong direction. Before they realized they had already been in the island of Lotus. The native had offered fresh nice looking fruit to Odysseus and his men. They thought the fruit was delicious and they

Some people say that Odysseus is not a hero because he's selfish and makes foolish decisions but he made courageous decisions throughout their journey and he kept them alive. He doesn't let anything stop him. He saves his men when they're turned into animals, he doesn't leave any of his men behind. On the Island of the Lotus Eaters, Odysseus and his men were there for five years but all of them got away together.

Odysseus is very intelligent and quick-minded in many dangerous situations. For example, when he was sailing back from Troy he mentions to his men while plundering Ismarus, “Back, and quickly! Out to sea again!" (Homer 993). In the situation while plundering this stronghold, he warns his men not to be greedy and that the fight is not over till it is over. This displays how wise Odysseus is and that he has a smart mind. Additionally, Odysseus shows some quick thinking in the encounter with the Cyclops as, "My name is Nohbdy: mother, father, and friends, everyone calls me Nohbdy" (999). Even Odysseus is upset, he can still remain calm and vigilant. While he was in Polyphemus’s cave, he is quick enough to confuse and trick the Cyclops so that when he screams out that Nohbdy had ruined and attacked him, none of the other Cyclops’s will come to his aid. Finally, in some situations Odysseus was having hard times to control his men yet he continually maintained his determination to get his crew and himself back to Ithaca. This

In the epic poem, The Odyssey by Homer, Odysseus goes on a harrowing journey to return home to Ithaka. Many people believe that throughout the Odyssey, Odysseus goes through a journey to become a hero. Odysseus does go through the stations of the hero’s journey, but he also does not have all the characteristics that would define someone as a true hero. Due to disrespect to the people affiliated with him, poor leadership, and cruelty, Odysseus does not earn the title of a true hero.