Odysseus As An Epic Hero In Homer's Odyssey

In the book The Odyssey by Homer, The character Odysseus is one of the greek heros in this book. He is known as a great hero, because he manages to get through all of these dangerous mission such as : First odysseus makes it alive after travelling for ten years and facing different and more difficult challenges. Odyssey faces dangerous creatures and people.

Often through great literature, there is an epic hero. In the Odyssey, Homer tells the journey of one man’s journey home from the Trojan War. The protagonist of the epic poem Odysseus is often regarded as a great hero. However, Odysseus is not quite the glorious soldier that people often see him as. Odysseus disproves his title of a hero through his pride, his disloyalty, and his bloodthirstiness.

Robert Green Ingersoll defines heroism as, “when the will defies fear, when duty throws the gauntlet down to fate, when honor scorns to compromise with death” (Website). During The Odyssey, various steps of Odysseus’ hero’s journey promote behavior which exemplifies such traits. His experience in this process catalyzes personal advancement as he metamorphoses into an intelligent yet humble hero who is able to defy fear, challenge fate, and confront the will of the gods. Without such events, he would not qualify as an epic hero as he would have never gained the traits necessary to achieve this status. In Homer’s The Odyssey, Odysseus develops as an epic hero through stages of his hero’s journey including challenges at the hands of Poseidon following a display of hubris, displays of humility before the Phaeacians, and personal restraint upon return to Ithaca.

Christopher Reeve once said, “A hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles.” The great epic, The Odyssey by Homer reveals the courageous, daring life of Odysseus, as he travels from his victory in Troy to his home in Ithaca. Throughout the journey, Odysseus reveals his heroic traits of intelligence, skill, and resourcefulness.

Heroes are often thought of as great figures that conquer evil, kill the monster, and save the day. Odysseus is often referred to as a hero. He is a strong individual striving to complete his goal, return to his wife and son and remove suitors that have taken his home. Although he is seen as a hero by definition and he appears to be one as well there are decisions he made that may not be truly heroic. In The Odyssey by Homer, Odysseus decisions to value his crew's life, and completing and being victorious through hard challenges makes him an epic hero. Odysseus saving his crew and competing his goal makes him a hero.

An example of Odysseus’s cleverness in The Odyssey occurs when the crew and Odysseus are trapped in the cave with Polyphemus. Polyphemus asks Odysseus what his name is and Odysseus tells him, “Nobody-that's my name” (12.410). This is clever of Odysseus because when he stabs him in the eye, Polyphemus screams that nobody is killing him and the other cyclops don’t come to help. Odysseus also puts his cleverness on display when he tells the crew only he was to hear the sirens. He tells the crew, “I alone was to hear the voices” (12.174) even though Circe never singled him out. By deceiving the crew, Odysseus avoids potential uproars from the members of his crew about wanting to hear the sirens as well. The cleverness is Odysseus’s personality is again shown in Ithaca when he is disguised as an old man to find out who is loyal to him. Odysseus’s body was covered, “top to toe with the wrinkled hide of an old man” (P. 300, L. 494-495). By doing this Odysseus can tell which members of his staff are loyal or disloyal to him without much effort. The traits that make Odysseus a hero can also be found in many of the people we believe are heroes

Throughout childhood, children grow up with a personal hero, whether it be Batman or a simple role model. In Homer’s epic, The Odyssey, the character Odysseus appears as a Greek hero to the reader. Odysseus stands out as a bold character due to his unique qualities that make him different from the other characters. Intelligence, bravery, and confidence shape Odysseus, the hero character in Homer’s epic.

Wade Davis, an author, photographer, and explorer for National Geographic, describes an ideal hero as being “never perfect, but they're brave, they're authentic, they're courageous, determined, discreet, and they've got grit.” Odysseus is the protagonist in Homer’s epic, The Odyssey, and demonstrates the bravery and determination contained in Davis’ definition. He successfully fought beside other Greek heroes in the Trojan War and now attempts to return to his kingdom in Ithaca being away from home for twenty years. Odysseus should be considered a hero because he portrays essential heroic characteristics such as bravery and determination.

As he continues with his journey, he encounters many challenges and dangers to prove his intelligence. One challenge he comes across is when he and his men needed to escape Polyphemus’ cave. Odysseus used his intelligence by strapping himself and his men to the bellies of the cyclops’ sheep. As quoted from the book, Odysseus describes the situation, “I took the woolliest ram, the choicest of the flock, and hung myself under his kinky belly, pulled up right, with fingers twisted deep in sheepskin, ringlets for an iron grip. So, breathing hard, we waiting until morning” (Beers and Odell 767). Another example of his intelligence is when he introduces himself as “Nohbody” to the cyclops Polyphemus. This is so the other cyclopes do not come running when he blinds him. As quoted from the book, “My name is Nohbody: mother, father, and friends, everyone calls me Nohbody” (Beers and Odell 765). Odysseus and his men escaped

home, he did not suspect his wife to kill him. Through this grievance, Agamemnon warns Odysseus of what may await him in Ithaca and reminds him that no man is above the spite of others; more specifically, Agamemnon warns Odysseus of the possibility that his wife may plot against him in his absence. “‘Say not a word,’ he answered, ‘in death’s favour; I would rather be a paid servant in a poor man’s house and be above ground than king among kings of the dead’” (157). Achilles, the best of the Achaeans, expresses his regret to Odysseus; he wishes that he had chosen a long and peaceful life without glory rather than one of immortal greatness in the battlefield. Odysseus must confront that the war is truly over. No longer does any past heroism matter

“Hard times don't create heroes. It is during the hard times when the 'hero' within us is revealed.” -Bob Riley. During Odysseus’s travels, his heroic actions also lead way to questionable acts that makes us ask if Odysseus is really a hero. Well he is; no normal man could survive the journey that he took, as shown by his entire crew who died along the way back home. However, through these hard times, the true ‘hero’ inside of Odysseus is shown. In “The Odyssey”, Odysseus is a flawed hero that shows heroic actions and deeds do not always represent a good and righteous character.

For instance, when the drunk Cyclops asked Odysseus for his name moments before his eye was going to be pierced, Odysseus replied, “You ask my honorable name… My name is Nohbdy: mother,father, friends, everyone calls me Nohbdy.” (108, Mandelbaum) This shows us that Odysseus knew by saying his name was “Nohbdy”, it would allow them escape the cave scratch-free. In addition to escaping the cave easily, Odysseus’s cleverness allowed for him and his men to be undetected by the other Cyclopes as well.

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

For example, in book nine, when asked by the terrifying Cyclopes who he is, Odysseus replies “‘My name is Nohbody: mother, father, and friends/ everyone calls me Nohbody’” (273-274). Rather than giving away his identity, Odysseus uses his brilliance to appear as a person of no importance, and fools the Cyclops of who he really is. He also secures safety of his family and crew by not giving away his name. His intelligence is further shown later in the story when a plan made by Odysseus succeeds and the Cyclops calls for help from his neighboring Cyclopes, the others never come because the Cyclops claims he was hurt by Nohbody. Another scenario where his intellect was shown was in an effort to shield his crew from the persuasive voices of the Sirens, Odysseus tells the reader “I carried wax along the line and laid it/ thick on their ears” (43-44). After being warned of the Siren’s powerful voices, he wanted to help his men in a clever way, not only proving himself as a worthy leader, also proving himself a wise man. This one example also shows how Odysseus is quick on his feet, and is able to think outside of the box, another sign of intelligence. As his ship is quickly approaching the Sirens he is able to devise a strategy to avoid persuasion. Throughout the story, Odysseus shows his wit time and time again, making him an extremely intelligent

Odysseus is an epic hero during the time of the Ancient Greek and every obstacle that was thrown at him he was able to be victorious. Heros in today’s world are similar to how they were before, but how they would handle or deal with the situation was different. Odysseus is a man of his words going up and beyond to solve the problem and if a fight was necessary thats what would happen. Now a days heros do not try going away to deal with the problem, having excuse after another to avoid the enemy. Heros have different definitions throughout the years as they pass, but Odysseus fits the criterion of a hero. Hero's do whatever is necessary to get the job done making sure no one gets left behind.