The Odysseus: An Epic Hero

He then asks to attempt the bow, takes his time, and eventually, after being mocked endlessly by the suitors, shoots the arrow perfectly through the sockets. By doing this, he silences the room, but more importantly, proves that he is either the real Odysseus or something that a god is using to trick Penelope and the others. Obstacles as Universal Themes: 1. Justice

If he had not spoken up about how cunning he was or resisted the urge to ridicule Poseidon's son, Odysseus would have made it back to Ithaca much faster and would not have lost six of his men; Odysseus' ease in giving into his irascibility puts him at a considerable disadvantage when returning to Ithaca. Although Odysseus’ kleos has created some obstacles, it also benefits him in subtle

This shows that Odysseus is willing to do anything to protect his men from danger. This shows how Odysseus is fearless because he kills other creatures or severely hurts them to protect the men that he leads. “Odysseus' arrow hit him tinder on the chin and punched up to the feathers through his throat.” (Homer) The quote shows that even if he is outnumbered, he will still fight to protect his land.

Odysseus is described as a god-like man. He is cunning, sly, suave, strong, confident and self-possessed. He accomplishes many great events like that of defeating the Trojans, slaying the suitors and travelling to and back from Hades. When on the beach in Phaeacia he confidently “stalked as a mountain lion exultant in his power strides through wind and rain and his eyes blaze and he charges sheep or oxen or chases wild deer” , and when he sees Nausicaa “He launched in at once, endearing, sly and suave” . Athena found him to be “so winning, so worldly wise, so self possessed!” . Neither does he lack in ingenuity, King Nestor said that “No one...could hope to rival Odysseus, not for sheer cunning–at every twist of strategy he excelled us all” . Odysseus has a large and gallant reputation to fulfil, but when he first makes an appearance in the book he is crying on Calypso’s island. Crying is often seen as a weakness in a man, but this makes Odysseus more endearing as it reveals the labour of his love.

He has loyalty, bravery, and courage. In The Odyssey, Odysseus is very loyal toward his men and will protect or rescue them if necessary. He’s brave and courageous when it comes to fighting and won’t hesitate to act. He’s also very clever. For example, Odysseus outwitted the Cyclops, Polyphemus, by giving a false name to disguise his identity. Amid all these qualities, there are still kinks in Odysseus’s character. His pride becomes evident after his confrontation with the Cyclops, where, after a narrow escape, he wished to bother Polyphemus again. His men had to plead to him, saying, “Godsake, Captain! Why bait the beast again? Let him alone!” Odysseus also struggles with selfish actions. For example, he feasts with Circe instead of rescuing his men first. The temptations got the better of him and in turn led him down the wrong

As we imagine the suitors taking the shortcut to making the bow budge because it was so strong by trying to make the arrow weaker by slathering it in grease and putting it over a fire as opposed to Odysseus who in one motion, to the suitor's surprise, wound up and shot the

This suggests that Odysseus is not a forgiving person and that he will punish anyone who is in the way of his wrath. His uncontrolled anger is a hazard to his life and those around him. Narcissism (hyperephania) is also characterized in the book, and it can allow a person to always have an expectancy for praise and adulation from others, and this can lead a person to think too highly of oneself, when truly one is not able to be compared to that esteem. In “The Cyclops” Odysseus had not told Polyphemus his name, but when he was sure of success, Odysseus proclaimed his name with pride, “...how you were put to shame and blinded, tell him Odysseus, raider of cities, took your eye’ (503-504):” Odysseus once again cannot leave without the cyclops knowing who did this atrocity to him, so that when he gets home people will know his name and of the great things he did. This tells us that Odysseus is a man that needs other people to know his accomplishments and achievements for he himself to feel accomplished. This means that everything that Odysseus does, he will need to receive praise from others, for it to mean

During Odysseus’ wanderings, a change comes over him. A change that is motivated by the immense suffering he brings both on himself and on those around him through his prideful actions. Beginning with the prideful raid on the city of the Cicones and culminating with Odysseus taunting the newly-blinded Polyphemus, Odysseus’ pride heaps more and more suffering upon himself and often kills those around him. Because of this increase in suffering, Odysseus changes. He becomes more humble, more tactful, less of a barbarian and more of a planner; this change can been seen primarily through his diplomatic actions in Phaeacia and his cunning use of Athena’s disguise during his time of testing in his own home.

Zeus and the god have paid you!”(479-480). The way Odysseus handles the thoughts makes us believe that he is trying to make himself seem greater than he really, he is trying to seem like a mighty noble person but in reality he does not care for anyone but himself. This detriment may lead everyone to not trust Odysseus, he may act noble and wise but he really is not and people would catch onto

As he finally outsmarts the cyclops, Polyphemus, he taunts him, letting his pride and anger take over instead of his mind. The narrator recounts, “I called back with another burst of anger, ‘Cyclops — if any man on the face of the earth should ask you who blinded you, shamed you so —say Odysseus, raider of cities, he gouged out your eye, Laertes’ son who makes his home in Ithaca!’” (9. 558-562). Odysseus has the chance to arrive home safely, but instead his emotion leads him to lash out. This results in Poseidon's fury, which is easily avoided. This prolongs his journey by multiple years, which draws out his journey to go back to his family. Once Odysseus finally arrives home, Athena disguises him as a beggar. Not being able to control his anger, when another tramp insults him, they start fighting which he could have abstained from doing. The epic states, “Tongue-lashing each other, tempers flaring” (18. 39). Odysseus could have easily stayed quiet and accepted his inhumane treatment, and yet his emotions take control and he starts a fight. Odysseus reveals himself as a greater threat than he wants them to know, and this causes the suitors to have mass amounts of anger and hatred towards the beggar. With the suitors multiplying fury, Odysseus is withheld of precious time he needed to fulfill his roles as a king again. An exceptionally vast consequence for Odysseus foolhardy actions

As Odysseus, accompanied by his shipmates, set sail, at last from cyclops gruesome hospitality, he yells to the cyclops that if anyone ever asked him who blinded him, he should exclaim, “odysseus, raider of cities, took your eye: Laertes’ son. ”(Homer 504). To this, the cyclops, in hope, exclaims that Odysseus, “lost all companions, and returned under strange sail. ”(Homer 505). This soon conveys Odysseus' boastfulness, leading to humiliation of his actions.

It has been decided that if anyone can pull off Odysseus’s great trick of being able to string a bow, and then shoot an arrow through the holes of twelve ax heads, they will be rewarded handsomely. Of Course, as predicted, no one is able to complete the task, except for one man: “Now flashed arrow twanging bow clean as whistle through every socket ring, and grazed not one, to thud with heavy brazen head beyond.” (book 21, 481-484) the man who finally completes the task is odysseus. This action of stringing the bow, and then firing it perfectly, shows that there is just one man to rule Ithaca. It’s a warning to others of odysseus’s strength and power, even in great age.

During his journey Odysseus used what he has learned from is mistakes to return home and kill the suitors of his wife. On the island of Cicones,and with his encounter with Polyphemus, Odysseus learned that bragging can bring great misfortune. On Ithaca Odysseus never brags to the suitors and is able to enter his house with the Antinous and the other suitors knowing his real identity. He takes the punishment of Antinous and the other suitors without saying a word and is able to see those who have invaded his house. Odysseus is able to see who is loyal and who is not and take his revenge with the suitors never knowing who

While the suitors sat and mocked him, he accomplished the task. Homer uses the epic simile, "Meantime wise Odysseus, when he had handled the great bow and scanned it closely, -even as one well-skilled to play the lyre and sing stretches with ease round its new peg a string, securing at each end the twisted sheep-gut; so without effort did Odysseus string the mighty bow...Great consternation came upon the suitors. All faces then changed color" (210), to describe the moment of honor. This is telling of Odysseus' agility because he saw the perfect timing to overcome the challenge in order to get a roused response from the suitors. This ability to think quickly and see the needs of the moment helps Odysseus seem more powerful than he may actually be.

First, Odysseus and the basileus both share the trait of being skillful.“So effortlessly Odysseus in a motion strung the bow”(Homer 785). In this quote from “The Odyssey”, Homer recognizes the value of Odysseus’ strength and the gallant leader he is. Since the arrogant suitors in “The Odyssey”, could not perform stringing the bow, Odysseus shows that he is the most powerful and men are willing to follow a leader who can perform such an astonishing ability. “A chief who does not show himself a good warrior will find few who are willing to follow his lead”(Pomeroy, Burstein, Donlan, Roberts 4). This