Is Odysseus a Hero?
What makes someone a hero? Is it the adventures they go on, the traits they possess, or how popular they are? In The Odyssey, Odysseus embarks on one huge adventure to save his people, but barely gets back home. The struggles on this journey have proved whether Odysseus is in fact a hero, or just a fool who got lucky. Although literary scholars of The Odyssey have argued that he is not a hero, closer examination shows that he is a hero because he met the ultimate goal of defeating Troy, bravely led and sacrificed for his men, and escaped multiple enemies.
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
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In the beginning, he was asked to fight for his country and win back Helen. He left his kingdom and his family and sailed to Troy. Known for his intellect and strategy, he defeated Troy by coming up with the idea to offer a “gift” of a gigantic wooden horse to Troy. When the army accepted it, Odysseus and his men popped out and slaughtered all of Troy, winning the battle for Greece. “Oh man! You can't count how many good things Odysseus has done for the Greeks, a real leader in council and in battle....” (Iliad 2.294-6) This proves that Odysseus is a hero because a hero would not have gotten the main goal done. The Greek army could not have defeated Troy without his skills. No one else would’ve come up with such an unanticipated strategy. Though defeating Troy is not the only evidence of heroism. Odysseus also had the strength of
Odysseus is not a hero because he lets his pride make most of his decisions, which gets him into difficult situations. Throughout The Odyssey, Odysseus makes mistakes that causes his men to be killed. Most of these mistakes could have been fixed by Odysseus making better decisions throughout his journey.
The majority of those who read The Odyssey consider the protagonist of the story, Odysseus, a hero. On many occasions, however, Odysseus makes decisions beneficial to himself alone. For example, when Odysseus and his men find themselves on Polyphemus's island, Odysseus's actions are self-centered and at the expense of his men. This can be said for most of Odysseus's actions in the story, as his main objective is to reach his home. Having his men by his side when he returns seems a trivial thing to him. Odysseus could be considered a hero, but many of his actions say otherwise. Due to the many unfaithful and self-centered decisions he makes in the story, Odysseus is not a hero.
Superman has super strength, The Flash has super speed, and Spiderman has his webs. All of our favorite superheroes have aquired supernatural talents, but is that the only ability that defines a hero? In Homer’s epic, The Odyssey, the readers learn that one doesn’t need to be chosen or to have superhuman abilities to become a hero. After winning the Trojan War, Odysseus and his crew voyage through the Mediterranean and encounter countless challenges along the way in order to return home to their city Ithaca. Despite the countless challenges that the gods present Odysseus with during his journey, his tenacity and wit lead him to achieve heroism through his own free will.
As a final point, being brave, strong, and making a quick decisions was many kinds of being a hero and that’s what Odysseus had that make him a hero. Odysseus with his men going through a lot of challenges but in the end he is the only one survived and alive. With this in mind, the epic poem showed us how big the difference between the people 3,000 years ago and people in this generation. The author shows in the epic poem how whimsical the world 3,000 years ago and how powerful the gods in their maturity.
Seek Within to Find a Hero In The Odyssey, Homer create an exciting adventure about a man named Odysseus. Homer helps us find out the meaning of a hero. A hero is someone who goes out of their way to help others because they see a need.
In the epic poem The Odyssey by Homer, Odysseus goes through many challenges on his way home from Troy; he is fated with hardships as a consequence of blinding Poseidon's son. Some say that he is a true hero by being able to conquer his difficulties and make it back to Ithaka after 20 years away however, he may only have made it home due to the help of Athena. Odysseus would not be the “hero” he is depicted as without Athena because without her goddess abilities he does not demonstrate motivation, humility, or virtuosity. He never helps further himself within his own journey making his success more a victory for Athena. First, Odysseus is not self motivated and does not attempt to further his journey home.
In book 12 of The Odyssey by Homer Odysseus is portrayed as a hero. In the story he is told by Circe that he will find an island with many cattle. She also states that if him or his men eat these cattle he will only return to Ithaca after all his men die. Odysseus warns his men of this and says “Each one of you must take a solemn oath that if he meet with a herd of cattle or a large flock of sheep, he will not be so mad as to kill a single head either, but will be satisfied with the food that Circe has given us.” Odysseus is a hero because he is able to resist the temptation of killing the cows because he knows it is best for everyone. However, his crew is not able to resist and eat the cattle. This shows how strong Odysseus’s moral values
For generations, heroes have always fascinated people and people have strived to achieve certain qualities of their heroes. In Homer’s The Odyssey, Odysseus is considered the hero of the story. While Odysseus does demonstrate some qualities that are not heroic, he is still defined as a hero because of his better, more heroic qualities in which he is far superior in than any other man. The qualities in which define Odysseus as a hero are courage, intelligence, and leadership.
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.
Hermes helps him out and gives him a plan to help save his men. So our hero is saved by the god Hermes from a horrible fate. Still Odysseus is not content to sail on and leave the goddess behind (Odyssey 10:269-532). Here Odysseus lost sight of his goal, thinking he was in full control of the situation. Only after a full year has past does he even ask Circe to help them on their way and only at the urging of his crew. He forgets that it was only by the gods help that he was able to triumph over Circe. There was no other way he could have survived her magic. In a sense he is beat by her because he forgets his voyage home and wastes a year in tarring there. By forgetting the voyage he denies himself, a hero, and forgets his family and subjects in Ithaca. Exactly the same threat that the lotus eaters posed to Odysseus and his men. The temptation that Circe offers is a life of pleasure. Anything you desire: food, sport, beautiful women, anything at all. For a time Odysseus is taken in my her offer but thanks to his men he is able to break free of it and remember his home and family.
Odysseus can be portrayed as an antihero in The Odyssey. A hero is clever, respectful, brave, and shows mercy. Odysseus is the complete opposite of a hero. He is immature, barbaric, unfaithful, and a coward.
Odysseus is a hero because he acts courageously while facing the many challenges he encounters. Odysseus’s shows great bravery when he engages in physical challenges. Odysseus daringly fights against the suitors, while significantly outnumbered: “For I must
Joseph Campbell once said, “A hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself.” True heroes are those who do something for others rather for themselves, Odysseus doesn’t exactly show this trait in The Odyssey. In The Odyssey, Odysseus along with his men try to go back home to Ithaca but due to Odysseus nature, only he actually returns alive. In Homer’s The Odyssey, Odysseus proves he is not a hero because he is arrogant, secretive, and unfaithful; resulting for readers to believe that every action has an consequence.
What defines a hero?having high tech gadget like batman or super power like superman.In the odyssey odysseus faces many physical challenges and mental challenges.the challanges odyssues has to face range from scylla charybdis. Scylla is a six headed monster that if you got by her she will take 6 people.Charybdis is a malstrom making beast.Odyssushad to face a cyclop name polyphemus which imprisoned odysseus and ten of his best men.odysseus prove to be an epic hero in The Odyssey by showing bravery,intelligence, and respect for the gods.
Merriam-Webster defines a hero as, “A person who is admired for great or brave acts or fine qualities.” For Odysseus to be a hero this definition is supposed to fit and describe him and his character, but why does this definition not describe or fit him and his character? This is because Odysseus is not a hero. Odysseus has done unethical things on his journey that makes him a person that should go unadmired. For example, when Odysseus ignored the death of his man in order to make more progress on his journey since he claims a task was pressing and waited for the Cyclops in order to be offered more gifts (his men die as a result), these examples prove he is a person who does unethical things. Odysseus is not a hero because he is disloyal, selfish, and greedy.