The True Hero: Odysseus

Heroes in real life have supernatural abilities. People also find characteristics of heroes in regular people, like parents, famous people, or just who have made a big impact in their life. The main character of The Odyssey, Odysseus, is shown as a hero because him and his story fit the epic hero cycle. However, just because he is an epic hero, means that he is automatically a hero. He shows us throughout the collection of books that he lacks humility and is unfaithful, proving that he is not a hero in any sense. In Homer’s The Odyssey Odysseus’s lack of boundaries throughout his voyage back to Ithaca show that he is not a true hero.

     Is Odysseus, the main character of Homer’s The Odyssey, really an epic hero? An epic hero embodies several heroic traits such as; having superior or super-human strength; being intellectual and courageous; and being a strong and responsible leader. An epic hero struggles and is overwhelmed with difficulties. An epic hero is on a quest of self discovery, war or some sort of goal. In the Odyssey, Odysseus is on a quest to return home to Ithaca after ten years of war in Troy. Odysseus, during his quest, is forced to venture through a merciless Cyclops, angered Gods, deeply obstinate Goddesses, the underworld, and determined suitors that are after his wife Penelope. Odysseus surmounts

Ten years after the fall of Troy, Odysseus a great hero has yet to return to his home in Ithaca. It begins with Athena and Poseidon who helped the Greeks during the Trojan War. Athena turned against the Greeks and convinces Poseidon to do the same. The Greeks are hit by storms on the way home and many ships are destroyed and the fleet is scattered. The war and his distress at sea keep Odysseus away from Ithaca for twenty years.

In the Greek literature of mythology, we have examined Odysseus. Students and scholars alike debate whether Odysseus was a true hero, as read in The Odyssey. There is much supporting evidence to prove all sides of the debate and opinions held of Odysseus. It is of my opinion that Odysseus is a hero in his homeland, his family, the Greek people, and for us to learn from to this day. Odysseus had encompassed three many qualities that I believe made him a hero. He embodied, mental strength, physical strength, and spiritual strength. I would like to advocate for why Odysseus was a hero.

In the story The Odyssey the main character Odysseus is not a true hero. A man with so much hatred and anger should not be someone to hold to a high prestige, or want to be. The needless killing and disrespect to other people 's wishes is not part of what a hero should be, or is to endanger the people that he is in charge of. This is why odysseus is not a true hero.

In Greek literature of mythology, we have examined Odysseus. Students and scholars alike have held debates about Odysseus. The discussion is whether Odysseus was a true hero, as read in The Odyssey. There is abundant supportive evidence to verify all sides of the debate and opinions held about Odysseus. Odysseus had encompassed many qualities that I believe make him a hero. The qualities he embodied were mental strength, physical strength, and spiritual strength. I would like to advocate for why Odysseus was a hero.

he epic hero that ventured forth from the regular world into a region of supernatural fascination where he comes across fantastic forces and fights mysterious enemies. This describes Odysseus, the epic hero that faced malicious creatures and life-threatening events, yet exhibited heroic and convenient traits to reach triumph successfully. In the epic of The Odyssey, Homer depicts that Odysseus is an epic hero by confronting his enemies and accomplishing his goal in returning home to his family using the traits of intelligence, and perseverance. In addition, his leadership trait is significantly dignifying him in the case of proving that Odysseus is an epic hero.

A Homeric epic hero is taken into account to be senior to a standard individual. The traits of a typical epic hero are strength, loyalty, courage, and intelligence. In fact, the Macmillan lexicon for students defines a hero as "one who is loved and researched to for valorousness, achievements, and noble qualities" (483). odysseus fulfills all the necessities for an epic hero and more. He demonstrates his ability to be an articulate speaker, and his poise aids him on his journey. His endless curiosity has gotten him into dilemmas, whereas his excellent displays of strength and cunnings have helped both him and his crew escape danger. His conceitedness sets him back, however, his loyalty is what drives him forward on his long and treacherous expedition. within the initial few lines of The Odyssey, Odysseus describes himself as "formidable for guile in peace and war". He knows that he's a formidable opponent, and there are instances where his guile has caused both harmony and violence. regardless of what challenge Odysseus faces, he invariably clearly demonstrates the characteristics of an epic hero.

The epic hero is a figure of great stature and may be a character from history or legend. Epic heroes’ most remarkable traits are usually the ones most valued by the society from which the epic came. The main character in this epic is Odysseus. Odysseus is on a quest to find his home after a war. Odysseus is an epic hero.

The Book called The Odyssey is centered around the hero Odysseus. The part about this story that makes it challenging to talk about is the argument around whether Odysseus is a hero or not. Many Literary scholars of The Odyssey by Homer have argued that Odysseus is not a hero, closer examination shows that he clearly was a hero because he led them to victory in the Trojan War, he turned his men back into actual men, and he even went to the underworld where few to none have escaped freely. The logic of this is debated a lot because of the judgements he made during the war and the journey back home.

A Homeric epic hero is considered to be above a normal human being. The traits of a typical epic hero are strength, loyalty, courage, and intelligence. In fact, the Macmillan Dictionary for Students defines a hero as "one who is admired and looked up to for valor, achievements, and noble qualities" (483). Odysseus fulfills all of the requirements for an epic hero and more. He demonstrates his ability to be an articulate speaker, and his poise aids him on his journey. His endless curiosity has gotten him into dilemmas, while his superb displays of strength and cunningness have helped both him and his crew escape danger. His arrogance sets him back, but his loyalty is what drives him forward on his long and treacherous expedition. In the

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

How Odysseus Is A True Hero Can you imagine not seeing your spouse and newborn baby for 20 years to go to war and then have to go against Gods where your chance of survival is zero? In Homer’s timeless epic, The Odyssey, Odysseus of Ithaca goes to fight in the war of troy for 10 years. As he tries to make his journey home he makes the god Poseidon, the god of the sea, mad and he throws odysseus off course making odysseus stop at dangerous places one of the places he has to stop at is Polyphemus the son of Poseidon, who happens to be a cyclops, but because of Poseidon and Calypso, who holds Odysseus for a couple of years, and other gods and goddesses he doesn’t see his family for 20 years only Athena and Zeus aid him in his journey home. A

Odysseus, the hero from Homer’s The Odyssey, is an epic hero. All Epic heros have a noble birth. Odysseus was born into a royal family and served as the king of Ithaca. Along with that, Odysseus went on a long journey, another characteristic necessary to be considered an epic hero. Odysseus left his home to fight in the Trojan War, which he triumphed as a war hero, and spent the next 10 treacherous years trying to get back to his home. As an epic hero, odysseus was extremely cunning and intelligent which led him out of the many perils he faced. Polyphemus, a cyclops, gets infuriated at Odysseus and his men so Polyphemus mutilates 6 of Odysseus’ men Odysseus uses his strength and his cleverness to lead his men out of the cyclops's island. “...but by morning I'd worked out a solution. Tying goats together with ropes of willow, I hid a man under each group of three. When it was time to let them out to pasture, the Cyclops ran his hands over their backs but did not notice the men underneath. Myself, I clutched to the underbelly of the biggest ram.” Although as clever as he may be Odysseus can be arrogant. All epic heros have a weakness. He had cursed the god Poseidon numerous times throughout the book. “Do you see, you gods of sea and sky? I conquered Troy. Me Odysseus, a mortal man of flesh and blood and bone and mind! I do not need you now, I can do anything!”

As Ricky Martin once said, “Amongst the qualities a hero should have, I would include determination, loyalty, courage, perseverance, patience, focus, intrepidity and selflessness”. According to dictionary.com, an Epic Hero is a brave and noble character in an epic poem, admired for great achievements or affected by grand events. In the epic poem The Odyssey by Homer, the protagonist Odysseus displays the characteristics of an epic hero throughout his entire journey home after battling bravely at the war in Troy. No matter how daunting the challenge, Odysseus demonstrates heroic qualities as the god-like person he is. Odysseus’ leadership and loyalty allow he and his men to escape deadly fates, while his ability to be adventurous and brave helps him to face foes along the way, and finally, his witty intelligence in every situation truly characterize him as the ideal epic hero.