Odysseus: A True Hero

Odysseus displays his pridefulness in the Odyssey with his uncautious actions. He takes pride in his strength, virility, and quick wit. In Homer’s The Odyssey, Odysseus leaves home to Ithaca after the Trojan War. Odysseus is the king of Ithaca and he sails overseas to return home with his crew. He is known throughout the story for being prideful and heroic, but his pride is more harmful than helpful. Sometimes Odysseus lets his crew get into dangerous situations that effect their lives and slow their journey. He is hotheaded and often doesn’t think about how his actions will impact his future.

Odysseus is a walking conflict machine. Wherever he goes, something is bound to go wrong, which is turns out alright for him, because he is lucky, and helped by the Gods, but his men...not so much. When Odysseus demands a gift from Polyphemus, saying “...here we stand, beholden for your help, or any gifts you give--as custom to honor strangers.” (11). By saying this, Odysseus creates a big conflict that ends up killing many of his men. Odysseus, of course, is spared, but a lot of his men are eaten alive. They did more than Odysseus in trying to avoid this situation, but he refused, and they paid the price for it, all because they happened to be less lucky than Odysseus. Odysseus being favored by the Gods is always a huge stroke of luck when conflict rolls around, no matter the conflict. They can’t even punish him correctly. When he disobeyed their direct orders about eating Helios’s cows, the still protected him right after punishing him. When Odysseus is on the verge of death because of their punishment, and at ready to be eaten by Scylla, Homer writes, “ Never could I have passed her had not the father of gods and men, this time, kept me from her eyes.”(23). Another example of this is when Odysseus and his crew mates land on Circe’s island, he sends his men first to investigate. When before he can catch up to them, a God stops him, and warns him of a

In Book 22 of The Odyssey, Odysseus attempts to reclaim his household from the suitors who have been courting his wife and creating chaos for three years. Earlier in the story, Odysseus exhibits traits of recklessness when he reveals his identity during his encounter with the Cyclops in Book 9, which delays his homecoming by several years. After he returns to Ithaca, Odysseus makes a great effort to avoid being reckless to help him gain a much needed advantage over the suitors, who greatly outnumber him. Odysseus does not return to recklessness in his confrontation with the suitors because he is simply unleashing his anger on the suitors for taking advantage of his household. Odysseus is a strong warrior, but he does not only depend on his strength to get rid of the unfaithful inhabitants invading his household.

These suitors spent the amount of time that Odysseus was away gorging on food and drinks, lounging around in his castle, and also trying to wed Penelope. The suitors were plotting to kill Telemachus, Odysseus's son, too. Odysseus slays the suitors to settle something that could have been discussed verbally. The suitors even apologize and try to bargain with Odysseus for the lives. He still does not make peace with the fact that the suitors offer to repay for all of the vandalism that they had created.

However, Odysseus was consumed in the thought that he had failed as a leader and a warrior because of his inability to protect his comrades. As such, Odysseus became much less confident in his abilities to lead and protect his crewmembers and their journey, which caused him to deliberate his personal value in the eyes of the Gods. Homer describes the disastrous situation through the fearful, petrified tone that also conveys the intimidated emotions of Odysseus. Furthermore, Odysseus’ overwhelming self-doubt portrays a human characteristic of the hero, which is a severe lack of confidence in particularly dire circumstances. Thus, the Cyclops’ vicious actions highlight the role of fate in the unforgiving brutality of human nature. After the encounter with the Cyclops, a tremendous storm attacked Odysseus and his small raft as he ventured from Ogygia to Phaeacia. As he was tormented by the unrelenting waves, Odysseus exclaimed, “’Wretched man – what becomes of me now, at last? […] What monstrous clouds – King Zeus crowning the whole wide heaven black – churning the seas in chaos, gales blasting, raging around my head from every quarter – my death-plunge in a flash, it’s certain now! […] Would to god I’d died there [at Troy] and met my fate […]” (Homer 161-162). Poseidon uses his influence over the seas to unleash his relentless fury at Odysseus for stabbing the eye of Polyphemus. Odysseus’ extreme anguish led him to question the level

home, he only shows himself to be a selfish man looking for his own satisfaction. Odysseus wants for himself more glory (KLEOS),and insinuates much fighting in his travel home. He could very well have avoided a fight with Polyphemos, he could have escaped the vengeance of Poseidon, if he was so bent on accumulating as much glory as can be attained. Even upon his arrival at his home in Ithaca where the suitors squander his land, he takes no mercy on the suitors, even after they surrendered and offered compensation, "not for the whole treasure of your fathers would I hold my hand. There will be killing till the score is paid".

Every person has both strengths and shortcomings. In Homer’s classic, the Odyssey, the protagonist, Odysseus from the Greek island of Ithaca, is forced to find his way home from the Trojan war. Throughout the span of this epic poem Odysseus uses his incredible wit and ingenuity to get out of situations mainly caused by his own weaknesses. However, it is also noticeable that Odysseus is changing, and eventually with the help of Athena he moderates his audacious and glory seeking ways. Throughout the Odyssey it is evident how the vitalities and vulnerabilities of Odysseus and his allies interplay with the strengths and flaws of the hero’s enemies in conflicts. There are two main conflicts to observe, the conflict between Odysseus and Poseidon and his son the Cyclops, as well as the conflict with Odysseus and Telemachus against Penelope’s suitors, which occurs later in the story.

The author tried to make Odysseus look good so that the reader would root for him and side with him in the end. He said he was a war hero and was very smart. He would always protect his soldiers and was taken into captivity for his bravery. I think that the author uses this to make readers sympathize with him and make the killings justified.

Upon returning from his voyage, he “In blood and dust he saw that crowd all fallen, many and many slain” (Homer 613). Not only does murderous Odysseus kill every single person in the crowd, he looks around to see if any have escaped his wrath. That action shows that many innocent who were dispersed within the crowd were slaughtered in cold blood. After this massacre, Odysseus turns on his own wife, “and he turned on her in a flash raging” (Homer 614). This action shows just how bad Odysseus is, after a single conversation, he turns and starts raging. Even worse is the fact that this takes place after 20 years of not seeing each other. All of this shows that Odysseus is quick to anger and a horrible

I believe a hero is not only defined by the destruction of his or hers courageous defeats, but by their choice of actions they portrayed through his or hers journey. An example of my idea would be the character Odysseus from the book, A Book Of The Odyssey, by Homer. Odysseus faced many encounters throughout his journey, three of which I believe are particularly important. The first encounter being when Odysseus’s men defeated the city of “Troy”. Here we portray Odysseus as a hero through his endeavor protection of his men, “Then I urged them to cut and run, set sail, but would they listen? Not those mutinous fools” (Odyssey Book 9), Odysseus tried his best to warn his men to leave, yet they were too drunk from the wine, later bigger and stronger

When Odysseus began his travels home, he landed on the island of the Cyclops and was trapped in a cave of a powerful Cyclops, Polyphemus. After the Cyclops eats some of his crew, Odysseus is faced with the task of fighting for the remainder of his crew or giving up. Wanting a noble return to his home after a victory in Troy, Odysseus finds a way to trick the Cyclops and escape the island. Homer puts Odysseus in this situation to show the reader that Odysseus got he and his crew into a bad situation, but that he also had the fortitude to get them out of

Homer implements the idea of strategy overpowering strength in The Odyssey as he introduces and develops Odysseus’ character as an admirable hero. The author accomplishes this when narrating Odysseus’ travels and his impact on people. His encounter with the Cyclops, Polyphemus is a huge contributor to how he utilises his intellectual prowess over his might. Further, he dons the guise of a beggar rather than using strength in order to complete his goals. This epic poem is the story of Odysseus who’s sailing home with his crew from the Trojan War; however, they’re sent off course by Poseidon who harbors a grudge with Odysseus. The sea god delays his voyage home to Ithaca, where the suitors are wrestling for his wife's hand, draining his

While The Odyssey is not a tragedy, the hero, Odysseus, has a tragic flaw that creates obstacles on his journey. This key flaw of Odysseus’ is his excessive pride. One instance where Odysseus’ excessive pride is clearly presented is his encounter with the cyclops named Polyphemus in book IX. On his journey, visiting the Cyclops really had no reason other than Odysseus’ curiosity to how “civilized” such creatures were (274). Odysseus wondered whether or not the cyclops would treat him respectfully as his own people did back in Ithaca, Odysseus’ homeland, showing his arrogance in his fame (275). In the process Odysseus and his men are trapped by Polyphemus. Only then does Odysseus stop to devise a plan that would help he, and his men, escape

Odysseus is a prideful man who only cares about his reputation. When Odysseus’s men see the Cyclops, they make a suggestion to escape. Odysseus then responds, “Take the cheese, get them stowed, come back, throw open all the pens, and make a run for it?” (Homer170-175). He neglected to take advice from his men opinion before his men and does want he wants. He does not take what his men want to do into consideration. Odysseus does not think about his consequences before his actions, and acts completely irresponsible. If Odysseus were a real hero, that is selfless and trustworthy, he would never put anyone’s lives in danger.

Hero or superhero, superhero or hero? What’s the difference between Batman, Spiderman, Supergirl, Flash, Thor or Odysseus, Hercules, Achilles, Perseus, Zeus? A superhero is a fictional hero having extraordinary or superhuman powers, a hero on the other hand is a person admired for bravery, great achievements, or good qualities. In the epic The Odyssey by Homer, Odysseus struggles to return home after the Trojan war hitting many obstacles on his way home. He is a true hero, exemplified bravery, masters the art of strategy, all while serving as an role model of righteousness for his crew.