Odysseus Epic Hero

Odysseus, King of Ithaca, and the main character in homer’s The Odyssey, was gone for twenty years before finally returning to his family and his homeland. He struggled through many hardships and lost many loyal companions. The King of Ithaca would not have made it home without the assistance of the Greek gods. Despite all of the help and advice that Odysseus receives from the gods, he is a very brave man because his courage and daring in the cave of the Cyclops, his inability to give up and abandon his men on Circe’s island, and his flawless following of the gods instructions are acts of bravery that is uncommon in most men.

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.

A true epic hero has many very defining characteristics. Usually you will find this hero to be the ‘alpha male. ' With an almost super hero personality, epic heroes are extremely above an average human being. This character must be of noble birth, and as a result, this gives them great respect and many resources. There is a deep reverence for the gods and this helps the hero through tough times. An epic hero is bravery than the other characters. They are willing to take bigger risks and reap greater rewards. Despite these strong traits, there is usually an element of deep suffering that the character must deal with through out his story. No matter what, however, the epic hero will always win out in the end in a good vs. evil type of

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.

Odysseus tends to use strategy over strength to be a hero when it comes to challenges. Instead of beginning with fighting the Cyclops, he takes his time and sets up a plan. Everytime he enters a new island, he does not start telling everyone that he is Odysseus, king of Ithaca. Instead, he charms the people he meets and uses his wise words that cause them to help and pity him. Odysseus represents what being a hero is actually all about. Throughout the novel The Odyssey by Homer, Odysseus continuously shows his personality of being an admirable hero to everyone by using strategy instead of strength.

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.

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.

Many people refer themselves as heroes but Gavilan has made The Hero’s Journey which shows the requirements of being a hero. Odysseus is considered a epic hero according to Joseph Campbell article The Hero’s Journey and the qualifications of an epic hero. Odysseus was lost at sea coming across lands that is unknown and may be dangerous. After 20 years he finally makes it back home safely, in the epic poem The Odyssey by Homer. In The Hero’s Journey by Joseph Campbell it shows what skills or events the stories must meet to be required an hero’s journey. Odysseus qualifies as a hero because he meets the following components based on that he has to complete a quest, he has a mentor, and he has allies.

An Archetype Hero In the famous epic poem, “The Odyssey”, Odysseus is known to be the larger than life hero. Although some parts of this may be true, like his bravery, victories, and great accomplishments, Odysseus also has his faults. He is unfaithful, has a large ego, and is very selfish towards his men. His wrong doing cancels out and rises above his hero-like qualities.

Odysseus is the main character in The Odyssey. Throughout the poem, Odysseus comes across trials that hinder him from returning to Ithaca. Odysseus is an archetypal hero because he saves his men from the Cyclops. Henceforth, Odysseus uses courage and bravery to save his men. Odysseus states that he, "tied them silently together twinning cords of willow from the orges bed; then slung a man under each one and watched as they rode out of the cave" (Applebee et al. 908). This technique that Odysseus uses is how he leads his men to safety. Given these points, Odysseus represents an archetypal hero because of his courage to help save the day.

Odysseus the Heroic The Odysseus, by Homer, is a story about adventure and courage. The Odysseus creates an atmosphere where it’s all about Odysseus and how he handles the danger. Three questions people have about the Odysseus are: what makes Odysseus an epic hero? What are his qualities and flaws? Why is Odysseus considered an archetype?

The epic poem The Odyssey, written by Homer, centers around the main protagonist Odysseus and his long journey back home. Odysseus, the king of Ithaca, returns home after defeating the Trojans in a ten year war. On his way back, he angers Poseidon, god of the sea, by blinding his son, Polyphemus the Cyclops. Due to Odysseus’ actions, Poseidon refuses to let Odysseus reach home, and Odysseus and his crew are forced to go through a series of obstacles throughout the epic. Through this adversity, Odysseus must show his heroic attributions in order to survive. Homer portrays Odysseus as a hero by giving him characteristics such as: craftiness, loyalty, and bravery.

Many say Odysseus, the main character of The Odyssey, is a hero. In fact, he is one of the most well known epic heroes. But this statement is only highlighting his few heroic qualities when it is very clear that he has far more unheroic qualities. Of which make him much less of a hero than people think. In Homer’s epic poem The Odyssey, Odysseus, and his crew are on a difficult and seemingly endless journey back home to Ithaca after the victory in the 10 years long Trojan War. During the story, Odysseus made it seemingly obvious that he was untrustworthy, reckless and vengeful. These are all qualities that make up a very unheroic character.

A hero to most is someone who has courage, is strong, wise, and has sacrificed or risked their life for others. In modern society these traits are admired just as the ancient Greeks admired them too. In the story, “from the Odyssey”’ by Homer, it is a story that is in third person point of view, takes place in Greek and many other places, is a fiction story, and is very suspenseful. The epic hero Odysseus fulfills the traits of an epic hero in many ways because he is strong, wise, courageous, and cares for others and is willing to risk his life for others, both societies consider these traits useful and helpful.

Odysseus is one of the greatest epic heros in the history of literature. The Odyssey, by Homer, is an epic poem, which depicts the journey home of Odysseus. Angering many gods, this voyage takes him through multiple obstacles, and ends up taking almost twenty years longer than it should've. Throughout his journey, “The Son of Laertes” must get his crew out of trouble multiple times. He uses his intellect and other strengths to do so, and never gives up, no matter the circumstance. Even after losing everything he needs in a storm worthy of the gods, Odysseus still never gives up, and gets himself out of trouble yet again. Throughout his entire journey, coming home from the Trojan War, Odysseus repeatedly uses many heroic traits to get himself and his crew out of many unfortunate situations. These heroic traits, how Odysseus uses them, and the steps of his journey all come together to illustrate that he is an epic hero. Odysseus characterizes himself as an epic hero based on how he almost perfectly follows the characteristics of an epic hero, gets his crew out of trouble multiple times, and follows the Hero's Journey.