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Essay On Odysseus Being A Hero

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A hero can’t exist without a villain and victim. But what defines the role of the hero is what others think of them and the actions they’ve taken. Consider heroes in pop-culture who are depicted saving civilians from otherworldly creatures and how we feel towards them. And then imagine how different you’d see it if you were to change point of view. What defines a true hero is action and perception, a hero is nothing without the people they inspire. Think of Odysseus and how he is illustrated as a hero for the entirety of The Odyssey. He was called a hero by those he fought alongside as well as the people he networked with in Ithaca. But to some others he was quite a villain, like Poseidon who felt hatred towards him for the slaying of his son Polyphemus(IX.584-597). While Odysseus was at sea (for three years) he was depicted as both the hero and …show more content…
If his actions are weighed, he is a war veteran who happened to be in all of the wrong places, or a meddler who threw caution to the wind. Either way there is a hero, a villain, and a victim. However, if you examine every situation like this, you may not be able to identify a true hero. But if we were to identify a hero by definition instead of concept, a “man admired for his achievements and qualities” would appear at least a few tie in the Epic. Eumaeus would appear as a hero with these new guidelines, allowing a stranger into his home (XIV.50), and never abandoning his loyalty to his “late” master. But even this scenario fits the hero/villain/victim mold, in that Eumaeus was the hero, Odysseus the victim, and Poseidon the thief were all recognized by the reader for their actions. But if a hero doesn’t have a villain to fight or a victim to save, then they at least have to inspire. And just as Odysseus inspired Eumaeus without any kind of villain, he was still his hero all the same. If a hero has no one to see them, to oppose them, to speak of them, who is to say they are a hero at

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