...In Homer’s the Odyssey, a man named Odysseus spends years and years trying to get home to his family. On his long journey, he encounters a number of different situations that test his true character. The reader finds out who Odysseus really is based on the situations he is put in and how he chooses to handle these situations. From being stuck on an Island with Calypso, a nymph goddess, to almost being eaten by a vicious cyclops, to seeing his wife for the first time in 20 years, Odysseus stays true to his character. Throughout the epic, Odysseus shows constant signs of bravery, leadership, intelligence, cleverness, and wholehearted faithfulness, and these things are what makes him such an admirable character. Bravery and leadership go hand in hand because bravery is a trait that all good leaders have. Odysseus showed amazing bravery and leadership skills throughout the Odyssey. One place where Odysseus’s bravery and leadership are revealed the most is when Odysseus and his men encounter Poseidon’s Cyclops son, Polyphemus. Odysseus used his leadership skills and bravery to help his men escape the wrath of Polyphemus while...
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...Odysseus: An Epic Hero In The Odyssey written by Homer, the main character is Odysseus, an epic hero. He has to leave his home Ithaca, and ends up on a great voyage landing on many islands. All of which, is home to gods and goddesses, good and bad. Along the way he shows his very heroic characteristics, while battling these supernatural forces. For example when he fights the Cicones, the singing sirens, or even the one eyed beast. However ,Odysseus the great epic hero was still able to stay strong and proceed his way home. To begin, his loyalty is revealed by his crewman. He is almost like a big brother to them. His first sign of loyalty is revealed once he sees his undead crewman, Elpenor, left unburied on Circe's island. Elpenor has too much to drink, and ends up falling to his death. After, Elpenor falls, he asks Odysseus to return and bury him properly, so Odysseus ‘’...cut down timber on the foreland, on a high point, and built his pyre of logs’’ (209). Odysseus does not want one of his men to live unconsoled in the Land of the DEad, especially after he sees him face to face after his death. This is when he returns to...
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...In life there are leaders and there are followers Odysseus is an example of a leader. Odysseus is a great hero, he has been away for 20 years going through obstacles he faces in life just to stay alive for his family. He fights with all his might just to make it back home to the great island of Ithaca. He has to fight off many monsters in his journey to help save him and his men, just in the end for him to be the only one left who survived in the war. Odysseus has many traits other than the ones I’m going to talk about but these ones are my favorite about him. These traits show a lot about what kind of person he is the ones I picked were brave, determined and intelligent. One of Odysseus many characteristics is that he is brave. He showed his bravery in many ways such as fighting courageously in the war with troy, he faced great dangers on his decade long voyage home. He never backs down from a challenge, and he always keeps his head high in dangerous situations to fight off anyone that comes near to harming him or his men. Odysseus faces the Cyclops Polyphemus, travels to the Underworld, overcomes the Sirens, out works the monsters of Scylla and Charybdis, and leaves behind the beautiful Calypso while many things also pop up...
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...sometimes it's the villains that wear the capes. The story The Odyssey is about a king named Odysseus and he is sailing home from Troy after the Trojan War was over. There are many reasons why Odysseus is not a hero, throughout the whole story Odysseus wasn't doing heroic things, he was almost doing some villainous things. One of the reasons why Odysseus is not a hero is that he is a murderer. In the story it says “ In blood and dust he saw that crowd all fallen, many and many slain. Think of a catch that fisherman haul into a half-moon bay in a fine-meshed net rom the whitecaps of the sea: how all are poured out on the sand, in throes for the salt sea, twitching their cold lives away in Helio’s fiery air: so...
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...Kshithi Bhanu Singh Second English St. Stephen’s College What are the constituent attributes of a Greek Epic Hero? Explicate with reference to Odysseus and Achilles. The definition of an epic hero is very wide and varied. It includes a lot of attributes and criterions, but for a particular hero to reach the epic stature, it isn’t really necessary to fulfill all the demands and to come up to all the standards. In a very conventional sense, an epic hero is supposed to possess these qualities or is supposed to come up to these standards: 1. Is an important figure from history or legend. 2. Is usually favored by Gods or even partially descended from Gods i.e. semi-divine nature. 3. Takes part in a cyclical journey or quest, faces adversaries and returns home with significant transformation. 4. Illustrates traits, performs deeds and exemplifies certain morals that are valued and held dear by the society/ culture from which the hero comes. 5. Usually embodies cultural and religious beliefs of the people. 6. Has no superpowers, but is smart, brave and has fears too; which he must overcome to protect his friends, family and / or nation. 7. Can also be a warrior of some sort who performs extra-ordinary tasks that most find difficult. 8. Is also a polished speaker who can address councils of chieftains or elders with eloquence and confidence. Literature is replete with examples of epic heroes. Classical Greek literature in particular has produced...
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...In the words of Christopher Reeve, “A hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles.” A hero doesn’t have to save the world from a world wide mass destruction like superman. They also don’t have to be male. In Homer’s epic poem The Odyssey, the main character Odysseus and real life modern day hero Razia Jan model what a good hero really is. Odysseus and Razia Jan reveal how a good hero is someone who can overcome obstacles because it exhibits determination, inner courage, and selflessness. A good hero has the determination to keep moving even when there are hardships along the way. Through his entire journey Odysseus is being thrown into danger and terrifying situations nonstop....
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...Odyssey, Odysseus proves there are more qualities far greater than bravery needed to be a true hero. When reading Chinua Achebe’s, Things Fall Apart, it is proven vastly Okonkwo does not contain love, respect, or patience for anyone. He makes himself incapable to show emotion due to the fear of weakness. Odysseus in comparison, loves wholeheartedly and without the fear of judgement. In fact...
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...what a person does determines whether or not they are a leader. Martin Luther King Jr. was an excellent impactful leader during the civil rights movement. Odysseus is a Greek hero who also leads as discussed in The Odyssey. However, in The Odyssey, Homer has Odysseus leading people into disaster with his selfishness. While Odysseus and Martin Luther King Jr possess similar leadership skills to lead people, Martin Luther King Jr was an iconic civil rights leader because he proclaimed his thoughts with peace and loyalty, rather than letting his hubris side affect him like Odysseus did when he was on his journey. Odysseus had power from being the king of Ithaca and the ability to lead a large group to follow him, Martin Luther King Jr also had capability to lead people to change and turn their way of thinking. In The Odyssey, Odysseus and his men were trapped with the...
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...November 18, 2012 World Literature I Odysseus and the idealist Don Quixote What is a hero? To be a hero means winning honor through competitive combat in ancient Greece and the middle ages. In those historic eras warriors, knights, and kings were honored the most. A hero was someone with a smooth fighting technique and would face death at any moment. Heroes were the people who would lead their armies, fellow knights, and comrades into battle and earned tributes for their courage and great deeds performed during their combat. In other light, the cowards of ancient Greece and the middle ages were considered a burden and were affronted. Throughout many books authors have explained different aspects of what it means to be a hero. Homer, author of the Odyssey, and Miguel de Cervantes’ Don Quixote, convey this characteristic frequently. In the Odyssey, Odysseus was a skillful fighter, but it was yet the proof Homer’s readers needed of his heroism. Odysseus also transpired characteristics of restraint and mercy. On the other hand, Cervantes’ character was not born a hero. He was fooled by chivalric ideas of heroism and sets out to reform the world along with his witty companion. Odysseus and Don Quixote are from two totally different eras, but both of them tried to conquer the world with their heroic acts. Not only their heroic acts made them well known, it’s also their imagination that makes them stand out. In comparison, imagination is what makes Quixote the hero, and imagination...
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...Odysseus and Aeneas, the two epic heroes who both visit the Underworld for their own reasons, are representatives of Greek and Roman cultures. The depictions of their journeys to Hades from The Odyssey by Homer and Virgil’s Aeneid leave us unlimited fantasies about the Underworld, and they let people start to think about the life and death. Some of Odysseus and Aeneas’ backgrounds and their experiences of visiting the Underworld are similar; however, their motivations, personality and developments are very different. Based on what I’ve read from The Odyssey and Aeneid, I think Aeneas is a greater hero, but Odysseus’s purpose, social status, characteristics and developments make him is better “brought to life”. First of all, one of the reasons that why Odysseus is more like a human being than Aeneas is is their motivations for visiting the Underworld are different. Both of Odysseus and Aeneas are former soldiers in the Trojan War, but they are on different sides in this war. Aeneas wants to find a new place for him and the Trojan remnant to settle, so he goes to the Underworld for visiting Anchises-who can gives him directions to his future. In the case of Odysseus, his purpose of heading to Hades is not that noble. He just wants to go back to his home after the destruction of Troy, and he needs to know how could he do that by asking Tieresias. From their motivation, I think Aeneas is a selfless person. According to Aeneid, “Roman, remember by your strength to rule/Earth’s peoples—for...
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...having such a wide spectrum, it seems fairly easy to fall into the hero category. That range leaves no doubt why Odysseus and Dante are epic heroes; with what they went through, traveling through sea and passing straight through hell, they have also earned the title of being respectable heroes. According to The Odyssey, it is shown that a hero has a quality of being a risk taker; a trait Odysseus demonstrates throughout his journey. When Odysseus stabbed the Cyclopes in the eye, it is considered a huge, bold risk “Straight forward they sprinted, lifting it, and rammed it deep in his crater eye” (book IX. 380-381). Odysseus knew if he didn’t act quick, him and his men would live out their last days waiting to be lunch for the Cyclops. However, Odysseus is considered a god among men because of his quick thinking, he knew he had to succeed in order to avoid that fate. Not only were they inspired by the fact that they had to act on the situation to save their lives, but it also seems like they had some external motivation. As Odysseus’ men stood around him, “some god inspired us”, Odysseus said (book IX. 379). Which is weird because that was just moments before an attack was launched to a son of a god. Odysseus, a witty yet normal human, was able to defeat the giant Cyclops Polyphemus, son of a god. Not only was the Cyclops defeated and his men were now safe, but Odysseus was smart enough not to leave a trail behind his work. When prompted for his name,...
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...Wisdom is something that comes naturally some people have it some people don't. It's a quality of having experience. being wise would be always ready to help someone and knowing exactly what to do. intelligence is being able to apply knowledge to real life experiences. being intelligent would be more of a book smart like taking a test because you have to apply your knowledge of what you have learned. In my opinion I think that wisdom is more important in life because wisdom will get you through tough situations and it can get you somewhere in life, more than intelligence can.. in my opinion. Odysseus is wise because he always knows exactly what to do. He does whatever it takes to see penelope again. He is often fooled but he pulls out of...
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...short that has no sleeve holes and her reasoning behind it is so that when they attack him, he cannot fight back. She decides to draw him a bath and she plans to try and get him to wear the shirt and to kill him in the tub. It is very ironic because ancient Greek warriors are always known for dying with honor and integrity and going out with a fight and in this case he could not do that because she killed him so easily. Odysseus travels down to the underworld in order to seek answers to some of his curiosity; in the underworld he meets Achilles and Agamemnon. The whole time he is down their he notices that all Achilles does is whine and complain about why he hates being dead and says how much he would rather be alive as someone else’s servant than to be the ruler of the underworld. The only thing that Odysseus says is that he knew he would face some life or death obstacles while sailing to Troy. Once Achilles killed Hector, a warrior from Troy, it was clear that he would die soon after, but he would be remembered for all eternity. After Achilles is reminiscing, Odysseus starts talking with...
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...convince her otherwise. In the end, the lesson is that curiosity can be dangerous. Children have and will always be curious and explore things they should not. But curiosity comes at a cost. There is a deeper message in the famous tale. There was something else in the box along with the disease and problems; it was Hope. The one thing needed to combat all of the horrors that were released is Hope. The story teaches that no matter how bad things get, there is always something to fight for, and that is a much more important...
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...and represents a pure, eternal sense of justice; at other times, he is capricious and cruel. Hera - Roman name: Juno. Zeus’s wife and sister, Hera is a very powerful goddess known mostly for her jealousy. She is often vicious and spiteful, and it is usually Zeus’s infidelity that incites her. Many unfortunate mortals endure hardships by provoking Hera’s wrath. Poseidon - Roman name: Neptune. The god of the sea, Poseidon is Zeus’s brother and second only to him in power. Poseidon holds a decade-long grudge against Odysseus. The often cruel and unpredictable violence of the seas is assumed to be a result of his anger. Hades - Roman name: Pluto. The brother of Zeus and Poseidon, Hades rules the underworld, the realm of the dead, with his wife, Persephone. Pallas Athena - Roman name: Minerva. Usually just called Athena, this goddess emerges from Zeus’s head fully-grown and armed. Associated with war, cleverness, and wit, it is no surprise that she favors Odysseus. Athena is the goddess of Wisdom, Reason, and Purity and is chaste, like Artemis and Hestia. Phoebus Apollo - Usually just called Apollo. A son of Zeus and Leto and Artemis’s twin, he is the god of Light and Truth, the master of Poetry and Music, and the god of Archery. His Oracle at Delphi is revered for her powers of prophecy and truth. Artemis - Roman name: Diana. Apollo’s twin sister, Artemis is the beautiful huntress goddess and, like Athena, is somewhat masculine. Artemis is normally good and just, but demands...
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