...Is Odysseus a hero? Everyone hears the word “hero” from time to time, but has it ever occurred to any of those people, of what a hero is to them? Some define heroes as someone they admire or even someone with super powers. Just know that a hero is someone who is not perfect. Heroes have imperfections like humans do. If one were to read The Odyssey, one of the most controversial questions that would be asked if whether or not Odysseus is a hero. Certainly, some may say he is not because of all the terrible things he did throughout, but remember a hero has flaws. Otherwise than that Odysseus is a hero. Throughout his journey, it is shown that he possesses many qualities of a hero such as intelligence, the strength he shows, the hardships he encounters and how he deals with them, and so on. According to The Odyssey written by Homer, it is shown that a hero has a quality of being a risk taker, a trait Odysseus demonstrates in his adventure. The part where Odysseus stabbed the Cyclopes in the eye is considered a huge risk. “Straight forward they sprinted, lifting it, and rammed it deep in his crater eye” (Homer, 414). The reason is, is because Odysseus already knew what the Cyclopes was capable of. If he was not successful then he along with his crew would become the Cyclopes dinner. Odysseus also shows how smart and cunning he is. When he is talking to one of the suitors he says “ I too once lived in a lofty house that men admired; rolling in wealth I’d often give to a...
Words: 611 - Pages: 3
...Odysseus—Is He a Hero? The name of a “hero” is a label—something that anyone can be, even if the very reality of it is twisted. In The Odyssey written by Homer and published around 800 B.C., Odysseus, the main character, is a war hero, and he is wandering among the sea, for up to almost 20 years before returning home to Ithaca, Greece. The reason for this is that he had boasted of victory, without crediting Poseidon for his help, thus angering him, and creating Poseidon’s belligerent animosity against Odysseus himself (Source 1). Then, Odysseus overcomes many obstacles such as Polyphemus, the Cyclops. Odysseus is a hero even though all of his men die during the journey. As such, during Odysseus’ journey, he encounters Polyphemus, and defeats...
Words: 554 - Pages: 3
...Is Odysseus truly a hero? In the Odyssey he is portrayed as a stout man with superior fighting expertise. But is that all a hero is made of or is there more? I hope to prove to you, the reader, that although Odysseus was a good man, father, and husband, he isn't the hero he seems to be. In my eyes a hero is someone who does everything for the good, jumps into situations others are hesitant in venturing, and lying their life down for others. First of all we must recognize the fact that he fought in the Trojan war for a good cause. And on his adventures home he had to do what was necessary for him and his men to survive. Also, even through all the hardships he had to endure, like the slaughter of his men, he stood firm and did the best he could....
Words: 310 - Pages: 2
...Would Odysseus be considered a hero in our time? Well in the epic poem “The Odyssey” by homer the character Odysseus is brave due to his heroic acts. His determination to bring him and hi crew back home and facing all the challenges he has to go through. Odysseus is a hero because he looks out for his crew, spends years trying to get them back home. Odysseus is clever due to his smart choices. He also protects his men like a hero would do and gains their loyalty by saving them from the cyclops also known as polyphemus.he tricks him by telling him his name is name is “nobody” and then disgusting his men as sheep so polyphemus would unwittingly let them out of his cave and save his men. In our time polyphemus would be seen as a bully and odysseus...
Words: 307 - Pages: 2
...Although some literary scholars of The Odyssey have argued that Odysseus is a brave, conquering hero, it turns out that he would actually fall under the classification of a villain. Odysseus is overly self-centered, and only focuses on the goals that affect himself, not the ones that benefit other people. He takes little consideration for the people around him, only trying to accomplish the tasks that would help himself. Not only that, but Odysseus also has a tendency to be arrogant and will often times laugh and humiliate his enemies, which usually does more harm than good. Finally, he also had a habit to take challenges too far in order to make himself seem stronger and more powerful. To start, what is the difference between a hero and a...
Words: 822 - Pages: 4
...In The Odyssey, an epic poem; the main character is Odysseus. In his adventures he shows that he is an astute, warm hearted and an agog hero. He has to make decisions that trouble him and his crew ,but the outcome is greater that losing all of his crue. Therefore he is a hero in trouble. Which means someone who has to make hard decisions and work very hard to save himself and the people and things around him. Odysseus proves he is an astute hero by a traitorous challenge of escaping the cyclops cave. Or being proving that he is agog by getting while passing thru the Sirens. Or warm hearted when he loses his men to Scylla. While Odysseus is on his voyage home he encounters the cyclops. One of the things that the gods expected from the people was that people should show courtesy to their visitors ; thus Odysseus and his crew except that the cyclops show them manners and great them. But the cyclops had another plan. He began by eating some of his men. Afterwards Odysseus offers the cyclops some wine to get on the good side of the cyclops, which was pretty ingenious. So the cyclops asked for Odysseus’s name and he said his name was Nobody so the cyclops he said he was going to save him for last. The he plotted a plan while the cyclops was drunk asleep and sheard his eye with a hot spear they made. They could not completely kill...
Words: 593 - Pages: 3
...Odysseus: Hero or Not In Homer’s epic The Odyssey, Odysseus is a true thinking man’s hero. He faces many obstacles in his journey home from the Trojan War, with a curse from the sea god, Poseidon. Odysseus battles monsters, makes tough decisions, and fights with his integrity to get home, but through what some call “bad luck” and the size of his pride Odysseus finds himself in a pretty difficult predicament. However, like any other heroic tale, in the end he’s able to go home to his wife and son. The question is did he come back as a heroic legend or a selfish punk? Believe it or not, Odysseus is the demanding hero in this poem. Through tough decisions, sacrifices, and his humble attitude…at times; Odysseus shows the reader he is still a human...
Words: 588 - Pages: 3
...The Odyssey by Homer is an epic about Odysseus. Odysseus is a hero that went to war and got cursed by a god,so he had to overcome obstacles and learn his lesson, that was the only way he could go back home. He travels over a vast setting. He faces supernatural foes and receives supernatural help. Odysseus is also a great warrior. Finally i would be discussing the journey of Odysseus . Through his ability as a warrior readers infer that Odysseus is an epic hero. I believe he is a great warrior because he had fought with all his powers to defeat the Trojan war. He have no retreat when the Trojan tried to back off he kept pushing his warriors to keep fighting. Odysseus is a great warrior because they had ask him to come fight the war. Finally Odysseus has really strong warriors just like him....
Words: 328 - Pages: 2
...wife. In the story, The Odyssey, Odysseus goes on a 10 year quest to get back to his wife, Penelope, and his son Telemachus. On this quest he has to battle sirens who sing men to their death, cyclops who eat people, circe, who turns men into animals and most importantly has to sail on the ocean, which the only god that hates Odysseus, Poseidon. Odysseus had to conquer monsters in order to get back to his wife and his son. Therefore this is why I think that in the book The Odyssey, the main character Odysseus was a good hero. One reason why I think that Odysseus was a great hero was because he tried to save everyone he could. “ Odysseus urges his exhausted crew by Thrinacia, the island of the sun god, Helios. But the men insist on landing. Odysseus makes them swear not to touch the god’s cattle”(Homer 922). This shows that he is a good leader because he warns them so that they won’t die so they want to go back to...
Words: 541 - Pages: 3
...Was the great Odysseus the hero that everyone believes he was? Odysseus was a king of Ithaca that was summoned for the Trojan War, to fight for ten years until the fall of Troy.But, when this great hero decided to not pay the gods their dues, he was cursed to sail the seas for ten more years. Odysseus was a hero, and he showed traits of this when his men had to face the cyclops, the son of Poseidon, the god who cursed him.Odysseus and his men entered the lair of the Cyclops unannounced, after running out of food, and landing on it’s island.In search for food, the men entered the cyclop’s home and ate his goat cheese.The Cyclops discovered them in his lair, and ate one of his men on the spot.Odysseus had to be sly, and smart to make it out...
Words: 314 - Pages: 2
...trying to keep all of his 12 ships alive, Odysseus, King of Ithaca, headed home from the long war with Troy. Odysseus, now considered a war hero, had the task of getting himself and all of his men back safe to Ithaca. The only problem was that he faced many difficult challenges along the way. A cyclopes, giants, and a beautiful sorceress were some examples of these. Although Odysseus had some shining moments, he also made some bad ones. Odysseus was strategic in navigating obstacles, however, his arrogance clouded his judgement, leading to his crew’s demise. Odysseus had many great strategies while navigating back home to Ithaca. His arguably best strategy was praying to Athena early in his journey. When Odysseus...
Words: 786 - Pages: 4
...Certainly Odysseus has done something to make people think he’s a hero, but has he made you think he’s a heroic king? Or not? There’s evidence that he did the opposite of what a hero would do. In my perspective, I do not consider Odysseus a hero knowing that he killed all of the suitors heartlessly. In The Odyssey, Odysseus says “ There will be killing till the score is paid,” this is evidence that he doesn’t know how to handle his rage and takes it all out without mercy. (Line 1284) In addition, Homer writes “ Fight your way out, or run for it, if you think you’ll escape death. I doubt one man of you skins by…” this is an example of how his uncontrollable anger toward the suitors makes him murder them all. On the other hand, he...
Words: 253 - Pages: 2
...Is Odysseus Is a Hero Or Not? Do you think Odysseus is a hero? Does Odysseus’s actions define and symbolize him as a true hero? A hero is somebody who strives for the greatest and shows kindness, integrity, motivation and leadership. Odysseus is not a hero because he does nothing out of the goodness of his heart. Although Odysseus fought in the Trojan war, he's not a hero because he is self-centered and ignorant. He did not demonstrate heroic qualities because he cheats, steals and lies and those are not ideal heroic qualities. In this essay I will be explaining some of the many examples of his ignorance and self centeredness and his disloyalty, risk taking actions that make him who he is. Odysseus is self-centered. He doesn't take people’s advice and assumes he's correct and everything he will do is going to end up being right. He was receiving advice from Circe about fighting Scylla and decided not to take it. Circe said that the crew must pass between Scylla, a terrible six-headed monster, and Charybdis, who creates a whirlpool that sucks whole ship's down into the sea three times a day. Odysseus neglected all advice he was given, from Circe and from other crew members. Also, he doesn't value other people's lives compared than his. He was strongly encouraged not to fight Scylla , and proceeded to try, considering the fact he risked all of his men's lives and had to pay a...
Words: 617 - Pages: 3
...A hero “is a typical man, who is admired or idealized for his courage, exceptional achievements, or noble qualities” according to the dictionary, and most people would probably agree too that a hero is “someone who does something extraordinary for other people or a country. Odysseus, the main character of the Odyssey written by Homer, would probably fit the definition of a hero for some people. However, when going deeper on what a hero is or supposed to be, Odysseus is not even close to own that title. In the Odyssey, Odysseus is revealed as an authentic hero. After analyzing the three major characteristics of a hero which are selflessness, compassion, and intelligent it is seen that Odysseus has only one of them and should not be viewed as...
Words: 1095 - Pages: 5
...Odysseus is a classic hero? Odyssey by Homer is an epic about odysseus going on his epic adventure or his own destiny. In the Odyssey homer clearly develops odysseus as an epic hero . He faces supernatural foes and receives supernatural help , he is a great warrior , and he travel over vast travels . Through his vast travels readers infer that odysseus is an epic hero . In the story odysseus went to the cyclops island when he faced cyclops and was very wise and blinded the cyclops . also went to troy to be in the war where he fought for 10 years . Also he went to circe's island where he ended up after poseidon ruin odysseus ship and was washed up . unfortunately he made it back to ithaca and disguised himself . Readers also infer that odysseus...
Words: 303 - Pages: 2
