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Odysseus: A War Hero

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Rowing through rough seas, 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 …show more content…
Odysseus’ crew dock their boats on an island, home to a cyclopes. Odysseus and his crew spot a huge wheel of cheese, and while the crew wanted to take it and get out of the shady place, Odysseus says, “Steal? Why wait when we can be given it?” Odysseus’ decision is eventually fatal for some of his men. Odysseus and 50 of his men enter the cyclopes’ cave, and using some clever tricks, escape with only a few deaths, goats and cheese, while the cyclopes, Polyphemus, gained blindness. As the crew is leaving, Odysseus shouts back, “I am Odysseus, hero of Troy, and my kingdom encompasses Ithaca, Cephalonia and wooded Zanthe!” The reason Odysseus shouted is for Polyphemus to fear him and tell the tale of getting blinded by the great war hero, but that is not what happens. Instead, Polyphemus calls upon his dad, Poseidon, god of the seas, to curse Odysseus, no making it nearly impossible to return to Ithaca on the seas without Poseidon killing them. Also, later in the story, Poseidon causing them to land on the island of the Laestrygonians, leading to 11 out of the 12 ships to be eaten. Odysseus’ pride got the better of him, and his crew payed the price. A leader has to control a group, and Odysseus lost all of his group, losing all of his credentials to be a good leader. Polyphemus was a great example of Odysseus’ arrogance, but the bag of winds is even

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