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Odysseus Heroic Qualities Essay

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Odysseus is an exceptional hero who holds a number of traits that make him so. Some of these being his courage, leadership qualities, and his sharp intellect. He also possesses negative qualities, as every moral does, like his unfaithfulness and his overbearing self pride. His journey back to his home and family in Ithaca from the Trojan war is a long and treacherous one. On this journey he has shown these traits and proved his heroic ways.
A few positive traits that Odysseus holds are courage, leadership qualities, and an immensely sharp intellect. On his journey he encounters many horrific monsters, such as the 6-necked Scylla in book 12. He steers his ship directly at this creature knowing that 6 men from his ship will be slain. He is also a very strong leader. He proves his leadership by saving his men, who had been turned into pigs, from the enchantress going by the name of Circe. He does this, in book 10, by facing her and threatening to kill her. The last …show more content…
These flaws include his unfaithful behaviors while on his journey and his hubris (excessive pride). On his journey to Ithaca he encounters the island of Circe. There, after saving his men, he takes part in a year long affair with this enchantress. While his wife remains in everlasting despair waiting for her husband to come back home, he spends a year with Circe on her luxurious palace. Another major flaw that Odysseus shows is his immense self pride. This is seen after he just barely escapes the island of the Cyclopes and shouts at Polyphemus, “Cyclops, if anyone ever asks you how you came by your blindness, tell him your eye was put out by Odysseus, sacker of cities, the son of Laertes, who lives in Ithaca.” He almost got himself and his entire crew killed just because he wanted to take the pride of being known as the man who blinded a

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