...Odysseus has everything he needs in order to take on the role of hero throughout his journey. In Odysseus’s personality, he possesses the ability to strategize. The protection and care that Odysseus gives to his men help in portraying him as a hero. Odysseus has a goal-oriented mindset, the work and effort he puts into achieving his goal shows the heroic side of him. The character traits worn by Odysseus’s personality make it easy to see the hero inside of him. Odysseus possesses character traits amongst a wide variety that make him a hero in Homer’s, The Odyssey. Having the ability to strategize in all aspects of life aids in the characterization of Odysseus as a hero; Odysseus clearly displays his abilities through his decisions over the...
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...Hero versus Hero A hero is like a the one and only happy fish in a bright blue ocean sea full of vicious sharks. A hero is someone who is admiring or is inspiring to a person. A hero is a person who is full of courage, kindness, and might. Odysseus from The Odyssey by Homer has many heroic qualities same goes to Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz. While Odysseus has earned his place in being a hero, it is clear that Dorothy tops off the list with heart full of courage. It is true that Odysseus is a hero because he is courageous, determined, and mighty, however he performs those things in a stingy way. To begin, Odysseus is courageous. According to the text, “There was a loud hiss as the burning wood pierced the watery membrane” (Homer 27). While some people believe Odysseus is courageous because he stabs the cyclops in the eye,...
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...Odysseus a hero or not In his epic poem, “The Odyssey”, Homer introduces a greek hero by the name of Odysseus who is tried many times throughout the series. Human nature is the sum of all human traits, this includes the flaws of life and humanity. Odysseus demonstrates these particular flaws throughout his adventures. When Odysseus is "stuck between Charybdis and Scylla," he chooses to tell his men nothing about the impending doom above, because the danger of his men becoming panicked and thus putting the ship in danger. Instead, he says nothing, hid himself below, and allowed 6 men to die at his hands. This proves him to be self centered and cowardly. Odysseus is constantly weighed down by nature's power over human life. Fear and lack of...
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...The definition for hero according to the Oxford English Dictionary is “A person who is admired or idealized for courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities”. Odysseus was shown as a hero in The Odyssey because he was the main character. If The Odyssey did not portray Odysseus as the main character then I would still think that Odysseus would be main male heroic figure. Odysseus was a person who was praised by most people such as the swineherd, Eumeaus. Odysseus was a “male character in a book, play, or movie, who is typically identified with good qualities, and with whom the reader is expected to sympathize.” according to OED. The reason we should sympathize to Odysseus because he was away for many years and he did not get to see his wife or son for over ten years. Odysseus is considered very heroic in the story so he uses an alias identity to go places with the help of Athena. Odysseus is considered a hero because he was loyal, brave and clever throughout his journey to home which is Ithaca. Odysseus and his men stop at an island when they were travelling. They went in a cave and found food and fell asleep....
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...Odyssey Entry #9 If you have read the Odyssey or even know what the poem is then you probably know what makes Odysseus a mythical hero. Odysseus has the god athena by his side. That it enough to make him mythical. Other than having a well known God by his side odysseus is extraordinary. He was able to outsmart a cyclops, he was able to remain calm, and he was also able to trick his wife's suitors. One thing that made Odysseus mythical was that he able to easily trick Polyphemus by telling him his name was “nobody”. With Athena's help Odysseus was able to outsmart the cyclops. He then was able to escape Polyphemus's cave by using his rams. odysseus and his men used large rams to get away from Polyphemus without him knowing. Unlike some of his...
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...everybody needs a hero at some point. According to Mike Dilbeck, a hero is someone who “transforms compassion (a personal virtue) into heroic action (a civic virtue”). In Homer’s “The Odyssey”, Odysseus is the king of Ithaca, father of one son, and husband of a noble wife. After leaving Ithaca to fight in the Trojan War, Odysseus faces a short journey home, in which he makes bad decisions that cause him to take much longer to arrive back in Ithaca than he should have. Odysseus’s selfishness, disloyalty, and mercilessness eliminated any chances he had of being a hero. Some may argue that Odysseus was a hero because of his extreme cleverness or cunning ways. Yes, Odysseus was clever and cunning, but in most situations he did not apply those skills correctly. Therefore, Odysseus was most definitely not a hero. To begin with, Odysseus’s selfishness is made obvious during his encounter with Polyphemus. Everything he does is for the good of himself. Every action he takes is only taken to build onto his ego. If Odysseus had not decided to provide the Cyclops with all his information, his journey...
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...Imagine being a hero that everyone hates because he/she is a terrible hero. Odysseus is a hero that thinks he is a good hero when he is not. In The Odyssey by Homer, the character Odysseus is seen as a hero and everyone thinks he is. When actually he is taking ten years to get home because he is sleeping with other women and letting his men get killed, all on his way home. He spends many years or a few days at each island trying to get out of something he got him and his men into or is staying with some goddess or other woman. Odysseus is boastful, obnoxious, and dishonest,Odysseus proves that he is a terrible hero in so many ways. Odysseus is gratefully boastful and shows that in many ways throughout the story. Boastful is to show pride or...
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...According to Joseph Campbell, “A hero is born among a hundred, a wise man is found among a thousand, but an accomplished one might not be found even among a hundred thousand men.” In The Odyssey, Odysseus tries to get his men home safe, but he fails. Along the way, Odysseus and his men have many obstacles and stuff to prevent them. Odysseus shows he is a hero because he is smarter, stronger, and emotionally stronger than other men. Odysseus shows he is a hero when he is able to string his bow, but the other can’t. Odysseus talks to a goddess and says how he got lost from his home and how it’s taking forever to get back. Odysseus explains, “He saw the townlands and learned the minds of many distant men, and weathered many bitter nights and days in his deep heart at sea, while he fought only to save his life, to bring his shipmates home”(1.6-9)....
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...Odysseus the Great Do you ever thought of how hard it is to be a hero? How about what a hero really is? In Homer’s timeless epic The Odyssey,Odysseus of Ithaca is the hero. A hero is someone who is loyal to his country, family and gods. Odysseus, king of Ithaca because he is loyal to his country, family, and gods. “Odysseus leaves the ship and rushes to Circe’s hall. The god Hermes stops him to give him a plant that will act like as an antidote to Circe’s power” (page 7580).This shows loyalty to his country because Odysseus is willing to eat something that might kill him to save his men. “I sent out two picked men and a runner to learn what race of men that land sustained.They fell in, soon enough, with lotus eater, who showed no will to do us harm, only offering the sweet lotus to...
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...In “The Odyssey,” Homer writes about Odysseus’s 10 year struggle to return home after the Trojan War. While Odysseus fights in the trojan war, Telemachus and Penelope have to deal with suitors who betrayed Odysseus. They betrayed him by trying to marry his wife. Odysseus was able to return home and kill the suitors and live happily with his wife, Penelope. Odysseus's character, actions, and legacy prove that he is an admirable hero. Another trait that Odysseus possesses is cunning. I feel that cunning is his most significant quality because it has salvaged him from numerous dangers along his journey. The most obvious case of Odysseus’s cunning is when he was dealing with Polyphemus. First, Odysseus gets Polyphemus drunk and then blinds him. He also makes him open the mouth of...
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...Homer suggests in The Odyssey that a hero is someone who not only helps others, but also undergoes some hardship as part of that process. According to this definition, Odysseus is the hero of The Odyssey. Odysseus’s selfless actions demonstrate that he is a hero, for he chooses to offer service to those in need and firmly withstands burdensome trials. On the difficult journey back home, Odysseus’s men are trapped under the captivating spell of the Lotus-Eaters. Odysseus promptly responds to this crisis: “Whoever ate that sweet fruit/ lost the will to report back, preferring instead/ to stay there, munching on lotus, oblivious to home./ I hauled them back wailing to the ships,/bound them under the bunches, then ordered / all hands to board their ships on the...
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...Is Odysseus a Hero? The definition of a hero is: a person who is admired or idealized for courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities. In the epic poem Odyssey by Homer, the main character Odysseus has both positive and negative qualities. Two of Odysseus’s negative qualities are that he is arrogant and reckless. However, he is a tactician and he is also patient. Therefore, in the epic poem the Odyssey by Homer, Odysseus is a hero. His notable weaknesses are him being arrogant and reckless. He is arrogant because he thinks he's great because the “gods know his name.” This is arrogant because he thinks he is better than average people because his name is known by the gods. Another reason he is arrogant is because he tells the cyclops...
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...A hero is defined as someone who is admired or idolized for courage, outstanding, or noble qualities. In The Epic of The Odyssey written by homer, is a story of the quest from Troy to Ithaca. During his quest Odysseus runs into many obstacles and dilemmas. He often has to choose which is the right choice, and which would be the best for him. Although considered by many to be a heroic story, the tales of Odysseus are not always heroic, because of his unethical Andy not noble quest, his polytropos identity, and that is adventure back was only about himself. After his wars at Troy, Odysseus found himself in many unethical and not noble places within the journey home. When on calypsos island, Odysseus cheats on his wife many times while staying...
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...In the Epic Poem “The Odyssey”, written by the mysterious Homer, Odysseus is portrayed as a hero, a perfect man, but, like many other things, as time passes, view on Odysseus change, and people realize that not only was he not a hero, but he was not a good leader in the least. “While he fought only to save his life, and bring his shipmates home”(Homer 951). Odysseus’s one goal was to bring all of his men home safely, not only did he fail this, but not a single man of his survived. He continuously put his men into dangerous situations that ended up being fatal, while if he was a good leader, he would have steered his ships home. “I sent back a few adversary: ‘ ‘O cyclops! Would you feast on my companions? Puny, am I, in a cave man’s hands?...
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...Most people would define the term “hero” as a someone who is “a person who, in the opinion of others, has special achievements, abilities, or personal qualities and is regarded as a role model or ideal” (www.dictionary.com) Although Christians and Greek agree on some characteristics that a hero should have, there is one distinct different: the glorification of God or man. The Greek defined a hero as someone who accomplish extraordinary deeds to glorify himself. Odysseus, the main hero of The Odyssey by Homer, is a perfect example of an ideal hero in the Greek’s perspective. The readers can identify many hero characteristics through Odysseus’ choice of action during his encounter with the Cyclops. Even though Odysseus has to face a thousand...
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