...To most people, a hero would be described as someone who is physically strong, courageous and has risked or sacrificed his life for others. However, In Ancient Greece, a hero is considered a powerful clever man who is brave, courageous, has achieved many great accomplishments and someone who is favored by Gods. In the Greek society, a hero is a leader who not only has physical strength, but has mental strength as well. Odysseus, a famous Greek archetypal hero, demonstrates all these heroic qualities throughout the novel. "Finally, they decided to resort to a trick thought of by Odysseus...” Homer reveals Odysseus’ heroic characteristics through this quote by demonstrating how Odysseus can come up with logical solutions in life threatening...
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...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...
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...Hero or Not Heroes try to make a minimal amount of mistakes, they act only with the best intentions, and they do their best to save everyone. In a story written by an author named Homer, called the “Odyssey”, the main character does not show these qualities, in fact he oftentimes shows the opposite. Thus he is not a hero. The story is about a man by the name of Odysseus. Being stuck at sea, Odysseus with his men, are trying to get home, but the gods are testing them. In this story Odysseus shows qualities like greed, arrogance and stupidity and proves that he is not a hero. The first reason why Odysseus is not a hero is because he and his men show greed and stupidity by raiding the cicones. Meanwhile Odysseus and his men were drunk, the...
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...and are able to sympathize with others. Odysseus, from the epic poem, The Odyssey, by Homer, is a man who obtains these hero-like qualities. Unfortunately, he has been away from home for ten years due to the many obstacles he encountered on his journey back to his home island, Ithaca. In this story, he shows hero-like traits to many people. He defeated the cyclops, Polyphemus, from trapping him and his men, slept with the enchantress Circe, he is able to pass the Sirens, Scylla, and Charybdis who blocked his and his men's path home, encountered walking corpses in the Land of the Dead to meet Tiresias, and cried for his dog,...
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...A hero is someone who shows quantities of courage or outstanding achievements and is recognized for their positive impact on society. A heroic person is someone who can help in the time of need and comfort others in times of distress. A current day example of a hero is 19 year old, Christian Gunter. Christian was a manager at the home for disabled vets in Arkansas. He saved all 10 vets from a tornado that tore right through the home 20 min after Christian saved all the vets. For someone to be a hero, there is no physical limitations that makes it necessary to be strong and wear a cape with tights because heroes are judged by their actions and nothing more. Qualities that I associate with a hero are vigilant, selfless, and the willingness to take risks. Homer from the Odyssey suggests that Odysseus is made a hero by exemplifying qualities of being bold, savior, and sly. However, the characteristics that Homer equates with Odysseus are not always required for someone to be considered a hero. In Homer’s epic poem, the Odyssey, bold is a quality that makes Odysseus heroic. The act of being bold is the willingness to take surprisingly brave risks, which Odysseus demonstrates in his adventures. In the Adventure of the Cyclopes, Odysseus states that “we climbed, then, briskly to the cave. But Cyclops had gone afield, to pasture his fat sheep, so we looked round at everything inside.” This is an example of being bold because Odysseus and his crew are unaware of the contents inside...
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...Who is a better epic hero? - After reading and learning about the stories of Achillies and Odysseus and their journeys, I feel that the better hero would have to be Odysseus . Even though his journey was very long and hard, he always had his family on his mind. And, even when his curiosity lead him to unimaginable places and things, Odysseus was able to think his way out of it with his cleverness. Not to mention the fact that he is extremely brave. Brave in many cases where others weren't, and that makes him the better hero. - Through the harsh and long travels through Calipso's island, Circe, the underworld, and many other places Odysseus visited, he kept one thing in mind throughout the whole journey. His family. Odysseus would constantly...
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...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...
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...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...
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...is; for some each day is an odyssey and for others life is The Odyssey. For Odysseus, returning home to his land and his loved ones is the Odyssey. In scenes of deep sorrow, crying serves as a personification of Odysseus’s honor. Furthermore, Odysseus’s sobbing is a vehicle to memorialize the honor of his comrades. In moments depicting this grief, Odysseus illustrates a hero must have legendary achievements and noble qualities, but above all, Odysseus shows a hero must value honor. We will now examine passages depicting Odysseus sorrow in this epic, and through these passages we will show honor as the most important feature of a hero in the Odyssey. We commence our reading of the Odyssey with a common dictionary definition of what the word hero symbolizes in our mind. According to Merriam Webster, a hero is one with distinguished...
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...concept of a hero has been interpreted in many ways throughout the ages an Odysseus is one literary hero that stands the test of time. There are many heroic traits that makes Odysseus in The Odyssey a hero even in today's world. The first trait that makes him a hero is Odysseus is hubristic which is one of his flaws. The next trait is he is stro In the Odyssey Odysseus portrays many traits that make him a hero such as his flaws. In multiple books he shows how hubristic or pride he is especially in book nine at the cyclops island. When Odysseus and his crew first arrived on the island Odysseus picks out a dozen of his best fighters to scope out the island. They find one of the cyclops caves and de themselves at home and “built a fire, set...
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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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...Isabel Mendoza English 12 S1 Anna Dowlen 12 May 2016 Odysseus the Hero By definition, a hero is someone who is admired for courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities. Odysseus represents the definition of an archetypal hero gorgeously merely from the fact that he receives super-natural help from the gods. He resembles his home (Ithaca) in the way that puts him as the main protagonist based upon his exceptional morals, which were considered to be boundless courage and respect for the gods and their traditions. With his outstanding qualities he is looked upon for guidance throughout the story as he tries to overcome the many obstacles that stand in his way as well. Odysseus is an archetypal hero mainly from the fact that he receives help from the gods. For example, Euanthes who grants Odysseus in his trouble gifts that will get him and his crew the opportunity to regain their strength. He also receives help from an entity named Dawn. In a way this character represents Odysseus and almost foretells the struggles he will later be facing. In a section he introduces this entity, “Young Dawn with her rose-red fingers shone once more we all turned out, intrigued to tour the island.” From there we can see the struggles he faces with himself to overcome the many obstacles that Zeus inflicts on Odysseus in hopes to prevent his journey to go any further. Another characteristic of an archetypal character is one in which all heroes contain a flaw that prevents them...
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...Odyssey, written by Homer, the main character, Odysseus, had the leadership qualities one must possess to be an epic hero. People in general, always will follow a leader no matter what his or her characteristics are.An epic hero is defined as a human in the favor of the gods who is the main character in an epic poem, has larger than life qualities, goes on an adventure, leads a group of people, and has at least one flaw. All of these characteristics are what make a leader into an epic hero. Odysseus is was exactly what the definition states. There are so many things that can turn an ordinary person into an epic hero and Odysseus is a great example of this. One of the requirements an epic hero must have is the favor of the gods. Odysseus was in the favor of multiple gods and goddesses. Many of them gave him advice or things to help him along his journey. Hermes gave him a magical plant called, Moly, which would protect him from Circe’s drink. Athena was probably the goddess that helped him the most throughout his journey. She warns Odysseus about the suitors back home and helped him fight against them as well as the Trojans. Zeus went both ways about helping Odysseus, sometimes he did and sometimes he did not. The “omen” that Zeus sent when Odysseus faced the suitors is an example of Odysseus being in his favor. Aeolus, King of the Wind, also helped the epic hero. When Odysseus and his crew left the King’s island he gave Odysseus two parting gifts. One of them was a wind that...
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...transcendetality. Two great authors from the Western civilization that take part of a modern literary culture that is characterized for its epic stories and epic characters that follow along the definition of an epic hero. An epic hero is a brave and noble character in an epic poem, admired for great achievements or affected by grand events. Dante’s Aligheri’s Inferno and Homer’s The Odyssey respectively have two characters that fulfill what is like to be recognized as a brave and noble character. Throughout both poems, we can see how each character has unique qualities that make them outstand and set them up as a leader, but at the same time, they have the flaws of any human being. It is clear when a character overcomes the status of any human being and sets the lead as a hero. An important trait of an epic hero is the fact that starts a journey; it may be of a personal matter, such as Dante, or of societal matter, like Odysseus. In The Odyssey, Odysseus is a war hero travelling home after a period of twenty years. In this epic, Odysseus is brought out as a hero with superhuman courage. In most cases, he has been shown fighting with supernatural forces. One characteristic of this journey that is different from Dante is that the hero in this epic fights against external forces. Odysseus faces many challenges while traveling home. To begin with, he is cast on an island that is surrounded by waters. Some situations appear to have no immediate solution as one is surrounded by problems. Secondly...
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...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...
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