Three Adjectives Of Odysseus In Homer's Odyssey

684 Words3 Pages

In The Odyssey by Homer, Odysseus is the main character of the epic poem. Three adjectives that describe him are brave, clever, and overconfident.

Firstly, the adjective brave describes Odysseus. An example of him being brave is when he uses a spike to blind the Cyclops’ eye. Odysseus says, “I drew it from the coals and my four fellows / gave me a hand, lugging it near the Cyclops / as more than natural force nerved them; straight / forward they sprinted, lifted it, and rammed it / deep in his crater eye, and I leaned on it / turning it as a shipwright turns a drill / in planking, having men below to swing / the two-handled strap that spins it in the groove” (Homer 479). Another example of him being brave is when he faces the suitors. Odysseus says that the suitors will pay in blood for what they did to his property and wife. The fight begins and Odysseus and his men get support of Athena. Odysseus and his men show no mercy and kill all the suitors. Odysseus was brave because he and his men were outnumbered by the suitors. This is why Odysseus is brave.

Another adjective that describes Odysseus is clever. An …show more content…

An example of him being overconfident is when he taunts the Cyclops. While he is sailing away from the island, he taunts the Cyclops by yelling, “Cyclops, / if ever mortal man inquire / how you were put to shame and blinded, tell him / Odysseus, raider of cities, took your eye: / Laertes’ son, whose home’s on Ithaca” (Homer 484) He was being overconfident because by saying his name, he let the Cyclops know who really injured his eye. Another example of him being overconfident is when he decides to listen to the Sirens. Odysseus puts beeswax in the ears of his men but decides to not do this to himself. He instead has his men tie him to the back of the mast of his ship. If he was able to get loose from the ropes, he would have endangered himself and the rest of his men. This is why Odysseus is

Open Document