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The Odysseus: A True Hero

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The Odyssey written by Homer describes the nail-biting adventurous tale, of Odysseus and his long journey home, from the war. No journey is without challenges, and Odysseus faces many along the way. He must overcome his own fatal flaws, and become a better man to return home to his wife, and take back his home. In any great hero, is an even greater journey to get there. A hero must endure test against their flaws, discover the heart of their journey, and finally, after all their suffering, they must redeem what they left behind.
Odysseus is not the same man when he returns to Ithaca, compared to the one that left for war. This is due to his change characters because of tests against his flaws. When Odysseus and his men land on the island …show more content…

In a hero’s journey, the ending is more important than ever. It is when a hero can finally have some sort of redemption and be reunited with what he lost. In The Odyssey, Odysseus gets to come home, and reunite with his son that he has never met. The reunion between father and son is an emotional one. It shows a side of humanity and mortality in Odysseus’ that is not depicted in many other characters. Specifically shown on page 255 the words “Salt tears rose from the wells of longing in both men, and cries burst from both as keen and fluttering as those of the great taloned hawk, whose nestlings farmers take before they fly.” This quote is a great example a true reunion. Both physically and mentally. By seeing his son for the first time, Odysseus is given a sense of peace, and spark of purpose, he knows his hardest journeys are behind him, and there is still a life waiting for him. It makes his whole hero’s journey worth it. This moment of reunion and redemption of a family is why self-preservation and motivation are so key to life. A person has not grown until they have experienced loss, and when life balances once again, it is held in the palm of a changed man.
The Odyssey is one of the greatest examples in the literature of a hero’s journey. A hero must endure test against their flaws, discover the heart of their journey, and finally, after all their suffering, they must redeem what they left behind. Odysseus and his voyage are a true testament to human will and the moral character of a true hero. When Odysseus began his journey he started off as an honorable man, but by the time he finished, he became a good man. Odysseus is a testimony to what it means to change for the better, and change of

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