Arrogance In The Odyssey

Valor, confidence, always emerges victorious, astute, gods who meddle in the life, loyal, strong. All signs of an epic hero. Was Odysseus a hero? I believe so. Odysseus portrays many of these traits in the Odyssey. Many times he delineates an epic hero's qualities.

Throughout the story, Odysseus demonstrates his courage that ultimately allows him to survive. One of these moments was during his journey back to Ithaca, where he faces a race of man eating giants called the Cyclops. Odysseus originally stops his ship there to relish a feast while on his journey back to Ithaca, but while doing so, out of curiosity explores the island. Soon, he finds a deserted house and decides to wait of the owner. The owner was unknowingly one the Cyclops, named Polyphemus. When the giant arrives home, he starts by eating two of the crew members alive. The remaining crew’s reaction to this was, “Crying out, we lifted our hands to Zeus”(Homer 9.287), But Odysseus thought differently, by quickly adapting to the situation and coming up with a plan. More

An epic hero is someone who is characterized commonly on their nobility and bravery. However ,there are more attributes epic heros can posses. For example Odysseus, the protagonist in Homer's retelling of “The Odyssey”, shows many forms of excessive arrogance and pomposity.

A hero is a person who is recognized or idealized for his or her outstanding achievements and noble qualities. The deaths of his men are the result of Odysseus’ weaknesses. The possession of the character trait, arrogance, does not help him in escaping, but rather puts him closer to danger. Another trait that ends up killing a number of his men is his lack of leadership skills, or rather the lack of respect and trust from his men. In some parts of this epic poem, Odysseus also displays the characteristic, foolishness, in which that also results in the deaths of a number of his men. In the epic poetry, “The Odyssey,” by Homer, Odysseus exhibits his arrogance, foolishness, and his lack of leadership in which it leads to him going home by himself.

In the beginning of the book Odysseus is impulsive and arrogant. After Odysseus blinds and defeats the Cyclops, he cannot contain himself. Out of pure impulsiveness and the inability to be humble, Odysseus yells out to the Cyclops, “If any man on the face of the earth should ask you/ who blinded you, shamed you do so–say Odysseus,/raider of cities, he gouged out your eye,/Laertes’ son who makes his home in Ithaca!” (Homer 9.556-562). Odysseus is so impulsive he has to scream out his name to the gods and the Cyclops. Odysseus’ impulse overtakes his actions, and rather than waiting for the right time to do something, he cannot contain himself and must get it out. In the beginning of the Odyssey, Odysseus cannot control his impulses, which leads

Odysseus can be seen as a naive epic hero. This is because he doesn't step up to be a stern leader with his shipmates and he allows his shipmates to walk over him. An example of this is when Odysseus reaches Thrinacia, the island home to Helio’s cattles. Odysseus tells his

In the epic poem The Odyssey, written by Homer, Odysseus’ heroic deeds are recounted through a narrative that describes his arduous journey from the Trojan War to his homeland of Ithaka. This journey makes Odysseus an epic hero. An epic hero is a brave and noble character who is admired for his achievements. Traits of an epic hero are necessary for the journey Odysseus goes on to reach his homeland. Loyalty is a trait exhibited when Odysseus jeopardizes his own life and goes to rescue his crewmen on Kirke’s island. Odysseus presents skillfulness when he plans to kill the suitors in a productive and quick way. Determination is displayed when Odysseus is on Kalypso’s island. He is so determined to get home and to escape Kalypso’s imprisonment that he says he would die rather than spend another moment on the island. Loyalty, cleverness, and

Would one think of Odysseus as an epic hero? Although he had excessive pride and cheated on his wife, he has many traits that makes him an epic hero. For example, Odysseus was able to come up with a genius plan to injure Polyphemos before he could eat any more of Odysseus’ men, that demonstrates the trait of intelligence. Odysseus has been through many hardships and has always used his traits to help him get through any obstacle. Throughout Odysseus’ journey home, he demonstrates leadership, intelligence, and superhuman strength.

The Odyssey by Homer revolves around the character, Odysseus, and his ten-year struggle to return home after the Trojan War. As the epic’s idol, he displays the combination of a clever, handsome, and courageous man popular among the mortals as well as the gods. Essentially, he embodies the ideals of the ancient Greek culture, being adorned with many favored characteristics of the era. However, an intriguing aspect of Odysseus lies in his personality. As the protagonist, he does not manifest the entirety of a stereotypical hero because Odysseus has a fatal flaw—his arrogance. Fortunately, his wisdom progresses over his journey, showing his growth as a character. This change can be referred to as “Eagle Wings,” composes books IX, XII, XVII that highlight contrasting sides of Odysseus's self-restraint, and especially his development throughout the epic.

Odysseus is an epic hero because of his brave and strategic actions. Odysseus left his home to go and fight in the Trojan war. Odysseus was the soldier who came up with the idea of creating the Trojan horse and using it as a disguise in order to infiltrate the city. This is what ultimately defeated the Trojan army. Odysseus’s actions had a great effect on the world at that time, making his actions heroic. Epic heroes can be

TS1 (Thesis): In The Odyssey, Homer depicts Odysseus’ real foe as the theme of temptation with displays of hubris and lustrous goddesses, which portrays the importance of being vigilant to not submit to temptation.

The cyclops Polyphemus effectively sets up the entire plot of Homer’s Odyssey, unleashing Poseidon’s wrath on Odysseus and consequently emerging as one of his most formidable rivals. Despite being perceived by Odysseus as an uncivilized savage and the polar opposite of a Greek citizen, it becomes evident that although the two are opposed in terms of customs, they fundamentally resemble one another when analyzed through the lens of xenia, rendering Odysseus’ worldview xenophobic. Thus, the Polyphemus episode turns into a powerful allegory for how the West has traditionally viewed people from foreign cultures that they sought to subjugate.

Odysseus tells his crew to draw away from the island and his crew is pleading to him to not show signs of hubris to the Cyclops: “ ‘Godsake, Captain! Why bait the beast again? Let him alone!’ ‘That tidal wave he made on the first throw all but beached us! ‘All but stove us in!’ ‘Give him our bearing with your trumpeting, he’ll get the range and lob a boulder.’ ‘Aye he’ll smash our timbers and our heads together!’ I would not heed them in my glorying spirit, but let my anger flare and yelled: ‘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 lines 449-460). Odysseus is in celebration after he successfully fools Polyphemus and wants to show his cocky side. The audience realizes at this moment that Odysseus has a mental weakness called hubris. Odysseus’ behavior challenges the Gods and is putting not only himself but his men in ultimate danger. Odysseus values glory because it resembles fame and honor. This causes Odysseus to show excessive pride toward the Cyclops. Ultimately, Polyphemus’ reaction to Odysseus’ behavior is anger and this creates no resolution because the Cyclops creates a curse for Odysseus and his

The Odyssey is a fantastic story full of interesting characters, conflicts, and theme. The Odyssey was written by Homer who was a blind poet. It was written in the 8th century B.C during a time of Greek god worship. With intricate characters, exciting conflicts, and an impressive theme the Odyssey is an amazing book for anyone.

In what ways does Odysseus develop as a character during the time of the story?