Brawns Vs. Brains In Homer's Odyssey

Comparing Beowulf to some of the villains of the comics may not make him seem as strong or have as much battle prowess. There is no doubt that Beowulf is the unsurpassed warrior that swims great distances on a whim or rips monsters to shreds with his hands, yet some of the people that the Web-Head has to beat take more than brawn, to fight those villains he has to have brains. While Beowulf could just walk up and beat the tar out Grendel, Spidey, fighting someone comparable to Grendel like The Rhino, would need to think about what he has to do to protect the

What does a hero mean to you? A hero is an ordinary person facing extraordinary circumstances and acting with courage, honor, and self - sacrifice. In this paper, I will explain three ways that Odysseus was a hero and three ways that Odysseus was not a hero. 2 MORE SENTENCES First, Odysseus was a hero because he overcomes extreme dangers, such as Odysseus encountering the Cyclops. The Cyclops could have woke up at any time, but still yet Odysseus had put his life in danger.

He also provides the leadership characteristic with making men follow his every move and really questioning him. Most importantly he almost perfectly follows Joseph Campbell's hero cycle. Odysseus call to adventure is ten years after the trojan war has ended and odysseus is helplessly trapped on Calypso's island, Ogygia. Calypso is madly in love with odysseus and unwilling to let him leave and furthermore Odysseus has no ship or crew to help him get home. As Odysseus dreams of being home with his wife and son they are fighting off suitors who have come to pillage odysseus land and try to marry his wife penelope.

Odysseus shows leadership by taking charge and bringing his men back to the ship. He uses intelligence to know that he should not tell his men about Scylla and Charybdis. Lastly, Odysseus reveals bravery when he goes into the Underworld. As Napoleon I once said, “True heroism consists in being superior to the ills of life, in whatever shape they may challenge us to combat.” This quote means that to be true hero one must be able to stand tall and fight through any obstacle they are faced

Odysseus is perceived as the most cunning of men due to the many tales about him in the Trojan wars. This image of cunning continues to show at times during his early challenges; in these challenges Odysseus gradually proceeds to display his shortcomings. Once a trial becomes personal towards him, he neglects his cunning and becomes a spineless revenge seeker. It is clear that while dealing with the Cyclops Odysseus holds his cunning nature intact as well as beginning to shed light on his tragic flaw. While his men were being caged by the Cyclops, Odysseus re-introduces his cunning nature with the strategic plan he devised in order to free his men.

After composing a clever plan, Odysseus defeats the bloodthirsty monster and just as he is about to leave, his hubris gets the best of him and he begins to call out to Polyphemus mocking him, “If someone asks who did this, the name is Odysseus!” After Odysseus has finished mocking him, Cyclops cries out to his father, Poseidon to never let Odysseus get home. This results in Poseidon making Odysseus’ journey much longer. The events that transpired could have all been avoided if Odysseus wouldn’t have let his hubris get in the way. His actions were the reason his journey was prolonged because if he would have just left as he was initially planning to, he would have gotten home a lot sooner. Poseidon behaved fairly punishing Odysseus for his own actions to which he admitted

From that point on Beowulf is granted “the glory of winning” (Heaney 130) because God curses Grendel. Beowulf makes his battle with Grendel worthwhile. He decides that he wants it to be a hand-to-hand battle, turning it into an act of strength and courage. Beowulf brutally defeats Grendel, but it was for the greater good. “…the whole of Grendel’s shoulder and arm, his awesome grasp” (Heaney 130) illustrates Beowulf’s feat in destroying Grendel.

Odysseus has many trials throughout his adventure. The Homeric usual hero is what he is set up as but unlike most of them he redefines himself. Homer’s creation of Odysseus as a dynamic character through the stories within stories and conflict explores the importance of the evolution of characters despite his apparent hero status within Greek culture Odysseus displays a strong hubris in the first parts of the Odyssey which would fit his reputation as the famous war hero he is. This turns to become a burden on him, he is determined and cares for his men yet his selfish and arrogant behavior cost him those men. Odysseus throughout the story implements his hubris and makes reckless moves which ultimately causes disaster in the long run.

Odysseus trusts goddess Athena's plan to get rid of the suitors and having her as his mentor, he is more confident to take down the suitors. As this quote explains "The two plotted death for the insolent suitors. Athena began their discussion this way" (Homer 331). She gives Odysseus the plan from there on, on how to make his way up and defeat the outnumbered suitors. It would have been impossible for Odysseus to take down the suitors on his own, if Athena did not guide

The tale of the Land of the Cyclopes is a very prominent feature in Odysseus’ story. Here we really see our hero show his skills in a multitude of ways. Not only does Ody trick a demigod but he also blinds him. The crew of men our protagonist brought to the island believes that they should off Polyphemus in his sleep, but in that moment Odysseus shows a higher understanding of the world. The man know that if they killed the cyclops then, they would never escape the cave because they weren’t strong enough to move the boulder that blocked the way.

Even though he’s out numbered, he takes his chances by being courageous to defeat these sea monsters (559). Another trait is Beowulf’s strength that helps him become a hero. Beowulf has “hands that [move] with thirty men’s strength” (380). Like a superhero, strength is also important for a native hero. Beowulf battles monsters like Grendel who triumph his size and devour men who nobly fought in battle.

A great leader, a warrior and a husband that became famous because of the concept of Trojan horse and the Greek hero, he was ODYSSEUS. In the world that full of war there might be a leader that will protect and fight his kingdom like Odysseus. In the present day, the politicians might be the hero of his or her community from different risks, enemies, consequences and problems. The movie of The Odyssey, Odysseus tempted many times like when he affair to Calypso, a nymph, but he realized that his wife and son need and wait him no matter what happen but he don 't have ship to get out on that island of Calypso. Hermes the messenger of gods and goddesses, persuades Calypso to let Odysseus build a ship and leave.

It was to get the Greeks to hide in the Trojan horse and have the people of Troy to open the gates so the Greeks would attack. In my opinion this is a very clever and outstanding idea. All of this lead his men to victory. Which proved that he was intelligent. Odysseus has his weaknesses but also his flaws.