In the story of the Cyclops Homer’s theme is intelligence rules over brute strength. Odysseus uses brilliant wisdom to overpower the might of the Cyclops. Homer shows that with Odysseus’ careful tactics he was able to beat even the mightiest of people. Homer also teaches that if one cannot keep their cool wisdom and strength are nothing.
The mighty Odysseus has proved himself as a hero in The Odyssey in multiple occasions. First, to be a hero I believe that bravery and cleverness are needed to perform a heroic act. There is no need for a certain superpower or strength in my opinion to become a hero. Odysseus has shown there characteristic in his twenty year Odyssey as he searches for his way back to Ithaca. First, Odysseus’ bravery, he shows his bravery by confronting massive and terrifying creature that endangered Odysseus and his men 's’ lives.
Being an epic hero is not something that anyone can do. It requires qualities such as strength, courage, and intelligence. All of these qualities are presented by the character Odysseus. His strong emotional wall kept him alive and going during the twenty years that he was gone from home. Odysseus not only showed mental strength he also demonstrated physical strength.
His strengths could also turn into weaknesses depending on how they could be used. According to a College Teacher, "Odysseus compassion and trust in his men are strengths as long as his men follow his instructions. These same traits, however, become weaknesses only in hindsight when his men betray his trust and the Helios island episode becomes an example of a strength that evolve into weakness. A hallmark of Odysseus leadership in both the Iliad and the Odyssey is his flexibility in thought and deed. This flexible leadership style, however, is dependent upon everyone doing his duty and, on the island of Helios, this particular strength is also a weakness.
If you were to think about a man with great abilities like being strong, courageous and intelligent, you could think of people you personally or like me, you could think of someone such as Odysseus. Odysseus fits the definition of an epic hero because he is quick thinking, strong and courageous. Odysseus is one quick thinking individual. He has gotten him and his crew out some some sticky situations with his clever plans. One of these plans were how to get away from Polyphemus, a cyclops who was the son of Poseidon.
This simile highlights a stratagem adopted by Odysseus to help him and his men escape the cave. Odysseus selects four men to help him drive a sharp object into Polyphemus' eye; however, this tactic is ineffective because there remain guards at the cave's entrance who are tasked with catching any Greek that attempts to escape. This simile exemplifies Odysseus' wisdom as a war strategist, and his application of intellectual tactics to out-maneuver the enemy. After this plan proved to be a failure, Odysseus hid with the rams and successfully escaped. The consistent strategies Odysseus came up with to defeat the enemy even when they proved to be failures just indicated that he is wise and capable to learn from his mistakes. Arguably, war is a battle
Odysseus is a typical example of a hero. He is able to pull off miraculous things to save himself and his crew seemingly without fail. The story of his journey is well known, and a great tale of his adventures. In the two parts we have read so far, we see what he is willing to do for his crew, and his intelligence and quick thinking in difficult situations. The first challenge that waits them is the island of Cyclopes.
In Homer’s the Odyssey, Odysseus’ hubris is his pride. Odysseus is a self-made, self-assured man that prides himself on his tactical victories and conquests. Odysseus is the genius behind the Trojan Horse, the cunning man that outsmarted Polyphemus, the Suitors, and Circe. Odysseus is truly a man who can do it all. Odysseus ultimately wants his fate to be in his own hands.
Odysseus’s traits help him achieve his goal of returning to his home. Odysseus and his men have a lot of willpower to continue traveling after some dangerous and life risking experiences with cannibals, lotus-eaters, cyclops and many more creatures that could of killed Odysseus and his whole crew. Odysseus's confidence and epic hero traits only increase as the story goes on, his confidence in his men increase as he starts noticing how strong and powerful his men can be, and also shows confidence in
Odysseus created an escape plan when he and his men got trapped inside the cave of a deadly Cyclops who had already eaten two of his men. Odysseus kept his cool and devised a plan to hide under the sheep of the Cyclops who were let out of the cave every morning. These actions had an effect on his men, filling them with respect. These are the kinds of actions that make Odysseus an epic hero.
The suitors always underestimated Odysseus’s son Telemachus who somewhat had the same mindset as his father. Before the end of battle between Odysseus and the suitors, Telemachus, Odysseus’ son, joined into the fight and successively killed someone who tried to kill his father. This showed couragement and treachery on both accounts because nobody expected Telemachus to be able to fight (Forman). During the battle, the goddess Athena helped Odysseus to fight against the suitors. Ulysses with Minerva against the suitors was a huge battle between the deities and the people, since Minerva or Athena was the people’s mentor and they had hope that the goddess would be with them instead of Odysseus.
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.
Odysseus was a man of great stature and strength; however, Odysseus was not only physically strong, but mentally strong as well (Olson). We can see Odysseus’ mental strength, or cunning, and bravery when he is in the den of Polyphemus and devises the plan to save him and his crew by calling himself nobody and stabbing out the cyclops’ eye. He also recognizes that he
In the epic story the Odyssey by Homer, Odysseus is returning from the Trojan war, and on his way home he finds many obstacles ahead of him. Odysseus is the ruler of Ithaca and he is trying to return home to his land. Many creatures try and stop him from achieving his goal of returning home, but he and his crew have to push through and get home. Odysseus portrays bravery and courage leading his crew through these tough challenges. Odysseus heroically leads his crew and himself through dangerous obstacles, but also foolishly endangers them during the journey home.
Odysseus defies the suitors and wins his wife and kingdom back. Despite Odysseus' overconfident nature, Odysseus proves he is a hero by showing bravery and intelligence. When it comes to being a hero, being brave is one of the most