Odysseus is an epic hero because he is capable of deeds of great strength and courage. Odysseus shows he is brave/courageous when fights the monstrous Polyphemus and stabbed him in the eye with a giant olive tree. He proves he is
An example of his cleverness would be when he tells Polyphemus, the cyclops that his “ ‘..name is Nohbdy; mother, father, and friends, everyone calls me Nohbdy’ (page 380 Lines 274-275).” This shows his cleverness because he avoids being killed and does not exploit his name. He also avoids telling his real name, so that Polyphemus would not curse him. Though Odysseus manages to get him and his men out of Cyclops’ clasps, he ends up screwing up their only chance of getting home safely. An example of Odysseus’ intelligence is When the three men that Odysseus sent to check the land of the Lotus Eaters, and they were “forgetful of their homeland. [Odysseus] drove them, all three wailing, to the ships, tied them down under their rowing benches…(page 373 Lines 47-49).” This shows his intelligence by only sending in three men. However, Odysseus being clever only helps them in only one situation, and by the end of book 12, a majority of his men end up dying. What Odysseus did in one situation should not depend on whether he is a hero, but rather should be based on what the outcome
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
One part in the Iliad and the Odyssey, Odysseus finds himself with a cyclops. He goes with all his men but they all run away or get scared. The cyclops also had him as his slave. Odysseus used his smart thinking and used boiling tar and poured it onto his face. The cyclops was left blind and he ran off. During the Trojan War Odysseus had a great idea to make the a horse for the Trojans and left it by the gate. What they didn't know was that they were hiding inside the horse to attack while they were sleeping. There was another time during his journey where they were passing by some Sirens. Odysseus used his intelligence to use wax and put it in their ears so they wont hear them because if they did they would
Odysseus is clever because he comes up with elaborate plans. Two examples are on page 14 and pages 99-103. On page 14, Odysseus dresses up as a trader to uncover Achilles, who was dressed up as a princess. Odysseus was giving items to the princesses and showed a sword, and Achilles pulled off his veil. This was clever because he knew how to skillfully uncover Achilles and how to do it effectively. On pages 99-103. On pages 99-103, he dressed up as a beggar to steal the Luck of
Odysseus is a hero because he is smart. For example, when Odysseus and his men approach the giant he offers him ¨liquor to wash down your scraps of men¨ (Homer 991). Odysseus is clever by doing this because he can predict that the liquor will make him fall asleep. He knows that the boulder that is blocking the entrance is heavy so he doesn 't kill Polyphemus. Instead, Odysseus only hurts him. In addition, when the cyclops asks Odysseus for his name he responds
In conclusion, Odysseus is a hero because of his many great qualities. While he has bad qualities additionally, the things he does in order to save his crew show valor, nobleness, and strength. His bravery, cunning, and hard work ethic truly make him a hero, even though he has some frowned upon qualities, such as excessive pride, immense curiosity, and a rather large
He used his tact to sway delicate situations in his favor and flatter those who had him at their mercy. Using his resilience, he persevered on his journey until the very end, willing to suffer great cruelties simply to continue homeward. This resilience left him as the sole survivor of his crew after a series of tests put forth by the gods, and it allowed him to reunite with his family. Odysseus used his cunning to deceive enemies and friends alike, spinning an intricate web of lies and transforming himself at his will. These are the qualities that make Odysseus an epic hero, and they are the reason that Odysseus was able to live to see his family even after he watched his friends die off one by one. Odysseus fought tirelessly to protect his crew, his family, and himself, and used his four strongest qualities to do so successfully. With the evidence presented, it is clear to see that as a result of his use of tact, cunning, resilience, and loyalty, Odysseus is able to complete his journey
Odysseus is most definitely very clever in the way he can think through a circumstance and execute a plan or mission. An example showing Odysseus’s cleverness is when he ran into an incident with the Cyclops. In order to save his men safely from the Cyclops, Odysseus gave the Cyclops wine in order to move past it. It was key that Odysseus did this at the right time or else the plan would not have worked properly. The wine made the Cyclops drunk allowing the men to poke out the Cyclops’ eyes. The plan was executed perfectly allowing Odysseus and his men to move past safely out of the Cyclops’ cave. Odysseus also showed how smart he was when the Cyclops asked for Odysseus’s name. He said his name was Norman in order to not reveal his true identity in case there was a future incident with another Cyclops. Looking back to when the Cyclops was getting his eye poked out, another Cyclops was summoned due to the loud shouts from the first one. This showed how clever it was that Odysseus did not reveal his real name because then both Cyclops would
For instance, Odysseus upon meeting the Cyclops announces, “my name is Nohbody.”(Homer972.1:273) He does not reveal his identity so that when the cyclops is blinded and the other Cyclops asks who blinded him he replied Nobody. Another example of his cleverness is when he explains to his crew why he decided not to kill the Cyclops, “If I [kill]ed him we [perish]ed t[here] as well, for we could never move his ponderous doorway slab aside.”(Homer.1.:204-206) Since a human could not move the door way he uses his wits to blind the cyclops so that he may move the door. Cleverness is highlighted once again when Odysseus is warned of the sirens deceiving calls that will drag them into the rocks and “[He] carrie[s]d wax along the line and laid it thick in their ears.” (Homer 982.2:43-44) The wax in their ears will stop them from hearing the sirens and will continue on their journey without
Odysseus, he’s known as a war hero on his way back to his homeland, who ends up going on a ten year long journey due to unforeseen circumstances. On this journey, he encounters many monsters, many ladies, and we see his good side and his bad side. Due to the fact that he’s very noble and brave (and in an epic poem), that makes him an epic hero. He’s also a very famous archetype for The Hero. Odysseus has some good traits, some bad flaws, and has been in some ugly situations, but overall he is a true hero.
Another one of Odysseus's heroic qualities is his intelligence. During the Trojan war he comes up with eh idea to build a huge wooden horse and to hide in it so they could offer it as an offering. While him and his men were with the cyclops he offered him
It is true that Odysseus is a hero because he is brave, powerful and smart, but he does these things in a selfish way. To begin, Odysseus is brave. According to the text, “There was a loud hiss as the burning wood pierced the watery membrane” (Homer 27). Some people believe that this shows that he acts brave
To begin with, Odysseus is a man of outstanding wisdom. He was the only one who could be the best man suited to cope with crises in personal relations among
The Odyssey is a tale of a great hero trying to get home. An epic hero. An epic hero is a courageous and honorable person. Homer’s character Odysseus exemplifies this in many ways. No matter what is thrown at him he never stops trying to get home, getting past a Cyclopes, the Lady Circe, and sirens. He even gets through the Underworld and lives. Despite this, Odysseus does have faults about him, though not as many as there are qualities. He is a worldwide symbol, an archetype, of both nobility and bravery. Odysseus, the epic hero of the Odyssey, a great leader with many attributes as well as flaws, is no ordinary man.