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Characteristics Of Odysseus As A Hero

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“A hero is an ordinary person who has found the strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming difficulties”-Christopher Reeve. For that very reason, Odysseus is a hero. He is neither immortal nor god, but merely a mortal like everyone else. His determination to return home with his family once again is what motivated him to complete the treacherous journey. To be a hero like Odysseus is to be talented, brave, caring.

Throughout the Odyssey, Odysseus has shown to be more than enough capable in many ways. “A man skilled in all ways of contending”(Homer 371). He was the one person clever enough to formulate a plan in order to escape the cyclops's cave. He was the one person strong enough to string a bow when hundreds of others failed to do so. …show more content…

He displays a heroic trait of fortitude, such as the event when he foresaw the approaching monster, Scylla. For every ship, the creature abducts six men to be devoured by its six heads. Furthermore, Odysseus showed to be undeniably brave in the battle against the hundred suitors Some believe Odysseus is not a hero because of his excessive arrogance. However, this claim is incorrect because Odysseus also shows kindness when he picked up three of his men and took them back to the ship because they were under the effects of the lotus flower (Homer 373). This action reveals Odysseus as being a compassionate hero because he obviously did not wish for his crewmates to stay behind with the rest of the Lotus Eaters with no chance of returning home, and even cared enough to carry all three full grown men on his

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