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Essay On Odysseus Being A Hero

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Is Odysseus a hero?
Being a hero originally means “a brave person who is admired or idealized for courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities.”. Odysseus was well known for being a hero. He has the qualities of being a hero in some situations but also has flaws which make him seem less of a hero at times. Being loyal, clever, and dedicated are examples of being a heroic person. Odysseus has these qualities and more.
Odysseus was faithful and loyal. He stayed faithful to his homeland, Calypso promised Odysseus immortality if he were to stay on her island with her forever, yet he refused the offer and still longed for home. He was also loyal to his men. While he and his men were on the land of the lotus eaters Odysseus could have left …show more content…

After defeating the Cyclops and heading back out into the sea he stood on his ship mocking the Cyclops. When escaping the cave he chose the wooliest ram for himself which shows selfishness. He also leads his men into their own fates. Circe had warned Odysseus about Scylla to not try and fight her even when she already has six of his men, but he did not listen to her advice and tried to fight her and lost three more of his men.
Once back to Ithaca there were many suitors insulting him, his wife, son, house, and the gods and begging for Penelope’s hand in marriage. Odysseus is very vengeful in this situation. He showed no mercy towards them and killed all the suitors. Odysseus is different from other heroes. Well known heroes do not kill people with no sympathy or mercy.
So is Odysseus really a hero? There is a lot of reasonings to both sides, he could be a hero because he was loyal to his homeland and men. He was also clever and dedicated to all his plans and ideas to conquer creatures and return home. On the other hand, he does not seem much like a hero because he was unloyal by having affairs on Penelope. And he was also cocky and arrogant with his overconfidence which caused tension between him, the Cyclops, and

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