Heroic Qualities In The Odyssey

In the Epic Novella, The Odyssey, by Homer, both heroic and unheroic character traits of the main character Odysseus are found. On the journey of return to his homeland, Ithaca, him and his men are challenged by various obstacles. His journey shows multiple examples of heroic and unheroic character traits of himself. He was known as a great warrior for being intelligent and quick-witted; although he was selfish and arrogant.

At the beginning, Odysseus’s leadership was developed through his heroic actions. When they were trapped inside the cave, one by one, his men were eaten by the Cyclops. Odysseus introduced himself as “Nohbdy” and later, he stabs the Cyclops’ eye. The Cyclops cried, “Nohbdy, Nohbdy’s tricked me, Nohbdy ruined me!” (Homer, 2004, line 358). The name “Nohbdy” is a homophone for the word “nobody.” His actions demonstrates how intelligent he is as he tricked the Cyclops into believing his name was “Nobody”, thus keeping him and his men safe and stabbed his eye with the sharpened

Hee stayed with Circe for a long time, resulting in him longing to go home to his wife. This is proved when he says “Look at my wife Penelope. She falls far short of you, your beauty, stature. She is mortal after all and you, you never age or die...nevertheless I long- I pine, all my days- to travel home and see the dawn of my return.”(Homer, 2004, line 239). Although was very loyal, he was not a great leader due to selfishness. He decides to go into the Cyclops’ cave. As a result of his act of selfishness, he and his men were placed e in danger. Last but not least, Odysseus does not tell his men about Scylla, so that he can live and let his men die. This shows how selfish he is in order to protect his own life. If he told them about

Throughout his journey, Homer has shown Odysseus’s character traits in a various way, heroic and unheroic. Odysseus can be loyal and intelligent, but he can also be stubborn.The