Heroism In Homer's Odyssey

The main character Odysseus in the Odyssey written by Homer is generally thought to be a great hero; however, he shows more traits of a quite flawed character on closer inspection. Around the beginning of Odysseus’ journey home after the war, Odysseus decides to take a detour to the home of a cyclops deciding to not listen to his men’s suggestions to leave while they still could; consequently, it does not end well: “Ah, how sound that was, Yet I refused. I wished to see the caveman, what he had to offer no pretty sight it turned out, for my friend” (9.130-132). This thought by Odysseus shows that he realized his decision to go to the mysterious island wasn’t the most rational one and that his men’s pleas to leave were the better option, but he decides to be stubborn and place his curiosity before his men’s safety resulting in a non-heroic

TS1 (Thesis): In The Odyssey, Homer depicts Odysseus’ real foe as the theme of temptation with displays of hubris and lustrous goddesses, which portrays the importance of being vigilant to not submit to temptation.

“See, I'd always told myself that because I meant no harm, anything that happened wasn't my fault. At that moment, though, I knew I was wrong. If I hadn't given the female my gun, the bird wouldn't have been shot. I was responsible even though I didn't pull the trigger.”

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 is an arrogant egotistical warrior who hardly ever takes the blame for his own actions. Since he does not take responsibility it shows his weaknesses that could be used against him if this were a war. Odysseus’s weaknesses are shown equally in the literature and the movie. In some ways the literature showed it better or explained it better than the movie did. But in some ways the movie outlined his weaknesses than the movie because it is more visual than when you are reading the story.

The Odyssey by Homer revolves around the character, Odysseus, and his ten-year struggle to return home after the Trojan War. As the epic’s idol, he displays the combination of a clever, handsome, and courageous man popular among the mortals as well as the gods. Essentially, he embodies the ideals of the ancient Greek culture, being adorned with many favored characteristics of the era. However, an intriguing aspect of Odysseus lies in his personality. As the protagonist, he does not manifest the entirety of a stereotypical hero because Odysseus has a fatal flaw—his arrogance. Fortunately, his wisdom progresses over his journey, showing his growth as a character. This change can be referred to as “Eagle Wings,” composes books IX, XII, XVII that highlight contrasting sides of Odysseus's self-restraint, and especially his development throughout the epic.

The Greeks had a set of 8 evil thoughts that served as a moral code to guide the Greek people into morality. The Greeks believed that if these codes were abided by, the person would be closer to their humanity and lead a more fulfilling life. The epic The Odyssey by Homer, includes an episode where Odysseus encounters the Cyclops named Polyphemus. Here, he deceits the Cyclops, in the process blinding the Cyclops, and leading his crew onto a boat with the Cyclops’ sheep. In this episode, “The Cyclops”, Odysseus falls prey to the Greek evil thoughts, distinctively Kenodoxia (boasting), Hyperephania (pride), and Orge (anger). Odysseus bares the detriment of Kenodoxia, or boasting, of which is entangled in the flaunting of one’s accomplishments

“A bad system can destroy good people,” (Gary Mottershead). In the epic poem The Odyssey by Homer, Odysseus has many obstacles that he is determined to overcome with or without his crew. The story shows Odysseus’s long journey home and the problems he encounters. Meanwhile, his son, Telemachos, is faced with the struggle of protecting his mother, Penelopeia, from suitors and trying to find out if Odysseus is alive. Homer uses the literary devices: symbolism, similes, and epithets to help explain the story more thoroughly and provide more underlying meaning to the epic. Odysseus’s narrow-minded way of handling difficult situations by getting past the obstacle even if other people have to die along the way for his own survival make him an incompetent leader and an unfaithful husband.

The story of Odysseus would not exist if not for the strong female characters that all become a part of his journey. One of the women is the nymph, Calypso, who is forever banished to the island of Ogygia for her father’s wrongdoings. Odysseus ends up stranded on the island with her for seven years after being shipwrecked and lost at sea by Poseidon. Calypso ultimately acts a temptress to Odysseus, and serves as a constant reminder of everything he longs for back at home.

Heroes put others before themselves to help their society. This is also considered as sacrificing which is another major part of being a hero. For example, in the documentary “The Man With The Red Bandana” it shows a young man escaping one of the towers in the 9/11 attacks but sacrificing his life and going back to help other innocent lives and unfortunately dying in the process. In addition, there are many other people such as soldiers who fight in the military and risk their lives

As a conceptual object, there is no real physical form for love. You can’t touch or sense love directly, but you may feel it through an indicator or cognition. Before we have an acute definition for love, intelligent philosophers, thinker, and writers have separate explanations on love itself based on different situations. Socrates, one of the significant philosophers who emphasizes rationalism, uses deductive reasoning to explain that the telos of love is one’s desire. The purpose of loving is to produce good or beauty, the ideal objects that highly promote one’s morality. Comparing to other famous writers, such as Homer’s illustrations (Odyssey) on heroic figures’ love, Socrates’s opinion is more universal and able to give new definitions on some actions based on his opinion because his thought on love not only covers the majority of people instead of specific heroes but also reveals the specificity about the actual physical intimacy and the ideological form of love.

Heroism, tends to be difficult to define and remarkably ambiguous in literary works. In the Odyssey, however, Homer clearly defines a hero as a humble, determined, and loyal individual; thus, according to Homer, it is not enough to claim to be a hero, but it is also important to exhibit those qualities that Homer values as heroism. Odysseus, despite claiming heroism, upholds these traits inconsistently, as seen in his taunting of Polyphemus. In contrast, Telemachus, Odysseus’ overlooked son, dramatically grows up over the course of the epic and ultimately reveals his truly heroic qualities by the end of the poem. Thus, because Odysseus claims to be a hero, but fails to remain humble, determined, and loyal throughout the epic, he is not a hero.

A hero is someone who is able to suffer while someone else is happy. They are both spirited and courageous. In the novel The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd, Lily is a young girl who shot her mother accidentally when she was only four. Her father abused her on a weekly basis as a result. With this Lily felt ashamed and unloved. She was able to accept her actions and grow from them. In the novel The Odyssey by Homer, Odysseus, King of Ithaca, was sent to go fight in the Trojan War after the war was over he had to return to his Kingdom. He had a ship and dozens of men and he was on these journey for numerous years. Lily compared to Odysseus, is a hero by having a strong mental capacity to deal with difficult situations and is able to achieve her goals while being abused by her father.

Have you ever wondered what sets apart a hero from everyone else? Heroes are all around us, wherever we go. Not all of them wear capes or have superpowers, because it is what they strive to do in their life that defines them. Famous tennis player Arthur Ashe once said “True heroism is remarkably sober, very undramatic. It is not the urge to surpass others at whatever cost, but the urge to serve others at whatever cost.” This quote shows that in order to be recognized as a hero, one must focus on their motivations and determinations in life, not on physical appearance or fame. A hero is anyone who dedicates their time not only for the needs of their own, but for that of others and overcomes great adversity, even when the odds are against them.

“True heroism is remarkably sober, very undramatic. It is not the urge to surpass all other at whatever cost, but the urge to serve others at whatever cost.” (Arthur Ashe) When someone does something just to help others, it is because they are true heroes. Although heroes endure challenges and act in selfless ways, they are just regular people not superheroes.