Homer's Odyssey: Is Odysseus A Hero?

It unquestionably shows in the epic poem The Odyssey by Homer that Odysseus is indeed a hero. Although Odysseus shows signs of weakness along his journey returning to Ithaca, he is very heroic in many situations to save his men and attempt to return them all home. ADD SENTENCES HERE. Odysseus is undoubtedly a hero because he saves many of his men from the cyclops, he rescues his men from Circe, and he ventures into the House of Death alone. Odysseus in The Odyssey by Homer is a hero because he saved many of his men from the cyclops, Polyphemus.

Odysseus embodies the characteristics of an epic hero in many ways. One such way is that he was that he was born to be a king. Most epic hero’s are born into a royal family. Another reason that Odysseus is an epic hero is because he can complete tasks that most commoners could not. For example, he defeats a gigantic, angry, human-eating cyclops without its neighboring brothers noticing.

Not only does he commit countless heroic acts in situations of high pressure where he could die, he also never loses faith. He continues to believe in Ithaca and dreams of his queen and never loses sight of his goal despite the years and many distractions. Odysseus takes risks, an example of this is in book IX, when he enters the Cyclopes cave not knowing what’s inside. He does many things throughout the epic that seem to lack judgement, but later show he always had it under control. Another quality that supports Odysseus being a hero is that he is blessed by a god, meaning they notice something great or godlike in him.

Usually, epic heroes share common character traits such as bravery,courage,loyalty,. In Homer’s Odyssey, it is my belief that Odysseus is not heroic mostly because he was loyal when he was gone and left his wife. For example, when he went where Hades was all his men went and they ended up dieing.Even though some people may argue he is a hero because he had a good idea on how to win the war,also when Cyclops tried killing them Odysseus didn't say his name and stabbed him so they escaped. I maintain that he is not a hero because he wasn't loyal because he slept with Calypso and his men died.

Most of his struggles come from when he says that no one helped him in the Trojan War and that he did everything himself. All of these struggles that Odysseus goes through help him realize that the gods help him a lot and it teaches him to be thankful. The fact that Odysseus gets affected by grand events helps him become a better hero by teaching him that he can not do everything on his own and helps him be

Usually, epic heroes share common character traits such as courage, self control, fearless, daring. In Homer’s Odyssey, it is my belief that Odysseus is heroic mostly because his is courageous and fearless. For example, he wasn’t panicking when he was against the cyclops, he was thinking of what to do so they can escape the cave.Even though some people may argue that he wasn’t a hero, I maintain that he is a hero because even though he took twenty-years to get back home and he lost his men to a six headed monster, and even had to bed with some goddess to save his men, he still thought of his wife and his child and his kingdom.

Odysseus had lots of pride in himself and his crew. Although Odysseus got him and his crew out of the cyclops's cave, he could not hold his pride in as he told the cyclops his name. "Cyclops- if any man on the face of the Earth should ask you who blinded, shamed you so- say Odysseus, raider of cities, he gouged out your eye, Laertes' son who makes his home in Ithaca!" (9.558-562). If he had not done this, life would be much easier for him, because Poseidon would not have had a reason to go after him.

There are distinctive sort of strengths that a hero must possess to be considered heroic. This includes physical and emotional strength. In the book “The Odyssey,” Odysseus displays these two qualities. Odysseus shows emotional strength by never losing self-possession even when he is confronted with a hazardous situation. Additionally, he reassures his crew members that they are safe from the wrath of the cyclops when they were stranded on an unknown island.

The Cyclops could have woke up at any time, but still yet Odysseus had put his life in danger. Odysseus and his men had became trapped in Polyphemus cave. Odysseus had told the giant that his name is “nobody”. Though Polyphemus tried to eat his men, Odysseus still found a way to get out of their safely. Secondly, Odysseus was a hero because he was a clever man, who had brilliant ideas.

For years, people have viewed Odysseus as a lousy hero with many faults and mistakes. His flaws include his arrogance, his treatment to his crew, and his lack of faith to the gods and his family. While initially reading the Odyssey, these reasons are obvious, but once reading the whole epic I was able to see through his flaws which actually led him home. Although Odysseus tripped on many occasions, he stood up and protected his men, escaped many monsters and immortals, and made wise and clever decisions. Odysseus went through a long, rough adventure and survived the entire voyage while managing to keep his family intact.