Odysseus: An Archetype Hero In Homer's The Odyssey

Ever since the story of The Odyssey was written, people have deemed that Odysseus was not an archetype hero. At first, you may not think he was. Odysseus was considered arrogant, irresponsible and unfaithful. Have not a lot of people been like that though? Odysseus has been heroic in many circumstances. He outwitted the cyclops, Polyphemus, he defeated the powers of Circe and saved his men, and he saved his men from The Sirens. Odysseus should be considered an archetype hero.

Everyone has their favorite super hero, whether it be Superman, Batman, or even Ironman. These heros helped anyone they saw in need, even if it put themselves in danger. People describe them as brave, daring, and trustworthy. This is not how I would describe Odysseus from the book The Odyssey by Homer, everyone always thought of Odysseus as the “hero” of the story, but he was quite the opposite. He does not deserve the credit for his getting home from the war at all. Odysseus doesn’t deserve the title of a hero because he made bad decisions that affected his crew poorly, Athena did almost all of the work in getting him home, and he cheated on his wife multiple times throughout his journey home.

Odysseus is the spitting image of what an ancient Greek hero would be like but in today’s society or just in general, Odysseus is not heroic. He may have super hero qualities such as extreme strength and cleverness but he doesn’t embody them the way one should. In many cases he only saves himself, he is selfish, and he isn’t humble. These reasons alone leaves me, and should leave you, to believe that Odysseus is not heroic.

In conclusion, Odysseus is not a hero because of his impulsive decisions, his hubris, and terrible leadership. He does not plan ahead, he is not humble and a sore loser, and he strays away from telling important things to his men. Though in Greek society Odysseus is seen as a hero, he can not be called one now. There is a clear difference from Homer’s society to modern day. It shows home people’s aspirations change over a period of

The concept of hero has been interpreted in many ways throughout the ages. Hero have gone from knights slaying dragons and rescuing the princess, to heroes who save the world with their supernatural-like powers, to a modern day hero who is someone who has noble qualities and is regarded as a role model. In the epic, The Odyssey, by Robert Fagles, the heroic Odysseus is a well known in Greek mythology. However, although Odysseus is the most respected, honorable hero of Greek mythology he is not a modern hero. A modern day hero is someone who puts their life on the line to save the lives of other innocent people. In The Odyssey, Odysseus’ characteristics do not fit in the definition of a modern hero, he illustrates a naive and a arrogant epic hero.

In the novel The Odyssey, written by Homer, Odysseus is portrayed as a bad leader because of his selfish decisions and bad character. Odysseus makes a selfish decision when he leads his crew to stay in Polyphemus’s cave thinking he would offer gifts and Odysseus would “accept (his) help, or any gifts/” he had to “give” (9.726-727). This is a selfish act because he is putting his crew in danger for something that would only benefit himself. In the end, many of his people died and no one benefited. Once again, Odysseus displayed selfish acts when Circe told him “ he will be the only survivor of their long journey” (Homer 764). Odysseus is extremely selfish by betraying his crew. His crew believes that Odysseus is trying to help them return home, when he is actually only concerned about himself.

Many characteristics can be applied to Odysseus in the book the (Odyssey, Homer), but a few really stand out. In fact, Odysseus can be considered an epic hero in the Odyssey, as evidenced by his actions, his faults, and his loyalty. An epic hero is brave, adventurous, a leader, and loyal. Most epic hero’s have faults as well. These characteristics closely follow Odysseus’s own.

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.

Odysseus is a very Selfish man. In other words he puts himself before others. When Odysseus and his crew sailed past the sirens he made the crew put wak in their ears. Odysseus tied himself up so he could be the only man alive to hear their song. In addition to that He cheated on his wife penelope. Penelope is sitting at home in Ithaca worried sick sand just wants her husband home. Little does she know Odysseus has cheated on her. If Penelope would have cheated on him she probably would be killed.

Odysseus portrays those three heroic traits throughout his voyage home to Ithaca, which is why he is a hero. Odysseus is highly dedicated to his reputation and ego for the whole of his rocky and treacherous journey. From going up against a cyclops that is five times the size of him, to placing wax upon his crewmates’ ears to mute the singing of the Sirens, Odysseus is brave when he faces his fears and intelligent when he creates lifesaving tools from ship materials. A modern hero can be someone who saves a life or even sacrifices his or her own for someone else. Odysseus can be compared to a modern hero because he risks his own life to protect his crewmates. Also comparable to a modern hero, Odysseus portrays human qualities throughout the highs and lows of his journey, such as sadness when he learns that his mother had died during his time away. Odysseus should be considered a hero because throughout the good and bad of his voyage, Odysseus continued to lead his crew and came through with all of his

In the book The Odyssey, the main character, Odysseus, is a man who is loved and respected by many. In the beginning of the book, we learn that Odysseus has left on a journey and, since it has been many years since his departure, many people assume that he has passed. On his journey, he portrays his many traits, not all of them being good ones either. Some of his good traits include his cunning, bravery, and hard work ethic. On the other hand, his negative traits are his excessive pride, immense curiosity, and rather large temper.

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

Odysseus, he’s known as a war hero on his way back to his homeland, who ends up going on a ten year long journey due to unforeseen circumstances. On this journey, he encounters many monsters, many ladies, and we see his good side and his bad side. Due to the fact that he’s very noble and brave (and in an epic poem), that makes him an epic hero. He’s also a very famous archetype for The Hero. Odysseus has some good traits, some bad flaws, and has been in some ugly situations, but overall he is a true hero.

It is true that Odysseus is a hero because he is brave, powerful and smart, but he does these things in a selfish way. To begin, Odysseus is brave. According to the text, “There was a loud hiss as the burning wood pierced the watery membrane” (Homer 27). Some people believe that this shows that he acts brave

He is considered to be this because he is a heroic and honorable man that has been through many trials and gotten passed them all alive. He is a well-known hero throughout the world. Odysseus qualifies to be the ideal epic hero in all of the categories. For one he was born of royalty. For two he has a special weapon-his brain. He has used this in all of his battles. When he blinded the Cyclopes he had the idea to tie the three rams together and he then “…slung a man under each middle one to ride there safely…”. Odysseus did so with each of his men, as well as himself. The third reason he is an archetype is suffering a traumatic experience. It has taken Odysseus years to get home and he has had to fight past many obstacles, which has to be traumatic in some way. The fourth and final way he is an epic hero is requiring help from something supernatural. He needed help from the god Hermes when he was going to the home of Circe. He received a plant called “moly” and some advice. As Odysseus has been through all of this, he is the ultimate epic hero which is why he is an