Odysseus: An Epic Hero

Who needs a hero? Throughout human existence, societies have always looked upon heroes and champions as a gleam of hope in times of desperation. “Like a champion, like a warrior he will stir up his zeal; with a shout he will raise the battle cry and will triumph over his enemies.” In the Odyssey by Homer the main character Odysseus displays many of the great qualities that define a hero and thus forevermore he has been remembered, honored, and reverend by multitudes as an epic hero. Odysseus’s courageous leadership in time of war, his volatile journey home, his strengths and his flaws, have made him immortal for generations to come. What defines an epic hero?

They are many ways to define an a epic hero. An epic hero has characteristic like significant and glorified, is ethical and morally upright, has superior strength, intelligence, and or courage, is a strong and responsible leader and much more. These characteristics define two men who are Hector and Achilles. The two men are example of an epic hero. The better epic hero is hector because he had significant and glorified by the people.

The first time Odysseus shows that he had supernatural conflict is in the cattle of the sun god, Helios adventure, and it was caused by Odysseus’s crew, who killed Helios’s cows. In the Odyssey, it states that after Odysseus’s crew ate Helio’s cows. Helios, the god of the sun, was extremely angry, so he asked Zeus, the god of the sky, for revenge on Odysseus and his crew. Zeus had to accept it, otherwise Helios would have created trouble for Zeus in the Underworld. As the results, Zeus’s destroys Odysseus’s ship with his thunderbolt, only leaving Odysseus alive, which clearly demonstrates that Odysseus had supernatural conflict.

They described Beowulf in the story as a perfect hero. He was strong, and outstanding fighter and very loyal to all who came into his presence. Beowulf was a marvelous person who considered helping everyone. The story gives examples and clues of his great courage and of his great strength. Beowulf took on so many things and defeated it all.

These abilities are important as a warrior because both his men and the hero reflect and are influenced by them. Some of the abilities are excellence in war, courage, leadership and fighting qualities. These qualities are seen through the heroic characters Hector and Achilles. When Achilles is not present with his men, the Greeks are well defeated by the Trojans with no motivation or support. Achilles is also described by his men as a power figure when the poem says “These were his words,/ and all Achaeans gave a roar of joy/ to hear the Prince abjure his rage.” (R 23-35).

He was the son of Zeus, the god of the sky and the ruler of the Olympian Gods, and Alcmene. He had enemies before he was even born and that was the reason behind him going through all the hardships and still coming out on top as Greece 's most widely-respected heroes. Even though every hero is unique in their own way, each one of them represent the same 3 main characteristics. Hercules is my epic hero because of his heroic actions, his immortality, and the courage he possesses. The first and most important reason why Hercules is my epic hero is because he managed to do everything in a heroic manner and the difficult tasks he overcame.

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 led many battles, and fought bravely. He even broke the pact by defending his brother Paris from being killed (Troy). Hector then did the bravest of all deeds. He took on the great Achilles knowing that it was certain death. "I would not die without delivering a stroke" (Homer).

He was married to andromache , with whom he had an infant son, Scamandrius (whom the people of Troy called astyanax). He acted as leader of the Trojans and their allies in the defense of Troy, killing 31,000 Greek fighters. During the European Middle Ages, Hector figures as one of the nine best warriors known, not only for his courage but also for his noble and courtly nature. Indeed, Homer places Hector as peace-loving, thoughtful as well as bold, a good son, husband and father, and without dark motives. they were alike in many ways, were both leaders in their comrade's eyes they both are natural born leaders are skilled with the sword and any deadly weapon that is put into their hands.

In the epic, The Odyssey, written by Homer, a hero quite similar to the ones mentioned before can be seen. He is one of the most remarkable, classic heroes seen in western literature, and he indeed, is the great Odysseus. Several distinguishing traits of Odysseus make him an epic hero, and those traits can even be found in the heroes of today’s world. Throughout the poem, Odysseus establishes traits like determination, courage, and compassion, which prove that he is a true, Homeric hero. Determination is a recognizable heroic trait that Odysseus demonstrates

Oedipus and Antigone both ignore high powered people. When Jocasta wanted a child the oracle told her that her son will marry his mother and kill his father. She ignore the gods and had a child. Afterwards, she changed her mind and left her son Oedipus on a mountain. When Oedipus got older he went to an oracle who tells him the same thing he said to Jocasta so he runs away.

So, Hades went to the Graeae, who were three witches who share one eye. Hades demanded and demanded for a poison to make Tili fall asleep. “The poison will only last 300 years. On the 300th day, the child will awake right in front of you and she will know what you have done.”When Hades got the poison, he rushed back to Mount Olympus forgetting everything the Graeae had said . When he saw Tili, he had the