He then uses the stake to blind Polyphemus and escape from his cave. However, Odysseus also uses strategy by first getting Polyphemus drunk on wine and also telling Polyphemus that his name is “Nobody.” This allows him to trick the other Cyclops’ into thinking nobody hurt Polyphemus when he is blinded, making it more difficult for Polyphemus to seek revenge. Overall, Odysseus’ use of strength and strategy in this scene show that he is a skilled warrior and leader who is able to overcome even the most difficult challenges. In the story “The Odyssey '', Odysseus faces the villainous sorceress Circe and receives help from the god Hermes.
In The Odyssey there are many characters who could be defined as a hero. Odysseus is not one of these characters due to his loose morals leading him to be disloyal and have impulsive behavior. Throughout Odysseus’ journey home, he exhibits his loose morals as he is disloyal. Odysseus and Calypso make love one last time after receiving the news from Mt. Olympus that it is time for Odysseus to leave. Homer says, “And now, withdrawing into the cavern’s deep recesses, long in each other’s arms they lost themselves in love” (Homer 5.250-251).
This problematic display of curiosity from the epic hero leads him to taunt and insult the imposing one eyed giant saying “‘So, Cyclops, no weak coward it was whose crew you bent to devour there in your vaulted cave…you shameless cannibal…”(9, 531-34) “That made the rage of the monster boil over” (9,537) With Odysseus’s arrogance, would be his fall. This significant detail foreshadows the karma later delivered. Odysseus blinds the cyclops, and in a fit of pride and adrenaline, reveals who he is saying, “‘Cyclops– if any man on the face of the earth should ask you who blinded you, shamed you so–say Odysseus…”(9,558-60) With this outburst of information, the giant called out to poseidon fortelling he will “never reaches home. Or if he’s fated to see his people once again and reach his well-built house…let him come home late and a broken man-all shipmates lost”(9,589-94) Odysseus has now been cursed foreshadowing his future.
He finds a way to save most of his men. Odysseus is brave throughout the The Odyssey. Not just these traits makes him a hero though.
Odysseus had been instructed by Circes to travel past the Sirens which is a very dangerous task. Odysseus did not back down and showed bravery and leadership when he fearlessly said “We must avoid the voices of the otherworldly sirens” and directed his crew to keep him “upright at the mast, wound round with rope” in order for them to safely pass (Homer, 306). On the other hand, Odysseus showed selfishness toward his crew, burdening them with too much work than they could handle. Odysseus' crew told him “You are unfair to us, Odysseus. You may be strong; you never seem to tire; you must be made of iron.
Odysseus Essay: Odysseus of Ithaka. Some historians have argued for years that he is a noble hero, and others say he is just a man trying to get home from many hardship and challenges, however Odysseus is the definition of a hero. During Odysseus’s journey it becomes evident that Odysseus is a hero like the legends say, he meets all the criterias of being a hero such as being brave, smart, fighting against evil, and protecting others from danger. For generations people have been correct to honor the great Odysseus, for his actions along his adventures. Although there has been some evidence that points to Odysseus not being a hero, this essay will give three reasons why Odysseus should be respected as a hero.
What does being a hero mean? Being a hero means being brave, confident at times, having good leadership skills, willing to fight for their town, and smart every once in awhile. How does being a hero qualify to Odysseus? At times Odysseus can be a good man til he has to leave for war and a variety of things happen.
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 epic story the Odyssey by Homer, Odysseus is returning from the Trojan war, and on his way home he finds many obstacles ahead of him. Odysseus is the ruler of Ithaca and he is trying to return home to his land. Many creatures try and stop him from achieving his goal of returning home, but he and his crew have to push through and get home. Odysseus portrays bravery and courage leading his crew through these tough challenges. Odysseus heroically leads his crew and himself through dangerous obstacles, but also foolishly endangers them during the journey home.
The odyssey, an epic told by Homer in ancient greece, has many major themes following odysseus’s adventures. While Odysseus is sentenced to never return home after the Trojan War. He is overcoming challenges to return home to his wife penelope and his son Telemachus. Throughout the story major themes of loyalty, hospitality and vengeance are hidden within the plot. The story continues to show his heroic side with three major traits.
In part one of Homer’s Odyssey, Odysseus uses his epic hero qualities to help him out on his quest to get back home to Ithaca. He’s shows superb intelligence when fighting the cyclopes in “Book 9.” That’s a quality of superhuman intelligence that Odysseus possessed all throughout his entire journey. Another epic hero quality that helped Odysseus was help from Greek gods and goddesses. In part two of Homer’s Odyssey, Athena helped out Odysseus when he got back to his home land.
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.
In The Odyssey Homer makes Odysseus’ journey to his beloved Ithaca excruciating. Odysseus encounters many friends and foes throughout his journey and has to be a leader throughout his experiences. As an example, he encounters Polyphemus and Poseidon, both of whom make his journey mentally and physically painful. Odysseus faces countless scenarios in which he has to save multiple people in those situations. He also encounters the suitors, who are a group of men that try to marry Penelope, when he returns to reclaim his home.
Heroes are, “People who take risks despite fear”(Source 2). In The Odyssey by Homer, Odysseus faces many challenges that make him a hero. He battles monsters, goddesses, and enchantresses. Odysseus is a hero in the way that he uses his brain to think about and approach dilemmas. When he and his men are on the Cyclops’ island, Odysseus tells the cyclops that his name was Nobody.
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.
