Odysseus Honor In Homer's Odyssey

“A hero is someone who, in spite of weakness, doubt or not always knowing the answers, goes ahead and overcomes anyway” and this shows the quality of a hero that the well-known hero, Odysseus, does not have. In the novel, The Odyssey, Odysseus goes to war against the Trojans in hope to win. When Odysseus slaughters the Trojans, he starts to act like he was greater than any god. The gods punished him by stranding him at sea for more than ten years without being able to go home. Odysseus is not a hero because he was not humble or good at accepting the help that he received, and he also acted before synthesizing the consequences that he would face in the future.

The decisions and actions Odysseus makes throughout his Odyssey, not only call upon the person he is but shape the person he becomes, with many of the challenges honing his character. Homer uncovers the traits that most befittingly define Odysseus as honor, courage and guile. The traits that are glorified in The Odyssey, connect to recent times because they are comparable to those we think of when defining a hero or an impeccable human being. Odysseus’ use of his honor, courage and guile showcase how these traits allowed him to excel in his time and also are key traits all should have for the challenges we must face in

In Homer’s the Odyssey, Odysseus’ hubris is his pride. Odysseus is a self-made, self-assured man that prides himself on his tactical victories and conquests. Odysseus is the genius behind the Trojan Horse, the cunning man that outsmarted Polyphemus, the Suitors, and Circe. Odysseus is truly a man who can do it all. Odysseus ultimately wants his fate to be in his own hands.

Homer sought to epitomize man. Man has always sought to create a perfect version of his existence. Thus, Homer filled the void by creating Odysseus, an epic hero. In the epic, The Odyssey, the author, Homer, portrays the main character, Odysseus King of Ithaca, as an epic hero. Throughout the epic, Odysseus must overcome a multitude of difficult tasks as to arrive back to his home on the island Ithaca after 20 years.

In literature, great leaders must have dominant characteristics that make them unique, but they must also make wise decisions. A person of such standards must have traits such as integrity, humility, and intelligence. In the epic poem The Odyssey by Homer, the depiction of Odysseus as a legendary leader is lauded throughout Greek culture. However, even though his strong leadership is praised it is extremely distorted from the truth. Odysseus has demonstrated his fatal flaws; his hubris, inability to be loyal, and his narcissism.

In the novel “The Odyssey” retold by Barbara Leonie Picard (initially by Homer), Odysseus was a significant character who changed. Throughout the story, he changed by learning how think before acting, being honest and communicating with his team, and becoming persistent toward his main goal which is going back home. He also displayed many of Art Costa’s "habits of mind” such as teamwork, persistence, and stop and think. We can learn from Odysseus’ journey as we read about him. Odysseus was a king, husband and father.

In The Odyssey, the character Odysseus can be considered a hero because he demonstrates many characteristics that are attributable to most heroes. After the battle at Troy, Odysseus strives to sail back to his homeland (Ithaca); however, he encounters some issues along the way and Poseidon attempts to make it impossible for Odysseus to return home. At the beginning of this journey, Odysseus wants to make it back to Ithaca with all of his crew alive. This selfless goal displays Odysseus acting for the greater good because he knows that these men have families that depend on them and would like for them to come home. Along the journey home, Odysseus and his crew come across a cyclops and become trapped in the cyclops’ cave.

The relationship between the gods and humans in Book XIII of Homer’s The Odyssey plays an important role on Odysseus’ growth as a hero. Odysseus has arrived at his homeland, Ithaca, but he cannot sail directly to his home because his ship was turned into stone by Poseidon. This provides some challenges for Odysseus, because he must wait more to arrive home, after many years of waiting. Athena later decided that Odysseus was not yet ready to go home.

The Odyssey of Homer is about the hero Odysseus who starts an adventure to return to his home and kill the suitors who woo his wife and squander his wealth. Meanwhile, his son Telemachus searches for news of his father from his father's friends, and teams up with his father to kill the suitors. All the suitors are killed and Athena protects Odysseus and Telemachus from the suitors' parents. Honor and pride are the most important aspects of life and hubris leads to destruction. Honor and pride are considered important and must be defended.

About the time Odysseus reached Ithaca, Polyphemus the cyclops Odysseus blinded is asking Poseidon, his father, a way to cure his blinded eye. Polyphemus asked, “Father, Poseidon, is there any way to get my eye back?” “Polyphemus, there is a way to cure your eye, but you must go through a long and harsh journey to get what you want,” Poseidon answers, “You must find a way to go to Circe’s palace and find a way to get her to help you on your quest.” “That’s all I have to do?” Polyphemus said, “Thank you, Father.”