Odysseus is truly an epic hero, he has many different perils and dangers that he must face. He is a Greek soldier who fought in the Trojan War and is trying to return home. Some of the gods and goddesses are on his side, however, some are not on his side. He was stranded for ten years before he could finally go back to his family, and home on Ithaca. Odysseus is an epic hero because of his physical strength, his mental sharpness, and his cunning ability to always get out alive.
Odysseus was one of the strongest and most talented individuals to ever walk on Ithaca. He faced some of his challenges by using brute strength. However, some of his challenges he faces with great skill and agility. “But the man skilled in all ways of contending,/
…show more content…
He built his bed into a tree stump and it was almost impossible to steal. “An old trunk of olive grew like a pillar on the building plot, and I laid out our bedroom round that tree, lined up the stone walls, built the walls and roof, gave it a doorway and smooth-fitting doors. Then I lopped off the silvery leaves and branches,/ hewed and shaped that shaped that stump from the roots up/ into a bedpost, drilled it, let it serve/ as model for the rest.” (1164; bk. 23, lines 45-48). Odysseus was a master builder and build most of his home himself. “While he had arrows he aimed and shot, and every shot brought down /one of his huddling enemies./ But when all barbs had flown from the bowman’s fist, he leaned his bow in the bright entry way/ beside the door, and armed: a four-ply shield/ hard on his shoulder” (1160; bk. 22, lines 119-124). Odysseus was a great warrior and proved himself in battle countless times, by using strength and also his smarts.
Odysseus used his craftiness to his advantage many times throughout the Odyssey. He always thought ahead and though outside the box to get through difficult situations. “Nohbdy, Nohbdy’s tricked me, Nohbdy’s ruined me!” (1119; bk. 9, line 17). Odysseus told the cyclops that his
Firstly, Odysseus’ intelligence is one of his strongest strengths going to war. In the book The Odyssey this quote clearly states “Nobody that's my name nobody so my mother and father call me, all my friends”(Homer 340). This shows that During a frightening time in the Book The Odysseus is a quick thinker. Furthermore the text states “They lumbered off,but laughter filled my heart to think how nobody”s name my great cunning stroked had duped them” (Homer 460). This quote indicates how Odysseus manages to outwit the bigger opponent with his quick but smart tactics.
An epic hero is a brave and noble character, who is admired for their excellent achievements. Odysseus for example, has lots of ways that show that. Throughout the story we see that Odysseus faced many challenges and obstacles which tests his leadership skills. As we read the Odyssey, Homer indicates that Odysseus is loyal, has straightness, and is intelligent.
Odysseus’ attitude in this instance suggests that he is not necessarily made for winning, or better yet not getting eaten by a cyclops. Instead, it just comes to show how Odysseus would rather talk about his name and glorify it then keep his men safe and away from danger. These words and actions only continue to come from Odysseus as he tries to bring his men home in a “safe” fashion. Despite his moments, Odysseus continues to shine, but does so in the wrong way. Repeatedly Odysseus tends to be “the only hero who is represented, both in the Iliad and in the Odyssey, as being concerned with food and explicitly
His first trait is being exceptionally skilled continued with cleverness and bravery. Despite Odysseus’s challenges he proves himself a hero because of the actions that show him as skilled, clever and brave. Odysseus is exceptionally skilled in many ways aiding him from each challenge to the next. When Odysseus is trapped in the cave with the Cyclops he decides to us his skills to make a stake to blind the monster, “[He] hewed [the stake] again to make a stake with a point at the end.” (Homer.
Personal strengths and weaknesses are magnified during the course of a journey. Some strengths that were magnified during the course of Odysseus’ journey were courage and self-discipline. There were many instances in which he proves to be a courageous man. In the Cyclops story, Odysseus knows that whatever lives on the island he has arrived to is “a towering brute” and a “wild man ignorant of civility” and yet he decides to venture into the cave.
He has to overcome his foes and his environment. In the cavern with the cyclops, Odysseus must fight to survive. He and his men have to use wit and strategy to escape the cave. After the first attack on his men Odysseus knew he would need to develop a plan to survive. Odysseus and his men are put in danger as they encounter their foe:“Neither reply nor pity came from him, but in one stride he clutched at my companions and caught two in his hands like squirming puppies to beat their brains out, spattering the floor” (Homer 903).
In 'The Odyssey' an epic poem written by Homer, a Greek poet, tells the tale of how the King of Ithaca, Odysseus, goes on an eventful adventure that costs him 20 years and all of his men. In this epic poem, Odysseus demonstrates many strengths and weaknesses. Odysseus' strengths are put to use and show how smart he can be. However, his weaknesses put him through many hardships and show what he needs to work on. Odysseus has many strengths.
Without these peculiar, but precious traits, Odysseus would never had made it home. Odysseus’s quality of craftiness and quick thinking contributes to his intelligence. When he fought the cyclopes in “Book 9,” he had to think quick on his feet to help save him and the
Odysseus, a man who was known for his adventures, but do we really understand the attributes needed for an epic hero? The King of Ithaca had a very concealed past where it is hardly ever noted that his men were mistreated by their captain and all of Odysseus’ mistakes affected those around him. Odysseus, on several occasions did his men wrong and along his journeys, he became very willful and big headed. In The Odyssey by Homer, Odysseus has several misfortunes such as losing all of his men and being stranded and not returning home for 20 years, but evidently all of these problems were caused by the mens lack of trust in Odysseus and Odysseus being too stubborn and full of pride. The crew had a very important job in the quests that Odysseus
Odysseus is most definitely very clever in the way he can think through a circumstance and execute a plan or mission. An example showing Odysseus’s cleverness is when he ran into an incident with the Cyclops. In order to save his men safely from the Cyclops, Odysseus gave the Cyclops wine in order to move past it. It was key that Odysseus did this at the right time or else the plan would not have worked properly. The wine made the Cyclops drunk allowing the men to poke out the Cyclops’ eyes.
Odysseus fits the description of an epic hero because he had cleverness, exceptional knowledge, and supernatural conflict. The first reason why Odysseus fits the description of an epic hero is because he had cleverness. The first time Odysseus shows that he had cleverness was in the cyclops, Polyphemus adventure.
Odysseus is an epic hero because of his bravery and confidence during every obstacle throughout his journey In Part 1 whie Odysseus is about to come across cyclops cave, he says “I brought along and victuals in a bag, for in my bones I knew some towering brute would be upon so soon- all outward power, a wild man, ignorant of civility. “ Odysseus is showing his bravery of not being petrified of what he might come across, like the cyclops. Odysseus has no intention of harming them, but he is not sure what their intention is. This example is important because not only does it show confidence in himself, he also shows confidence in his men. In Part 2 Odysseus also shows his confidence in his men in part 2 where Eurylochus says, “Are you flesh and blood, Odysseus, to endure more than a man can?
Well the definition of an epic hero is, “a brave and noble character in an epic poem, admired for great achievements or affected by grand events. ”(Dictionary.com) If that doesn’t describe Odysseus, I don’t know what does. He risks his life in many circumstances, and he’s widely admired for being the one of the reasons the trojans won the war. He is also affected by lots of events throughout his adventures.
Odysseus was a man of great stature and strength; however, Odysseus was not only physically strong, but mentally strong as well (Olson). We can see Odysseus’ mental strength, or cunning, and bravery when he is in the den of Polyphemus and devises the plan to save him and his crew by calling himself nobody and stabbing out the cyclops’ eye. He also recognizes that he
On Odysseus’s odyssey back to Ithaca, he was faced with many problems. He was subdued many times due to the monster and gods of the Greek times. Odysseus was faced with many conflicts on his journey back home and using his intelligence, brawn, and quick thinking overcame the problems he faced. Around the beginning of Odysseus’s odyssey, he was faced with his most dangerous adversary and using his strength and intelligence he managed to escape. In “The Odyssey” it states“ We rammed it deep in his eye and I leaned on it as a shipwright turns would in planking.”