Odysseus: The Ideal Greek Hero

“Heroism is endurance for one moment longer.”-George Kennan. This is exactly what Odysseus did, despite the myriad of obstacles he faced Odysseus persevered and returned home. Odysseus demonstrated multiple times that he was a hero. Odysseus is, in a spiritual and a physical sense a quintessential hero.

Odysseus is a hero and demonstrated it many times . On multiple occasions, he fights off creatures, such as in book 12 where he fights off Scylla. Another significant reason that proves that Odysseus was an ideal hero, is the fact that at the end of the story he is able to reach Ithaca and establish peace on the island with the help of Athena. Perhaps the most compelling argument in favor of Odysseus being the ideal Greek hero is the encounter

These flaws include him losing his men and the fact that he gloats and commits blasphemy toward Poseidon by saying, "I am sure that even great Poseidon will never give you back the eye you lost" (Odyssey, Book IX, page 185). Nevertheless, this does nothing but add to the idea of Odysseus being the quintessential hero of the ancient Greek society. Despite the fact that his men were killed, Odysseus was resilient and escaped the Cyclops, therefore, proving his heroism once again.

One example of a modern day hero would be bill gates. The huffington post describes a hero as, “someone who “we” determine to have demonstrated behaviors and decisions that are ethically and emotionally worthy of our awe.” And this is exactly what bill gates and Odysseus have done. Although Bill Gates does not possess the brawn of Odysseus, he makes up for it in his philanthropy. And even though they both possess great wealth, they remain humble. Despite their differences, they both seem to have ideals .

My definition of a hero is someone who has compassion for those who are suffering, and is willing to do something to change it. So will you idly stand by and watch those around you suffer, or will you take action and stop