Today Attila the Hun is categorised as a great leader by modern historians due to his loyalty, his courage and his ability to take charge. In contrast to these views, the classical writers feared him, naming him the “Scourge of God” and calling him savage, as he conducted many massacres and killed many men. Most modern historians have an opinion of Attila the Hun, such as Wills Durant and Peter Heathers. Additionally the book “Leadership secrets of Attila the Hun” by Wess Roberts states we have a lot to learn from Attila’s reign. Although there are many modern sources dedicated to Attila, there are very few ancient sources written about him.
Odysseus’ need to be glorious in such a dangerous encounter demonstrates his engrossment in kleos, while he risks the safety of both him and his men. Odysseus “commands [his] men” very often, as they follow his instruction and are subconsciously being sacrificed for Odysseus’ own prestige. Odysseus is considered a hero, abounding with bravery and glory from the Trojan War. Odysseus still remains unsatisfied, keeping determined and set on achieving the greek ideal of kleos and being regarded as illustrious. Odysseus uses his men to fulfill his wants and doesn’t regard them at all.
Being fit to become king comes with being a great warrior, but you must also act as a hero. In Asgard, Thor is known as someone powerful and brave, always ready for a fight and always ready to defend his people. He is supposed to become the new king of Asgard, the only problem with that is that he is arrogant and acts poorly because of his anger. He thinks he knows best but to him, violence is usually the answer. In most of the lands, Beowulf is known as a courageous warrior who can conquer any enemy, he is suited to be a king just like Thor.
Odysseus is strong, brave, and Odysseus skills in fighting showed repeatedly and his willingness is mostly shown threw the fight between the Trojan's. Here is my first reason, Odysseus is a man of outstanding of wisdom and shrewdness. He shows great leadership and brave. Odysseus, is strong because according to the Editors of Encyclopedia Bretannica it said that he had lead his army to the fight against the Trojan's and won the fight. He had blinded a
Caesar was quite a capable leader, because he had confidence, determination, the ability to judge character, and he worked for the public good. However, Caesar let his popularity and confidence turn him into an arrogant and stubborn leader. Caesar himself shamelessly tells the senators that he will not change his mind in his “North Star” speech (3. 1. 59-73). In it Caesar says, “I am as constant as the northern star” (3. 1. 61). By comparing himself to the North Star, an object which always has the same position in the sky, Caesar tells the senators that he believes he is physically incapable of being wrong.
Odysseus is an epic hero in The Odyssey, by Homer, in which the reader follows Odysseus in his epic hero’s journey. In the Odyssey, Odysseus like all heroes, just wants to see what’s the next adventure, what’s the next mission. However, in doing so, he gets himself in many dangerous situations and to get out of them he must use trickery. While Odysseus is known for his intelligence, trickery, impressive strength and power, but these trait are just his use of deception and disguise.
Was Odysseus a hero? The definition of hero - “a person who is admired or idealized for courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities.” In Homer's Odyssey Odysseus was a major part in the victory of the Trojan war, he was the one who came up with the idea of the Trojan Horse which should make him a hero only for that. All Odysseus wanted to do was to get home but some obstacles were placed in front of him preventing him from getting home, yes it was bad decisions that led these obstacles to be put there but everyone makes mistakes. But instead of falling to these obstacles he persevered and got home to his Mom, wife and son.
Whoever judged from Odysseus from his errors, was only focusing on the inadequate side; this idea was falsified numerous times. In fact, many quotes have been written about judging people from their mistakes, one of many being “To judge a man by his weakest deed is like judging the power of the ocean by one wave” (Elvis Presley); in the end, Odysseus is a hero, not a god. To conclude, Odysseus was considered a hero because of his qualities and actions; focusing on a specific point changes our view of a person. The king of Ithaca was a hero, mainly because of self-control and leadership.
Odysseus is perceived as the most cunning of men due to the many tales about him in the Trojan wars. This image of cunning continues to show at times during his early challenges; in these challenges Odysseus gradually proceeds to display his shortcomings. Once a trial becomes personal towards him, he neglects his cunning and becomes a spineless revenge seeker. It is clear that while dealing with the Cyclops Odysseus holds his cunning nature intact as well as beginning to shed light on his tragic flaw. While his men were being caged by the Cyclops, Odysseus re-introduces his cunning nature with the strategic plan he devised in order to free his men.
Through such characterization, Sophocles heightens the emotions in the play by demonstrating how these traits contribute to the catastrophic conclusion. Sophocles deliberately depicts Oedipus as a seemingly infallible yet prideful ruler in order to augment the subsequent devastation Oedipus causes, thus realizing the vision of an Aristotelian tragedy. Aristotle identifies nobleness in character as a characteristic of a tragic hero. Oedipus personifies this criterion; he is revered as one of the most adept rulers in all of Greece. Indeed, he constantly reminds himself that “I am a king . . .
The Greek God’s of the Iliad fight with each other and argue like humans, and most often we cannot be sure that they truly have the human’s best interest in their hearts. In fact, humans very often come across as more noble than the Gods. For example, Prince Hector is the hero to the Trojan army. An example of this would be when Lycaon’s son, Pandarus states in book five that “he marched the Trojans hard to lovely town of Troy, to please Prince Hector.”
Beowulf was stunningly brave, courageous and put his abilities in the service of others. However, he was too conceited and obsessed about his reputation. Macbeth was a brave warrior, but his Achilles heel, his ambition, turned him into a tyrant. Macduff loved his country and did his best to save it from a tyrant, but at the same time didn’t exercise good judgment in safeguarding his family. Rather than judging people and their actions purely in black and white terms, we should recognize that human beings are complex creatures and have lots of shades of gray.
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.
Hero — noun. “A person who is admired or idealized for courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities.” A hero can come in many different forms, and can be one for many different reasons. Does one have to match the definition of a hero, or can they be more? In Homer’s
In the epic poem, Homer’s Odyssey, Odysseus goes through many trials and obstacles. Many people think Odysseus isn’t a hero and others do. Odysseus goes travels for ten years and sails to the end of the earth just so he can go back to his family. Why would Homer write a huge voyage with all these dangerous trials that Odysseus has to go through, if it's not to show everyone that Odysseus is a great hero of the Greek world? Although his struggles changed the man he is, he was a hero because he faces extremely dangerous trials, lead his men with bravery, and stays faithful to his gods.