Sacrifice In The Odyssey

“A hero is someone who understands the responsibility that comes with his freedom.” (Bob Dylan). A modern hero is recognized by the goodness in their heart. Odysseus, the protagonist of Homer’s “The Odyssey”, is not a good example of a modern hero. Heroes cannot be cross cultural, and Odysseus’ heroics do not transcend time and apply to the modern world. A good example of a modern hero would be the First Lady, Michelle Obama. With Michelle’s humanitarian work and benevolent attitude, she helps those in need while trying to better society.

Odysseus is a typical example of a hero. He is able to pull off miraculous things to save himself and his crew seemingly without fail. The story of his journey is well known, and a great tale of his adventures. In the two parts we have read so far, we see what he is willing to do for his crew, and his intelligence and quick thinking in difficult situations. The first challenge that waits them is the island of Cyclopes. They begin by checking out the island to see if there is any danger, but they are caught. Odysseus then has to lie about the ship saying it had been destroyed. Then after his friends meet a terrible fate, he tells Polyphemus, the giant, his name is Nohbdy. After he stabs the cyclops in the eye, this leads him to say that nobody hurt him. After this Odysseus makes his escape, and is almost caught as they leave, so Odysseus taunts them, telling them his name and story. This is the end of act one. In act two they tell us of the island of Aeolus which ends up giving them a worthless gift, and then the land of Laestrygones, that destroy all of their ships but one. They then end up at Aeaea, and split up into two groups, one to search the island, and the other to watch the ship. The exploring group then gets trapped by Circe’s cunning magic. Following this news, Odysseus is offered help from Hermes for ways to avoid Circe’s magic. He then enters and tries to avoid the fate of his crew. Eventually he is told to bring all of his crew there, and he ends up

TS1 (Thesis): In The Odyssey, Homer depicts Odysseus’ real foe as the theme of temptation with displays of hubris and lustrous goddesses, which portrays the importance of being vigilant to not submit to temptation.

A hero is a person who is recognized or idealized for his or her outstanding achievements and noble qualities. The deaths of his men are the result of Odysseus’ weaknesses. The possession of the character trait, arrogance, does not help him in escaping, but rather puts him closer to danger. Another trait that ends up killing a number of his men is his lack of leadership skills, or rather the lack of respect and trust from his men. In some parts of this epic poem, Odysseus also displays the characteristic, foolishness, in which that also results in the deaths of a number of his men. In the epic poetry, “The Odyssey,” by Homer, Odysseus exhibits his arrogance, foolishness, and his lack of leadership in which it leads to him going home by himself.

An ancient Greek hero is often portrayed differently than a hero in modern society. An epic hero must face impossible challenges by using their extraordinary strength, with some help from the deities. Although a fatal flaw may delay their Return, their “rebirth” will help conclude the voyage. In Homer’s The Odyssey, Odysseus possesses the qualities of an epic hero during the Hero’s Journey through his cleverness in the Challenges, the change in his impulsive personality in the Transformation, and the help he receives from supernatural beings in the Return.Odysseus proves to be heroic in the Challenges when he uses his intellectual strength, such as his wit, to overcome difficult challenges. Although Odysseus is a distinguished war warrior,

A hero is someone who is revered for his or her exceptional achievements and bravery. Anyone who puts themselves before others not for recognition or an award, but because it is the right thing to do, is a true hero. In "The Odyssey," written by Homer is an epic poem about a man named Odysseus and his crewmates competing against the power of the gods to return to their homeland, Ithaca. Throughout his journey, he loses almost all of his men, but Odysseus finally arrives home, concluding his prolonged twenty-year voyage. Odysseus must battle the suitors that have taken his wife Penelope, and may soon kill his son Telemachus. Odysseus defies the suitors and wins his wife and kingdom back. Despite Odysseus' overconfident nature, Odysseus proves he is a hero by showing bravery and intelligence.

There are many characteristics of a hero; heroes usually have some type of problem(s) that they try to overcome. Heroes are Courageous meaning they attempt and/or accomplish a goal even when afraid. They are decisive, meaning they act when there are people in need. Heroes usually possess some type of inhuman qualities but are still humans and have flaws. They are also dedicated, when they set out to do something no matter what and who gets in the way the finish what they started. Odysseus demonstrates the qualities of a hero, he has the strength of ten men and, uses courageous and Dedicative traits to defeat his problems in this case Monsters, and Creatures to get back home.

Aphorism, adage, dictum, moral, life lesson: in other terms, things of which this paper will be of. This is a paper about a tale of true sacrifice and courage. Many stories have elaborate life lessons, and Homer’s epic tale The Odyssey is no exception. This paper will amalgamate the ones felt to be most important.

“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 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 Odyssey, Odysseus’ characteristics do not fit in the definition of a modern hero, he illustrates a naive and a arrogant epic hero.

What makes a hero? Is a hero someone who commits a sacrifice for something greater than himself? A person who does what is right, no matter the cost? In his work The Hero With a Thousand Faces, Joseph Campbell lays the groundwork of the monomyth; a similar hero's journey or cycle that is present in almost every myth, in every culture. Campbell’s “The Power of Myth” and the hero wheel both add further criteria to define just what it is to be a hero. With these criteria in mind, Frodo Baggins is similar to famous Greek heroes in their beginnings, in the allies they meet in their quests, and in the physical trials they face, while they are different in their traits and motivations.

In order to understand the ways blood sacrifices, or rites, affected society, we must examine the basic definition. Blood is symbolic of nearly every bodily process, life, death, sickness, health, and spirit are all represented by our blood. Sacrifice stems from the Latin 'sacrificus', meaning "performing priestly functions or sacrifices." By this definition we start to understand that sacrifices were seen as sacred events to be used at the most delicate of times. In the Iliad, this is perfectly represented by forming a truce during war. Sacrificing to the gods was viewed by society as a natural part of their belief system, pleasing the gods in order to gain favor. It's plausible, then, to assume that those who actively sought favor with the

Heroism is a concept repeatedly seen throughout the history of literature. The term “hero” actually comes from the ancient Greeks. Their idea of a hero slightly differs from that of today, but the concept of possibility is the same. Heroes are necessary because they not only give people hope and

“A hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself” (Campbell 1). When thinking of heroes, what often comes up on people’s mind are movie stars and professional athletes. But when thinking of heroes in all types of mythology, there are always some traits that are common or standout which help them complete their quest. In the myths, Lord of the Rings, Theseus and the Minotaur, and Savitri and Satayavan, the hero often possesses the traits of perseverance and the willingness to sacrifice, which helps them triumph in times of difficulty and endorses their ability to complete their quest. In the end, the hero becomes a role model for society, as their stories are used to teach people how to overcome obstacles and succeed in life.

The figure of the literary hero has been around from ancient Greece to modern worldwide literature. It first appeared in Greek myths and it was the figure that would stand between the laymen and the Gods. He would be the descendant of those gods and would encompass traits such as prestige and integrity. He was considered a special kind of man that could not be compared to the rest. Every individual has their own reading of what a hero entails but as a collective encounter the hero personifies the ideals and expectation of the community in which he is created. Heroes function as symbols of the values and ideal of a community.