An epic hero is a character that performs amazing feats and journeys on an impressive expedition that captivates the reader. Accordingly, one might ask who qualifies for this position. The Odyssey by Homer gives the perfect example with its main character. Odysseus is an epic hero because he displays being a larger than life character, is assisted by supernatural forces, and is not perfect.
John Ruskin once said, “The first test of truly great man is his humility”. In The Odyssey, an epic poem by Homer, the central character Odysseus learns humility through his failures and growth in obedience making him a hero. Odysseus reaches a heroic status through the lessons learned on his journey, which ultimately taught him the value of obedience and the dangers of arrogance. Initially, Odysseus appears to lack the heroic quality of humility, through his narcissistic nature.
An epic hero is someone who is characterized commonly on their nobility and bravery. However ,there are more attributes epic heros can posses. For example Odysseus, the protagonist in Homer's retelling of “The Odyssey”, shows many forms of excessive arrogance and pomposity. After conquering Troy, Odysseus and his men set off on their way home.
An example where he is arrogant is when he goes to the Island of the Cyclops. Odysseus and his shipmates arrive to the homes of the Cyclops, they find a cave with food and decide to enter. When they eventually, get caught by the Cyclop that lived there. The Cyclop ate some of his men and capture the rest for another day's meal. Odysseus comes up with a plan to escape.
In the beginning of the book Odysseus is impulsive and arrogant. After Odysseus blinds and defeats the Cyclops, he cannot contain himself. Out of pure impulsiveness and the inability to be humble, Odysseus yells out to the Cyclops, “If any man on the face of the earth should ask you/ who blinded you, shamed you do so–say Odysseus,/raider of cities, he gouged out your eye,/Laertes’ son who makes his home in Ithaca!” (Homer 9.556-562). Odysseus is so impulsive he has to scream out his name to the gods and the Cyclops.
If you were to think about a man with great abilities like being strong, courageous and intelligent, you could think of people you personally or like me, you could think of someone such as Odysseus. Odysseus fits the definition of an epic hero because he is quick thinking, strong and courageous. Odysseus is one quick thinking individual. He has gotten him and his crew out some some sticky situations with his clever plans. One of these plans were how to get away from Polyphemus, a cyclops who was the son of Poseidon.
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?
An Epic Hero is a character who’s legendary or heroic actions are central to his culture, race or nation. Beowulf and Odysseus both share some of the seven hero traits; for example being superhuman, fighting monsters and going on a quest. They do not exhibit the exact same traits or in the same way, for example the intervention of the divine world, but they both demonstrate the qualities of an Epic Hero. Both Beowulf and Odysseus prove they are superhuman. Beowulf is able to take down Grendel and Grendel’s mother.
He acts extremely self centered, self righteous and all important. Odysseus does not show any respect for his men after everything they have been through. This is after the Cyclopes after they sailed away. He does not take any responsibility for what happened at the cyclopes land. Even though a mature person would have already taken responsibility for what happened.
In the book The Odyssey, the main character, Odysseus, is a man who is loved and respected by many. In the beginning of the book, we learn that Odysseus has left on a journey and, since it has been many years since his departure, many people assume that he has passed. On his journey, he portrays his many traits, not all of them being good ones either. Some of his good traits include his cunning, bravery, and hard work ethic. On the other hand, his negative traits are his excessive pride, immense curiosity, and rather large temper.
From the other side Odysseus is very caring towards his own son. Some evidence of this is when Ms. Shank came to talk to the class and said that Odysseus wouldn’t run
Hercules is very similar to Beowulf, an epic hero. They both share certain qualities, including some that make them desirable to each one's culture. Beowulf is valuable to the Anglo-Saxon people, and Hercules to the Greek people. Although Hercules was originally a foolish boy who made mistakes, he grew into a fabulous hero who is there to save the day. Hercules is a Beowulf-style hero because he has qualities of an epic hero, and is treasured by a group of people.
While Odysseus did have good intentions of bringing his men home, he continuously made poor and selfish decisions, and he was constantly putting his men in danger more often than
As stated before, an epic hero is a person who is courageous and honorable. Odysseus is one of
Throughout history, stories and epics from long ago and even today have acted as a form of rich culture to depict various characters within each story and attempt to explain occurrences in history such as the Odyssey, Gilgamesh, and The Ramayana. Although each of the heroes depicted in these tales embark on different journeys with different aims at what they hope to achieve, they all display a variety of fundamentals that make them similar to one another. It also becomes transparent that throughout each journey these hero’s must take that each of them also embarks on a transformative journey that many people of today can relate to. The Epic of Gilgamesh centers in on an ancient king of Uruk in present day Iraq. When we are first introduced to Gilgamesh, the king of Uruk, we see that he is a tyrant ruler that is one-third human, two-thirds divine and is endowed with immense strength.