The Greek Hero: Odysseus As A Greek Hero

Odyssey Essay Did you know Odysseus let many of his men die in the Odyssey? Well, Odysseus is also known for his brave and heroic acts, but to further understand him, you have to know about his Greek Values. In the Odyssey, Odysseus’ strength and weaknesses of leadership, intelligence, and his selfishness. This reflects the Greek Values of leading others to success, and accomplishment, outsmarting others, and caring for others. In the Odyssey by Homer, one heroic trait that Odysseus shows his preeminence which articulates the Greek cultural value of leading your men to victory.

Many parallels exist between Santiago and the classic heroes of the ancient world. In addition to exhibiting terrific strength, bravery, and moral certainty, those heroes usually possess a tragic flaw—a quality that, though admirable, leads to their eventual downfall. If pride is Santiago’s fatal flaw, he is keenly aware of it. After sharks have destroyed the marlin, the old man apologizes again and again to his worthy opponent. He has ruined them both, he concedes, by sailing beyond the usual boundaries of fishermen.

Though they may appear inconsequential, myths actually can encapsulate aspects of society quite accurately. For instance, in The Jason Legend, the protagonist, with his epic climax yet a lackluster end, clearly exemplified someone who achieved a single feat of high recognition which they would never recreate again; a recurring aspect of our modern society. The Jason Legend, focused on the Greek hero, Jason. Jason perilously retrieved the Golden Fleece and regained his place on the throne. However, though he was successful and was righteously honoured, further issues led to his exile which left the remainder of his life in misery.

Yet, Odysseus ignores them and respond to the monster by shouting “Kyklops,/if ever mortal man inquire/how you were put to shame and blinded, tell him/Odysseus, raider of cities, took your eye:/Laertes’ son, whose home is Ithaca!” (Book 9, Lines 548 - 552) Odysseus makes a very large tactical mistake; he tells Polyphemos’ that his is “Odysseus … Laertes’ son.” Odysseus demonstrates recklessness and selfishness because he wishes to take credit for “put[ing] Polyphemos to shame”. In addition by saying “raider of cities” it give him a more self-important look. All of which is extremely egoistical, not to mention

Superman, Batman, and Ironman — they are the most admired heroes of today’s world. What makes these men the admirable heroes they are? Is it strength or is it stealth? Or is it wealth? In the epic, The Odyssey, written by Homer, a hero quite similar to the ones mentioned before can be seen.

The better epic hero is hector because he had significant and glorified by the people. Also he was a strong and responsible leader. He led the army to fight the Greeks because he did want to disappoint his father and to have peace for his country. Hector risk his life for his country in the end his life ended in big tragically for the country of Troy because Achilles killed him. Achilles was a epic hero too but, Hector had more character than Achilles because even though he had the same characteristic as Hector.

Now, he does have a multitude of great qualities but, despite all of the good that he has done, Odysseus still has flaws. Firstly, when he had finally gotten past the Cyclopes and they were far off from the shore he shouted out to the Cyclopes “’Would you feast on my companions? Puny, am I, in a Caveman’s hands? How do you like the beating we gave you…’”, letting his anger get the better of him. This is a fatal flaw that could have killed him and the rest of his crew.

Because heroes care so much about their pride and glory, they perform an act of hubris before they meet their tragic fate. The term hubris refers to the act of extreme pride in a foolish manner. Lastly, all the Greek heroes are decedents of the gods, whether it be one of the major gods or minor deities. Heroes have some form of divine relative that gives them an advantageous connection during the ancient Greek era. These traits merge together to create a traditional Greek Hero.

Creon had his chance at a 'Happily Ever After ' if he could only control his obstinacy. Of course, the king 's pride clouds his judgment and leads to his utter downfall and cataclysmic realization of his faults. Through his story, it is evident that Creon is the tragic hero of the story Antigone because he exhibits the traits of stature, hamartia, and catharsis. Antigone, Ismene, Haimon, Eurydice, and a strong kingdom all stand tall by Creon as his most prized possessions loving family. Resembling all things in life, these valuables were not easily gained- but can be easily lost.

Heracles, a Greek demigod and son of Zeus, is known far and wide as one of the greatest heroes of Greek mythology due to his awesome accomplishments. However, Heracles is not only defined as a hero through these actions, but by his characteristics as well. In Euripides’ Heracles, his character is truly put to the test. His most prominent traits shown throughout the story are his loving devotion to his family, his kindness as both a friend and son, and his continued determination during horrendous times. Throughout the story written by Euripides, the loving devotion and care for his family can be seen through everything Heracles says and does.

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.” Indeed, Hector is the ideal hero, even compared to Achilles or the Gods. He is a man of compassion, bravery, and virtue.