Odysseus is a leader that portrays both non-heroic and heroic traits throughout the story. These traits reflect his way of thinking and what actions he takes. These traits fluctuate from bravery to overconfidence. Nonetheless, the traits all contribute to the hero and as a result, they contribute to the story.
Odysseus’ Weaknesses In the epic poem, The Odyssey, Homer reveals that Odysseus’ encounter with the Cyclops magnifies his curiosity and hubris, allowing him to defeat the Cyclops despite his weaknesses. Odysseus shows he is a weak leader when he displays signs of curiosity because he wants to see the Cyclops that dwells in his cavern. After climbing to the cavern of the Cyclops, Odysseus alongside his men enter the home of the Cyclops and examine the belongings inside: “My men came pressing round me, pleading: ‘Why not take these cheeses, get them stowed, come back, throw open all the pens, and make a run for it? We’ll drive the kids and lambs aboard. We say put out again on good salt
The main character Odysseus in the Odyssey written by Homer is generally thought to be a great hero; however, he shows more traits of a quite flawed character on closer inspection. Around the beginning of Odysseus’ journey home after the war, Odysseus decides to take a detour to the home of a cyclops deciding to not listen to his men’s suggestions to leave while they still could; consequently, it does not end well: “Ah, how sound that was, Yet I refused. I wished to see the caveman, what he had to offer no pretty sight it turned out, for my friend” (9.130-132). This thought by Odysseus shows that he realized his decision to go to the mysterious island wasn’t the most rational one and that his men’s pleas to leave were the better option, but he decides to be stubborn and place his curiosity before his men’s safety resulting in a non-heroic
Because of Odysseus’s sharp intellect, cunningness, and with the help from the gods, he finishes the heroes’ journey. Odysseus’s main flaw in The Odyssey is his pride and not being able to control his crew. Test, allies, and enemies happen when Odysseus blinds Polyphemus who is the son of Poseidon. When Odysseus and his crew first found Polyphemus’s cave they could’ve just stolen food or left but instead Odysseus wanted to stay and receive a gift.
Odysseus is extremely selfish by betraying his crew. His crew believes that Odysseus is trying to help them return home, when he is actually only concerned about himself.
Odysseus is simultaneously one of the smartest and dumbest Greek heros. Taking place after the infamous Trojan war, Homer’s The Odyssey, chronicles the journey of Odysseus back to his home, Ithaka. However his ingenious mind seems worn out from the war as along the way he constantly makes mistakes that set him farther and farther away from home. Even with the gray-eyed goddess Athena helping as much as she can, simple judgement errors pop up everywhere. Ultimately, Odysseus is undoubtedly clever in the moment, his inability to plan ahead or see the hypothetical consequences of his actions often creates the need for his quick-thinking.
There are a lot of leaders in Greek mythology that use deceit and dishonesty to accomplish their own goals. One example of this is the Greek hero Odysseus from The Odyssey by Homer. Throughout the story Odysseus uses a lot of clever and deceitful tactics to get his men and himself out trouble. Odysseus’s deceit and dishonesty may help Odysseus, but it causes in the end causes for Odysseus to lose his leadership, loyalty skills and a less desirable outcome.
The first trait is that he is a very arrogant person and this often puts him and his men in danger. Secondly, Odysseus can be deceitful and not fully communicate the facts of each situation. Odysseus was a weak leader and his lack of vision in not seeing the strength and possibilities in his men combined with his inability to effectively communicate to those around him ultimately led to his failure of not being able to safely deliver his men back to Ithaca. The story of the Cyclops in Homer 's The Odyssey illustrated how Odysseus '
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. ST1: Homer depicts that Odysseus is determined to get home, but Odysseus succumbs to temptation when he leads his crew into the cyclops lair, eats the cyclops’ food, and demands for a gift, resulting in a protracted journey home. 1: Homer displays Odysseus as recklessly brave when he requests, “we’re at your knees, in hopes of… a guest-gift”(9.300) from the cyclops. 2: It is apparent that Odysseus has given into the temptation to be arrogant when he declares for the cyclops to give them, “a guest-gift,” after Odysseus and his men have broken into the cyclops lair, showing even further Odysseus’ isn’t vigilant to
Why don’t people take advice that later comes back to haunt us? This is shown superlatively in the story of the Odyssey, by Homer. There are several times that the great Odysseus did not take any advantage of the opportunities presented to him. These times consist of when the men slaughtered the cattle of Helios, when the several Suitors tried to make Penelope their spouse, and when the fleet of Odysseus’ men and himself bothered Polyphemus. Odysseus and his men met their demise with their poor decisions. With so many poor choices, why does he act so intellectual and like he is greater than everyone else?
True to You In the world today, finding people who truly represent what they are and stand for is a difficult task. Dictionary.com defines authenticity as “representing one’s true nature or beliefs; true to oneself or to the person identified.” Authenticity is often confused with conceitedness, when a person “has an inflated self-image and perceives himself as incredibly entertaining and wonderful.” My brother, Corey, to me, truly represents being authentic.
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?
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.
When people get lost without a way home, they will usually sacrifice everything to get home. Being on the way home for ten years already caused Odysseus to make the brash decision of sailing past Scylla, even after Circe had warned, “No mariners yet can boast they've raced their ship past Scylla’s lair without some mortal blow”(9.108-109). This brash decision lead to death of some of his crew, he sacrificed his men for himself. Odysseus also decided that in order to get home he and his men we to go, “to the House of Death”, which is extremely dangerous. So many things could have gone wrong, they may have never even made it out to get out. Throughout the Odyssey people make brash decisions in terms of getting home, their desperation clouds their vision of staying safe.
In the book called The Odyssey by Homer, it mainly follows the story of a king of a village called Ithaca, hundreds of years ago-This man, is named Odysseus. Odysseus goes through many adventures after the victory of the Trojan War. However, this is where Odysseus, is not being as strong as a great war hero and a king as he should be. Although Odysseus was seen as a very strong person, physically and mentally, he lacks the appreciation and the care of his crew throughout the trials and didn’t think through many of his actions thoroughly and how they would affect not only his crew but people around him.