Traits Of A Hero In Homer's Odyssey

The Odyssey is often cited as an epitome of the hero’s journey and the monomyth. The hero of the story, Odysseus is on a 10 year battle homeward from the Trojan War to see his wife and son again. With the help divine intervention, Odysseus is able to return home and save his wife from the evil suitors who have continuously tried to win her. One could easily argued that Odysseus is an exemplar of the hero, but there is another story: Odysseus is the opposite of a hero and is not worthy to be called such. He is the villain where the gods are the hero.

In Homer’s epic, The Odyssey, Odysseus of Ithaca is the hero. A hero is someone who is loyal to their country, family, and gods. The Odyssey is a grand and very detailed adventure. The main character, Odysseus, is a victim of an “epic journey” while trying to get back home after 20 years. Have you ever wondered what makes a hero?

Well the definition of an epic hero is, “a brave and noble character in an epic poem, admired for great achievements or affected by grand events.”(Dictionary.com) If that doesn’t describe Odysseus, I don’t know what does. He risks his life in many circumstances, and he’s widely admired for being the one of the reasons the trojans won the war. He is also affected by lots of events throughout his adventures. For example they are almost home and his crew opens the bag of winds that sends them flying through the ocean.“Nevertheless we sailed on, night and day, for nine days, and on the tenth at last appeared the land of our fathers, and we could see people tending fires, we were very close to them. But then the sweet sleep came upon me, for I was worn out with always handling the sheet myself, and I could not give it to any other companion, so we could come home quicker to our own country; but my companions talked with each other and said that I was bringing silver and gold home with me, given me by great-hearted Aiolos, son of Hippotas; […] and the evil counsel of my companions prevailed, and they opened the bag and the winds all burst out.

He got sent away from his family battling Troy. He then battled there for 10 years. It was a hard battle then Odysseus finally succeeded and won the war between the two rivaling cities. Back at home, on Ithaca. He left a newborn son named Tellemicus, and a wife named Penelope.

Usually, epic heroes share common character traits such as courage, self control, fearless, daring. In Homer’s Odyssey, it is my belief that Odysseus is heroic mostly because his is courageous and fearless. For example, he wasn’t panicking when he was against the cyclops, he was thinking of what to do so they can escape the cave.Even though some people may argue that he wasn’t a hero, I maintain that he is a hero because even though he took twenty-years to get back home and he lost his men to a six headed monster, and even had to bed with some goddess to save his men, he still thought of his wife and his child and his kingdom.

His beloved father and brother passed away at a young age, and Mawi did not know how to handle this. Even though Mawi faced death in his family, it only motivated him more to try his best. “I almost abandoned my dreams of becoming a top student and earning a scholarship. But I loved my family too much to give up. And I knew that my brother Tewolde never would have given up.

Homer wrote a major, ancient epic poem called The Odyssey. In The Odyssey, Ulysses has been gone for 10 years since defeating Troy, and he is desperately trying to get home to his beloved wife, Penelope, son, Telemachus, and kingdom in Ithaca. While Ulysses goes through many tribulations throughout his journey, his wife stays loyal to him turning down many tyrants seeking her hand in marriage. Many characters throughout the story of Ulysses long journey home stand out as heroes in their own way, but the true hero in this epic was Ulysses. Ulysses has many admirable traits that can be seen throughout the entire story.

However, flaws do not negate the positive influence heroes possess. In the poem,” The Odyssey,” Odysseus spent 20 years fighting trying to find his way home to save the one he loves. Throughout his journey, he encounters monsters and temptations. He was celebrated as a hero because he possessed the attributes from the Greek society. People admired his bravery he showed by fighting mythological creatures.

Through the ages, grandiose tales of monsters and heroes have been told and retold either by oral tradition or written for future generations to learn from those who have come before them. To the Greek culture, these stories represent what it means to be a man, a patriarch, and the hero that can accomplish anything with a little help from the gods. In both, the Odyssey and Medea, the heroes have accomplished extraordinary feats that sets them on a path to a better future, not just for them, but for their children as well. In Homer’s Odyssey, Odysseus has taken a long journey to come home to his Greek wife, in contrast, in Euripides’ Medea, Jason takes a journey with his Colchian wife to settle in a new home in Greece. In the end, Odysseus is able to accomplish great feats of bravery and enjoy the remainder of his life, but Jason fails at his attempt to forge a life beyond his great feats of bravery.

Heroes always do something that most people don’t.” Philip Zimbardo's statement stays true in The Odyssey by Homer. In the book Odysseus, the king of Ithaca has to leave his family to fight in the Trojan war. He leaves behind his loving wife, Penelope along with his newborn son, Telemachus. Unfortunately, even after the Trojan war Odysseus faces many hardships and troubles returning home to Ithaca Throughout all hardships, Odysseus proves himself as a hero in The Odyssey. For starters, Odysseus is a hero because he shows many leadership like qualities.