Christopher Reeves says, “What makes Superman a hero is not that he has power, but that he has the wisdom and the maturity to use the power wisely.” What makes Odysseus a hero is not only his cunning ability, but his wisdom that he gains throughout his journey. In the Odyssey, Odysseus successfully completes a hero’s journey by completing 9 stages, amending his flaw of pride, and gaining the following wisdom: being cunning is better than being prideful. Ranging from escaping the cave of a cyclops to sailing through the straits containing a multi-headed monster, this journey has proven very difficult even for a cunning man like Odysseus. Many of the stages mentioned in the hero’s journey guideline such as Meeting the Mentor stage and the Resurrection stage do take place in the Odyssey. During the Meeting the Mentor stage, the hero is supposed to receive help by a mentor like figure. In the Odyssey, Athena would be Odysseus’s …show more content…
This is evident during his encounter with the cyclops. Odysseus finds an empty cave filled with livestock and dairy products. Not knowing that this cave belongs to the Cyclops Polyphemus, Odysseus waits there for the owner to return expecting that he will receive gifts. Polyphemus traps Odysseus and his men in the cave and begins to eat them. By getting Polyphemus drunk and stabbing him in the eye, Odysseus and his men are able to escape. When Odysseus reaches his ship, he tells the Cyclops his actual identity. “If every any one asks you who put out your ugly eye, tell him your blinder was Odysseus, the conqueror of Tory, the son of Laertes, whose address is in Ithaca” (Homer 110)! Odysseus wants to ensure that people will know he is the one who blinded Polyphemus and in this series of events, his main character flaw shows. His lack of humility seems unheroic but Odysseus does learn from his mistakes and completes the hero’s
In Homer’s the Odyssey, Odysseus has many different qualities that classify him as a hero. He is brave and courageous as shown when he murdered all the suitors who were disrespecting his property even though he was outmanned by them. Despite this, he is by no means all brawn and no brain as he shows his intelligence and cunning numerous times during the epic. A few example of this would be when he was able to blind the one-eyed Cyclops while the rest of his crew didn’t know what to do. Odysseus in many ways is similar to a flowing river, because whenever there is a problem (dam in the river), he would first try to go through it, but if he can’t he would then find a way ar...
Once he and he men are sailing away from the Cyclops, Odysseus cries back to the Cyclops “if anyone ever asks you how you came by your blindness, tell them your eye was put out by Odysseus, sacker of cities, son of Laertes, who lives in Ithaca.” Odysseus has regretted his earlier decision for Polyphemus to not know his true name, because it means that anyone hearing the tale of a man defeating a Cyclops will not know that it was Odysseus who did it. The arrogant Odysseus does not like this, because he wants all tales of his prowess to be known for his. As he cannot let the chance of more fame escape him, he reveals to Polyphemus his true identity. This sentence, with which he risks the Cyclops throwing a boulder onto their ship, show the readers just how arrogant Odysseus is. It helps the readers understand quite how willing Odysseus is to risk anything if it will add to his
The epic heroic journey of Odysseus was a story written in Greek. The story is a great example of the epic journey tale. Manny story's are based off of the epic of Odysseus. The hero Odysseus may be worthy for a hero for the Greeks by the extraordinary travels and the odds that he was up against. There is two different opinions if Odysseus was really a hero or not.
There are numerous heroes throughout “The Odyssey,” but none of them are as significant as Odysseus. “The Odyssey” is a narrative poem written by Homer (around 800 and 600 BCE) to show the numerous adventures and experiences Odysseus goes through. Throughout the Odyssey, Odysseus a prominent Greek epic hero is on a quest to return back to his home in Ithaca; to his wife Penelope, and his son Telemachus. Just like real life, not all heroes are picture-perfect; they all have imperfections. In this case, Odysseus is sometimes insolent, and discourteous; but he is still considered an epic hero because of the many heroic qualities he endures. Odysseus proves himself to be an outstanding hero in various ways such as showing loyalty, intelligence, bravery, strength, and courage which are all some of the most momentous qualities found in a hero. If a true hero can prove they are a true hero, makes them a true hero.
Along Odysseus’ journey he matures and develops as a result of his mistakes and triumphs. The Odyssey, written by Homer, is an epic poem about Odysseus’ return home from fighting in Troy. Along the way 14 stops are made while him and his crew faces many difficult groups including sirens, nymphs, and cyclops. Not only is Odysseus put into tough situations but he is also challenged to be creative and devise plans to escape certain situations. Overall Odysseus acquires many characteristic that helped him reach his goal and return to his family.
Like Jacob, Odysseus connived, manipulated, and deceived. On his journey home from the Trojan War, Odysseus uses his trickster ways to get himself out of trouble. One famous tail was his encounter with the one-eyed Cyclopes Polyphemous. Odysseus and his crew landed on the land of they Cyclopes. They made themselves at home, eating the cheese and goats of the Cyclopes, fully expecting him to be hospitable. Instead, Cyclops began eating then men as though they were animals themselves. Odysseus and his men were trapped in the cave and Polyphemous rolled a stone over the entrance so no one could exit. Odysseus connived a plan and gave the Cyclopes some wine. When he got drunk and passed out, Odysseus poked out the eye of Polyphemous and completely blinds him. Odysseus and his men escape the cave by clinging to the bellies of sheep (Odyssey, Ch. 9). He also disguised himself as a veteran of a Trojan war to Eumaios, a loyal servant, and as a beggar to his wife and son.
After stabbing Polyphemus in his eye and blinding him, Odysseus provoked and harassed the Cyclops, which angered him immensely. “ Cyclops, 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’s on Ithaca';, shouted Odysseus to the crippled Polyphemus, which was not very smart. If Odysseus had not told the Cyclops this incriminating information, he would have had a much safer journey. Polyphemus begged his father Poseidon, god of earthquake, to curse Odysseus. The Cyclops cried out to his father to prevent Odysseus from returning home, and pleaded with him to let Odysseus lose his companions.
Overall, Odysseus is a hero because Odysseus is a clever and intelligent man, he is a courageous soldier and leader, and he is loyal to his crew. He never gives up even though it seems like nothing will go right. Odysseus fights against difficult odds and takes unimaginable risks, but stays loyal to his crew one hundred percent of the way. Odysseus is not only a model hero, but he is an epic
Odysseus displays his desire for glory through his careless actions during his encounter with the Cyclops Polyphemus. The desire for glory Odysseus displays is shown through the words he speaks to Polyphemus. He is a clever character but makes rash decisions that affect the outcome of his original goals and intentions. While Odysseus is trapped inside of the cave of the Cyclops, he begins to taunt Polyphemus. “I called back to the Cyclops, stinging taunts: So, Cyclops, no weak coward it was whose crew you bent to devour three in your vaulted cave—with your brute voice! Filthy crimes came down on your own head, you shameless cannibal” (Fagles, 226). Odysseus was insulting the Cyclops, and those insults caused the rage of the monster to boil over. The Cyclops was already angry with Odysseus blinding him, and was even more demoralized and angry when Odysseus began to taunt him. As Odysseus goes on with his insults and as his anger rises, he says, “Cyclops—if any man on the face of the earth should ask you who blinded you, shamed—say Odysseus, raider of cities, he gouged out your eye, La...
Opposed to that of common thought, superman is not the only type of character that fits the heroic persona. Although “superheroes” typically come to mind when one thinks of a hero, there are many other ordinary people capable of extraordinary things. A hero is a person who takes the initiative to set out on a journey of internal growth. During this symbolic journey, one truly finds himself and betters the lives of other mentally and physically. In Homer’s epic poem The Odyssey, Odysseus takes the path of heroism, resulting in the reborn spirit of a selfless, modest hero. During the process, Odysseus is faced with many challenges that he must overcome in order to earn the noble title. Odysseus proves himself to be a well-deserving hero because he is intelligent with his decisions, he displays cleverness, and he rids himself of hubris.
Odysseus, during his long journey, exhibited many heroic qualities including bravery, strength, and determination. He was determined to return to his family after hs journey, and he bravely fought to stay alive during the cyclope situation, as well as other situations, and showed strength by being able to battle the cyclopes in self-defense. However, Odysseus was also obnoxiously arrogant about his victory and was actually very selfish throughout his entire story; he almost did not leave his town to help with the war because he did not want to leave to protect his family. Although Odysseus exemplified heroic qualities, this does not make him a true hero.
A hero is an individual that demonstrates behaviours and decisions that are ethically and emotionally worthy of awe. They are individuals that do extraordinary things and give their lives to something bigger than themselves. As a society, a hero is a champion, warrior, advocate, defender and a friend. The existence of heroes has dated back to early ancient civilizations, but has been most prominent in Ancient Greece, where Trojan War and Olympian heroes were just as important to society as the Gods. In the Epic of Gilgamesh, a Mesopotamian epic poem opens with the line, “he who gazed into the deep, the unknown, the abyss” to express what a hero must endure on a heroic quest. Heroic quests consist of confrontation of the unknown, falling into
In Homer’s The Odyssey, readers are introduced to the main character, Odysseus. Odysseus is the legendary king of Ithaca and, throughout the story, is trying to get home after the Trojan War. His travels last ten years, and throughout this time readers get a pretty good understanding of Odysseus’s personality. He is a courageous and intelligent man, despite having flaws like, like all people do. In the home he is attempting to return to, he has a wife named Penelope and a son named Telemachus. Odysseus angered Poseidon by blinding the Cyclopes, Polyphemus. Out of anger, Poseidon made it impossible for Odysseus to get back home near the beginning of the story.
The main character of the Odyssey, Odysseus the King of Ithaca is given a complex personality to an extent where it is hard to identify whether he is a true hero or not. True heroism is only achieved when a person achieves certain qualities that portray heroism. Odysseus is not a hero based on the standards of merciful, selfless, and gentle because of his actions of sacrificing his men, killing the suitors and being ruthless throughout the Odyssey. Along with many others qualities these three are helpful and necessary in a hero. A hero must be willing to do service for others and put the needs of others safety and protection before his own. Odysseus does not even come close to matching these qualities because he is a person, who only serves of himself, and he sacrifices his allies to achieve his goals and often he takes action ruthlessly.
Homer portrays Odysseus as a physically adept, intelligent, and good with quick thinking in high pressure situations. He has the characteristics of a homeric leader showing courage, nobility, and strength. He is a good speaker and has no troubles winning over an audience. But there comes moments that proves his humanity where he acts in foolish measures. Sometimes Odysseus’s glory seeking self let him looking foolish. For example, in book 9 written as a flashback, Odysseus and his men come upon a cave full of sheep and crates of cheese and milk on the island of the Cyclops. His men suggest to grab the crates and leave, but he decides to stay and feast on their upcomings. When the Cyclops Polyphemus returns to its cave, it seems hostile at