Odysseus As A Hero As An Epic Hero

An epic hero can be defined as a brave and noble character in an epic poem. This character is admired for their great achievements. This definition is an exact fit for the main character in The Odyssey written by the blind poet, Homer. Odysseus left Troy after ten years of fighting in the Trojan War. With a victory under his belt, he headed back to his homeland of Ithaca. This journey took another ten years. Throughout this 20 year journey, Odysseus survived and conquered. Odysseus showed that he was a hero though many things; such as, being brave and cunning, having guides, servants and lastly being a mortal that is called upon to make a journey. Odysseus can be described as creative, cunning, brave, and compassionate. Those are adjectives …show more content…

Odysseus had the help of a very important goddess, the goddess of wisdom. Athena was on Odysseus’ side to help him through the horror, god Poseidon was sending him through. This is a trait of a hero. Odysseus was also not alone because he had his faithful crew on his side. His crew was very loyal and humble to him. This proves that he was a great leader to this men and his country before he left. Odysseus was very honest and compassionate to his crew members. When he himself was the lone survivor, he weep for his lost brothers. He cared deeply about these men and risked his own life many times for them. That proves he was a hero because that take a special type of person to lay down one’s life for another. Another trait to prove that Odysseus was indeed a hero, would be that he had the god of all gods on his side, Zeus. Zeus was there to help the hero shoot an arrow through twelve ax handles. Odysseus was the only man successful and that was because he was under the watch of these two brilliant immortals. This is yet again another example of the heroism of …show more content…

Odysseus literally overcame going through hell and back. Going into hell causes a lot of physical stress but emotional stress came about him when he saw his mother there. He did not know she had died because he had been gone so long but did not react to this news like any other hero would have done. Scylla and Charybdis were sure to be the end of Odysseus and it very well should of been, but once again the hero used his quick actions and was spared. He still could have perished from these obstacles,however he saved himself from the destruction. A hero must also be called to go on a quest or journey. The day Odysseus heard the news that he had to go to war was supposed to be the greatest day of his life, the birth of his son. He had to leave at the moment his son was into the world because of an oath he vowed to keep. He did not want to go to war however. That is why it is said he was called on a journey. Being called on a journey is also a trait that makes him a hero. All of these traits mixed together help to form the heroism of