Odysseus Heroic Qualities

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Recommended: What classifies a person or character to be a hero

A hero is someone people want their kids to look up to. A hero is a role model. In order to become a hero you must have the necessary honorable character traits. Some of these traits would be humility, respectfulness, and loyalty. Though Odysseus is liked by many, he has many flaws which prove he is not a hero. A great trait of a hero is loyalty. Odysseus must not understand the concept of loyalty because he does not show in his actions this trait. One event which shows Odysseus loyalty is when he stays with Calypso for seven years. Odysseus did not remain faithful to his wife while he was away from home. Another occasion when Odysseus is not loyal to Penelope is when he stays for quite some time with Circe because she gives him many …show more content…

Odysseus does not know how to respect people. In Book Nine of The Odyssey, Homer writes, "My men were mutinous, fools, on stores of wine". Odysseus is talking to King Alcinous court calling his men fools and drunkards. This is not a great display of respect. When Odysseus finds out he will be the only person to survive the journey home from Teiresias, he doesn't tell his men. He doesn't even respect them enough to try and find another way home which could cause less deaths. Odysseus doesn't even respect his wife, Penelope. He stays with other women for years at a time and doesn't try to find his way home. He doesn't have the will power to do so, as a result he can't respect Penelope. All of this mean Odysseus is trying to make him self look better and "be a hero" by putting others down and doing things his own …show more content…

The role model for society should not be someone with a big head. Odysseus is quite the self centered. Odysseus comes home, and after killing the suitors, he receives a test of sorts from Penelope to prove he is Odysseus. She wants to move his bed, though he knows the bed is carved out of a tree. He then realizes this is their sign and boasts to his wife saying he is the only one who could have made it or removed it from it's place. Earlier in the story Odysseus tries to come together with the remaining crew. Though in doing so, he brags about his success. "Did I not keep my nerve, use my smartness to find a way out for us". He seems to think it was just by the sole operations of himself they escaped the Cyclops. Odysseus and his crew encountered a Cyclops on their journey home. They manage to escape the clutches of the Cyclops, Polyphemus. Once aboard their ship, almost out of harms way, Odysseus chooses to call back to anger Polyphemus. After his achievement, Polyphemus throws the rock and narrowly misses the ship. After the crew protests, Odysseus shouts back again. Polyphemus gets the final word by asking his father, Poseidon, god of the sea, to give them a long and terrible journey

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