The Odyssey When most people think of a hero, they think of a tall, handsome, and intelligent being that could do nothing wrong. But in real life, and in The Odyssey, not all heroes are like that. Odysseus is disrespectful and very rude sometimes. Odysseus should not be considered as a hero at all because of the very poor decisions he had made. Firstly, readers should think Odysseus is not a hero is because he made poor and careless decisions that angered many gods and mortals too. For example, Odysseus angered King Poseidon, king of the sea, for blinding his son Polyphemus, king of the Cyclops. Odysseus could not have blinded Polyphemus and escaped another way, but Odysseus had to blind him to escape. Another reason is that Zeus was angry at Odysseus said to his men to kill the sun god’s cattle when the were specifically not to touch or kill the sun god’s cattle. So as the response to this Zeus struck Odysseus’s ship with lighting to end up destroying Odysseus’s ship. Secondly, why should Odysseus’s men die while being attacked by a horrifying monster and Odysseus is not harmed at all? In fact, the time where Odysseus and his men were in the land of the Cyclops. They had snuck in but when they went inside, nobody was there. Shortly after the Cyclops comes and asked Odysseus,”Who are all of you,” and …show more content…
However, Odysseus was not at all very loyal to Penelope and Telemachus. He left them there with the terrible suitors for twenty years. Odysseus then left Penelope without a husband and Telemachus without a dad for about twenty years. Another reason that Odysseus is not a hero is he killed all of the suitors, and there were many suitors. Odysseus could have killed some of them or none at all. He could have imprisoned them or done something else than kill all of them. The reader knows that Odysseus is very frustrated in this scene, but he made a very poor decision to kill all of the
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...
The majority of those who read The Odyssey consider the protagonist of the story, Odysseus, a hero. On many occasions, however, Odysseus makes decisions beneficial to himself alone. For example, when Odysseus and his men find themselves on Polyphemus's island, Odysseus's actions are self-centered and at the expense of his men. This can be said for most of Odysseus's actions in the story, as his main objective is to reach his home. Having his men by his side when he returns seems a trivial thing to him. Odysseus could be considered a hero, but many of his actions say otherwise. Due to the many unfaithful and self-centered decisions he makes in the story, Odysseus is not a hero.
Odysseus has all the qualities made to be a true hero. Not only did Odysseus fight on behalf of the Greeks in Troy (Trojan War), but everything he went through he learned a valuable lesson at the end; Odysseus endured so much during his journey going back to Ithaca but he never gave up on any of his principles. He also had good escape strategies, and he risked his life to save others. Imagine you being on the same journey Odysseus went through, do you honestly believe you would have survived? He made some minor mistakes along the way but nobody’s perfect. That’s why Odysseus is a hero because, he’s strong, and intelligent and was able to get out of sticky situations.
...s throne. Odysseus, even today, is considered a modern day hero; the adventures he experienced on his way to Ithaca were portrayed in unlike any other literature piece. However, like most heroes, Odysseus’ flaw was his hubristic attitude towards the gods, particularly in the beginning of Homer’s Odyssey. Some actions, especially against Poseidon, caused his trip to be delayed, but he eventually made it home, and will forever be with Penelope, like it was meant to be since the beginning, for the gods spared his life despite his acts of hubris.
Has anyone ever heard of Odysseus being a hero? However it's hard to believe he his he has many pros and cons in being a hero but he does a lot to save his crew from these magical seraphic woman in a deserted island singing a deadly song. Although it was hard for him he had faith in his crew to never stop believing.
Odysseus is a hero because he acts courageously while facing the many challenges he encounters. Odysseus’s shows great bravery when he engages in physical challenges. Odysseus daringly fights against the suitors, while significantly outnumbered: “For I must tell you this is no affair / of ten or even twice ten men, but scores, throngs of them” (XVI, 291 – 293). Even though Odysseus is facing hundreds of men, his bravery keeps him confident that he can win the battle. Odysseus must use his physical strength when Poseidon punishes him with turbulent waves: “Odysseus’s knees grew slack, his heart / sickened, and he said within himself / Rag of man that I am, is this the end of me?” (V, 307 – 309). Odysseus is exhausted from the torrential sea, yet refuses to give up because of enormous courage and his unwillingness to surrender. Odysseus must also cope with emotional challenges throughout his journey. His emotions are tested when he ventures to the underworld, Hades, and must confront his greatest fear, death: “From every side they came and sought the pit / with rustling cries; and I grew sick with fear. / But presently I gave command to my officers” (XI, 45 -47). Although Odysseus is deeply fearful when he comes face to face with the dead, his mental f...
Odysseus: a hero in every way. He is a real man, skilled in the sports, handy with a sword and spear, and a master of war strategy. Most of the challenges and adventures in his return voyage from Troy show us this even if we had no idea of his great heroic stature and accomplishments in the Trojan war. I found in my reading of the Odyssey that most of the trials the gods place upon him are readily faced with heroic means. These challenges are not
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 is not a hero because, he is foolish, lacks faithfulness and is consumed by his Hubris and selfishness. Although he may be considered a war hero, Odysseus is not a hero in other respects. This is so because he is self-centered which is clear because he doesn't value other people's lives. He also is foolish risking the lives of his crew members for unnecessary reasons. He also outright disrespects the Gods at more than one point in the epic. As well, he lacks the loyalty of a true hero as shown by his affairs with other women even though his wife remained faithful. A hero is someone who does something for other people out of the goodness of his heart, Odysseus clearly is not this.
He ripped the top of a huge peak, then hurled a chunk at us…’Why must you goad that savage so?...if he’d heard us breathe or speak even the slightest words he would have hurled one more rough rock and smashed our heads and hull’...These were their words. But my firm heart was not convinced. Again my anger had to taunt: ‘Cyclops, if any mortal man should ask about the shameful blinding of your eye, then tell them that the man who gouged you was Odysseus’” (184-185). Odysseus and his remaining men were almost completely free from the effects of being trapped in the Cyclops cave. Which had only happened after Odysseus decided that he wanted to stay and meet the person who lived in said cave, which then also resulted in the death of many men. Although, when finally escaping, he decided to call back to the Cyclops in order to gloat, and in doing so gave away their position and his own name, that the Cyclops previously knew nothing about. In the few small times like this where Athena does not directly give Odysseus inspiration and ideas to make him seem like a hero, he makes brash and horrible decisions. In doing this the Cyclops was able to give Poseidon his attacker’s name, which then leads to a powerful god working against Odysseus for the rest of the story. Also,
Odysseus lets himself and his men get trapped in a Cyclops’ cave where a number of men die (153, 312-316) Generally a true leader never allows his men to die for foolish and or unnecessary reasons. In this part of the text Odysseus allows his men to get trapped in a cave because he wants to wait to meet the owner of the cave which he was in. Hence, Odysseus is an awful leader due to the fact that he allows his men to die due to his own irresponsibility. Another similar instance is when he expects hospitality from the Lasitrygonês without even a shred of doubt that they would treat him well - even after making the same mistake with the cyclops’ earlier, both leading to the loss of many lives (168, 121-128). A great leader never lets men die due to their own error. In this case, Odysseus has entire benches worth of men die due to the fact that he did not learn from his earlier encounter with the cyclops. Thus, Odysseus is not as awe inspiring a leader as some may make him out to
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.
Odysseus should not be condemned for his actions. There are many justifiable reasons for the method in which he punished those who were disloyal and uncivil. One should take into consideration his trials, and put themselves in Odysseus’s place. If you came home after twenty years, and found men about your wife, (or women about your husband) would you consider morality first? In Odysseus’s case anyway, his all powerful heart and emotion filled his brain with rage. And any human being today would submit their mind to their feelings if their souls had been tossed about on the sea by Poseidon.
Odysseus is not a hero based on the standards of merciful, selfless, and gentle. His actions against Polyphemus, the Suitors, and his men truly show that he is in fact the opposite of a hero. The actions he takes to return home safely and to get back his throne are very cruel and show signs that he lacks the nobility of being called a hero, or a king, or a warrior. He has shown that he powerful, destructive, and ruthless and these are qualities that a hero must not have. Odysseus, the mighty King of Ithaca is not a hero because he is not selfless, gentle, or merciful.
The Odyssey's main character, Odysseus, is an epic hero because he is brave, intelligent and arrogant, gods intervene in his life, and he was admirable to the people of that time era. Odysseus was brave when he went out to search for the Cyclopes on the islands of the Cyclopes and was not afraid to defeat Polyphemus. Another example of his bravery was when he goes into the realm of Hades to speak to the blind prophet, Tiresias. Odysseus was smart and boastful when he tricked Polyphemus into thinking his name was "no man" and when he eventually told the Cyclops his name "Cyclops, if anyone asks you who it was that put your eye out and spoiled your beauty, say it was the valiant warrior Odysseus, son of Laertes". Another example of Odysseus's narcissism is when Odysseus brags about him being the only one who can string his bow. Gods and goddesses intervene in the life of Odysseus for the better and worse. Since Odysseus blinded the son of Poseidon, he was cursed to return alone and in another man's ship after so many years of suffering. Athena finds Odysseus favorable and helps him return home after many years on Calypso's island. Athena also helps end the feud between Odysseus and the suitor's families at the end of the novel. Odysseus ...