Odysseus: The Hero In Homer's The Odyssey

As Joseph Campbell said, “A hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself.” Hero’s can be portrayed differently in literature as they are in society often. Some believe heros are only fearless and athletic while the more modern definition includes kindness and compassion. In the epic poem The Odyssey, by Homer, Odysseus is the main greek hero who is sailing to his home in Ithaca from Troy after the Trojan War and faces several problems with getting home. Throughout The Odyssey, Odysseus is heroic in that he is always steadfast in his beliefs, yet fails on being constantly kind and humble; therefore, he exhibits qualities of an ancient Greek Hero, but fails to meet the qualities of a modern hero.

Odysseus is “godlike” because of his similarities to Athena, and she therefore supports him in his battles. Although Odysseus undoubtedly has great physical strength, he also possesses arguably greater strength of the mind. “His mind teeming,” (The Odyssey.19.43), Odysseus formulates great plans to achieve his ends. “Noman is my name,” (The Odyssey.9.364), he tells Polyphemus so that when the Cyclops cries out for help, his neighbors laugh off his screams as nonsense. Odysseus relies not only on his physical capability to “drive the sharp point right into his eye” (The Odyssey.9.382), but also on “how my phony name…fooled them so well” (The Odyssey.9.413). Athena notices the similarities between herself and Odysseus, and adopts him as a pet

Indeed many people who sail the bright blue sea, lusting for adventure, such as Odysseus, a character from The Odyssey by Homer, a known Greek poet. Odysseus the main protagonist, travels to various places, allowing the reader to establish the striking traits that he embodies. The hero’s journey had defined Odysseus by demonstrating his characteristics as an explorer and a hero.

Strength doesn’t come from what you can do it comes from overcoming the things you once thought you couldn’t. We all struggle in a subject, sport, music, and many more. There are some people who hate making mistakes and always like to be right. If nobody ever made a mistake, then we couldn’t be able to learn what we did wrong. It’s ok to make mistakes they can be a very good thing to learn from. In the Odyssey, Odysseus was this brave, heroic guy and everyone loved him in the begin before the Trojan War. Odysseus wasn’t the best man in the world. Odysseus slept with many women and went through a lot of obstacles. He faced many obstacles to get to his wife with which were every challenging. He managed to get through all the obstacles he

Odysseus has thus far been portrayed as a hero to rival the gods. His sweeping brow and broad shoulders paint an image of a muscular man, mighty in his stance. He does not back down from a battle, but embraces it and does not charge in headfirst, but devises a strategy. However, after twenty years at sea, Odysseus is a man weathered by the God of weather and who cries tears of saltwater swallowed from the Sea God. Now that Odysseus has finally escaped Calypso’s gleaming locks, Alcinous and Arete of the Phaeacians have graciously welcomed him into their home. When eating dinner one night, a harper sings the song of Odysseus and he dissolves into tears: “as a woman weeps, her arms flung round her darling husband, a man who fell in battle… trying to beat the day of doom from home and

You will always find in many books or poems there will be a theme or a lesson that reveals and comes within the story. In the ancient epic poem, The Odyssey, it tells about a journey of one of the greatest Greek warriors by the name of Odysseus. Ten years after the defeat of the Trojan War, the hero finds himself overcoming obstacle after obstacle only to simply return to his wife and son. Within his destination, he encounters help and obstruction by the gods of Olympus and creatures of myth. In ancient Greek, the people believed that there were numerous gods and goddesses. The Greeks viewed the deities as the most superior above man woman, and child. The gods or goddesses were the ones known to have control, power, explanations, or determining ones fate.

Ithaca is not that big. It is a small island off Greece in the Ionian Sea. It does not produce much, just about enough to keep its families fed. However, it is the home of the great Odysseus. The gods have been watching it to see when he will return and what will happen when he gets there.

“The journey is the thing.” This is what Homer said when he lived, also it reflects in his works. He lived somewhere between the 12th and 8th Centuries. B.C. Poet Homer also is very famous: he was one of four famous epic writers in Europe. In one of his works, a character named Odysseus shows us Homer’s personality. In Cyclops, Odysseus acts bravely and was tremendously smart, because he forms a plan of escape from Cyclops’s cave. Homer's The Odysseus is written about his faith in God.

Odysseus was the heir of Laertes and Anticleia. He played an important role as a schemer and consultant during the Trojan war. He was most prominent for his contribution for assembling the Trojan horse that he created during the Trojan war; a massive wooden horse that was supposed to be a present to the Trojans by the retreat Greeks. He was recognized for his intelligence, sly, and his effectiveness as a speaker. Odysseus would be notorious as being the eponymous conqueror of the Odyssey. He shows a variety of skills and weaknesses which contributes to the obstacles that he faces throughout his journey. He thinks about others before himself; he takes responsibility for his men and wants to protects them even if it means risking his own life.

In Homer's Iliad, The hero Achilles is faced with a choice. He can have a long life of obscurity, or a short life of glory and be remembered forever. He chose to live a short life but to be remembered forever, and 3,500 years later we still know his name and read about his deeds with awe. He is not the only veteran of the Trojan War to achieve this type of Immortality. His brother in arms, Odysseus, reach the same level of fame, the same immortality, and he did it in true Odysseus fashion, he cheated. Odysseus is a liar, a cheater, a braggart, and a killer. He is also one of the greatest fictional characters of all time.