Is the main character of The Odyssey, Odysseus, really a hero? Odysseus is a hero because he never gave up on getting back home, no matter the challenge. Even though he was tempted to stray from his journey home, Odysseus always carried on with his return trip. At Circe’s house, Odysseus came close to staying with Circe, but after a year, he and his men left. Then, after being shipwrecked on Calypso’s Island, Odysseus refused to stay with Calypso, despite all of her offers to him. Calypso said, “‘Stay with me. Let me make you immortal.’”. However Odysseus refused and said, ”’...I want to get home and can think of nothing else.’” (page 50). Odysseus bravely led his crew up to their untimely, but well deserved death. When Odysseus and
Odysseus is a Foolish and selfish leader, who makes rash decisions that kill his men just for his own personal gain.
Odysseus is the main character in an epic poem called the Odyssey. In the poem Odysseus has had some bad luck getting home, with some of the gods helping him and some hindering him; his journey towards home is a constant struggle. In this poem we see a man being broke and rebuilt, through constant irony his faith was damaged and without the help of Athena he probably would have given up on his journey. Through his hard work and wise spirit he finally does achieve his goal.
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...
The Character Odysseus in Odyssey "Odyssey" is an epic story that has been a significant piece of literature since it was first composed and will remain so for ages to come. One of the reasons it has been so is because of the hero, Odysseus. Odysseus was one of the first Greek mythic heroes renowned for his brain as well as his muscles. Indeed he is a man with an inquiring mind, and he is also a man with outstanding prowess and bravery" (123helpme.com/assets/3603.html). "We also must not forget that he is a top-notch athlete which only adds more to this seemingly insuperable character.
Throughout the Odyssey, Odysseus exemplified the key traits needed to be an epic hero. The poem depicts Odysseus as an extremely strong man; at one point, he even defeats the towering cyclops Polyphemus. His ingenuity in creating the trojan horse unearths his slightly latent intelligence. Along with strength and cunning, Odysseus a strong sense of selflessness. He bared a trepid ten year journey and longed for his child and wife. Unfortunately, all of Odysseus’s traits are tarnished by his infidelity, ruthless behavior, and the massacre of men. Though he was, without a doubt, heroic, his lovely wife is the true, unsung heroine of the Odyssey.
When Odysseus and his men reach the island, Aiolos is hesitant at first to seek out Kirke and he wants to turn back. However, some of Odysseus’ men decide to seek her out anyways. When they go to her place, she greets them with a feast and wine. However, even though it looked like she was being nice, she was actually drugging them and she turned them into pigs. “bodies, voices, heads, and bristles, all swinish now, though minds were still unchanged” (264-265). So, even though their bodies appeared as swine, their minds were still as they were before. This could be more creul because they still felt that they were human, and they still had all of their memories, but they were still pigs. After she turns them into pigs, she then violates xenia even more by feeding them pig food, rather than human food.
Odysseus has had more than just ups and downs; he has been through war, separation from loved ones and dealing with needy gods, but most of all dealing with Irus, the beggar. Irus is not a given name, for this fat beggar received his nickname from the fact “he was always running errands for someone.”(18.8). Giving him recognition amongst the town folk, just like Polyphmeus, being recognized as Poseidon’s son. In a way it was a repeat of the earlier trial given to Odysseus, seeing if he can pass it again without letting his pride get in his way again.
“Hateful to me as the gates of Hades is the man who hides one thing in his heart and speaks another.” The Odyssey by Homer is about Odysseus adventures in the sea battling different creatures to come home Ithaca. In the epic poem The Odyssey by Homer, Odysseus is a fool because he doesn’t have a good heart, he cheats on his wife, and he is self-centered.
Odysseus performs many brave deeds throughout his adventures across the Mediterranean Sea. Eventually, he comes across Polyphemus the Cyclops who decides to be a savage, cruel cannibal
In the Odyssey by Homer, Odysseus undergoes many obstacles to sail back to his homeland and takes many years until he finally reaches Ithaca again. During the trials Odysseus faces, he shows courage, cleverness, and sacrifice in order to keep his men safe as well as himself. Odysseus also expresses pride, revenge, and curiosity, which is some of the traits that got his men and himself in danger. Although Odysseus acts rashly throughout the different parts of his journey, he redeems himself as the journey goes on. Even though Odysseus went through hardship during the journey home, he never lost hope.
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.
One of Odysseus's many qualities is determination. He remains determined throughout the entire saga to get back to his family. During Odysseus's Odyssey he encounters many obstacles, beast, god, and nature. Odysseus must get through all of these hardships before he can make it back to his family and home. On his way back Odysseus is next to Charybdis and she swallows his boat. He must holds on to the branches of a fig tree to survive, "But I clung grimly, thinking my mast and keel would come back to the surface when she spouted. And ah! How long, with what desiree, I waited! Till, at the twilight hour...the long poles at last reared from the sea"(12.560-64). Odysseus shows his determination to get home, because it would be easy for him to just let go and drown, but no Odysseus hangs on so he can see his wife again. Once he is at home he finds suitors at his house. Odysseus kills one of them and the others beg for mercy, ??Not for the whole treasure of your fathers, all you enjoy, lands, flocks, or any gold put up by others, would I hold my hand??(22.65-67). Odysseus is determined to get revenge on all of the suitors and he will not be satisfied until they are all dead. Without his strong will and determination Odysseus would not have made it through his trials. Although determination is a must for a journey such as Odysseus?s cunning is also just as essential.
As seen throughout The Odyssey, a hero is perceived as a person who achieves great success never before seen and whose legacy lives beyond their years. Since The Odyssey was written around the eighth century BCE, the people that we view as heros in present day tend to embody different traits than the heroes of that time. Even though the word, “hero” does not have one specific definition, a hero is generally categorized as someone who is idolized for their bravery and does anything necessary to defend their people. Although Odysseus embodies the Homeric ideals of heroism in that he accomplishes triumphs that others have not, his successes are the product of divine intervention and his actions were primarily selfish; therefore, he is not a true
...at he has to say. Honestly I think that Odysseus was is a great leader because, he tried his best to keep his crew safe, he never gave up on them; even if they were in a bad situation.
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