The Odyssey

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The Odyssey by Homer is a story of a hero and his long journey home. 3000 years ago, the author, Homer, was an ancient Greek writer of two epics: The Iliad and The Odyssey. Despite the fact he physically was blind, he saw the psychological constitution of how men should be. Homer was an insightful writer who redefines what a hero really is. He distinguishes between a hero and a villain, that heroes use intelligence before force whereas villains start with violence first. Homer’s epic of The Odyssey illustrations that heroes eventually prevail over villains with their tact and brainpower.
A hero used to be thought of as someone who was physically powerful and virtually invulnerable to every predicament he/she faced. Realistically, no man can be truly unsurmountable to all forces. Homer redefines the character of a hero as: brain eventually wins over brawn. In other words with intelligence, violence can be beaten. The first most hero of The Odyssey is Odysseus. He has participated in war for 10 long years and was out at sea for another 10 years. Through his voyage he faced dilemma after dilemma with the first predicament being the Trojan War. If the Greeks just used brute force to fight Troy, the war would have been ceaseless. However Odysseus, used intellect power to think up of the Trojan horse. With the Trojan horse, they penetrated Troy’s walls and conquered the kingdom.
Penelope, Odysseus’s faithful wife, is yet another hero. She has remained loyal to Odysseus for 20 years, despite her everlasting fight against the suitors in Ithaca. Despite her rage for the suitors, she follows customs of welcome. Since she does not want to remarry, she lengthens time by weaving a burial shroud for Odysseus. By the time she finishes she theore...

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...and pseudonym, “Nohbody.” Here, Homer illustrates that brain power eventually overpowers brute force.
The Odyssey by Homer has but a new twist into modern day society’s idea of heroes and villains. Heroes no longer have to be muscularly built but able to think logically. Villains are impolite and forceful, trying to deal with every problem with violence. A live hero in my life is my dad. He has cared for my family selflessly. He also instills us lessons about moral to enhance our lives. Positioning our family first instead of himself ultimately makes him a hero. Villains in life include the bullies around different schools. Bullies provoke feebler people just because they are easy targets. They start with violence first instead of using diplomatic skills. The Odyssey clearly illustrates the difference between heroes and villains. Brain eventually surpasses brawn.

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