Heroic Qualities of Odysseus by Homer

Two minutes till the bomb detonates. A nuclear bomb in his own cave, one powerful enough to take out the whole city, and only two minutes to decide its destiny. He has two options- one to leave the city and save himself on his bat mobile, or find a way to save the city. As a true hero would, Batman chooses the second path. In the Dark Knight Rises, Batman exemplifies the makeup of a true hero- one who uses his wits, courage, and wisdom to save his people. He may have been portrayed with glamorous looks and an amazing costume, but on the inside, he maintained the makeup of a real hero. But how does this relate to the Odyssey? The hero in Homer's novel was Odysseus. He proved himself as an archetypal hero through his own great wisdom, wit, and courage that was unmatched by other Greek heroes.

One of Odysseus' heroic qualities was wisdom. He used his wisdom and experience of a leader through both battle and expeditions. When he would arrive at foreign lands, he would only send a few members of his crew for exploration. He did this to be able to explore the land without losing all of his crew members. Several times he lost crew members on expeditions, “[...] We followed your orders… My men gave out a shout to attract her attention. In a moment she came out, opened the polished doors, and invited us in. Not knowing better, my men followed her into the house in a body. But I stayed where I was, for I thought it might be a trap. And now the whole party have vanished. Not a single man showed up [...] (162). Maintaining people with him showed a sense of wisdom and experience that comes from a true hero, a true leader. Another example of his wisdom was his failure to inform his crew about Charybdis and Scylla. If he did tell them, his crew ...

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... had!” (12.772-75). In this dramatic speech of Odysseus’s, he is rallying his men like all great leaders and heroes do. Courage is one of the true trademarks of heroes, and Odysseus displays that trait perfectly.

Odysseus' wit, wisdom and courage make him a true hero, yet Homer’s novel indicates that wit overrules all. Throughout his journey home, his wit contributed the greatest to his survival and escape. Whether it be from the Cyclops or killing the Suitors when he came back to Ithica, Orysseus used his wits and cunning to his greatest advantage. Through all the obstacles Odysseus faced on his journey, he used his wits to prove himself by coming up with solutions to reach his goal and reuniting himself with his family and kingdom. The Odyssey is wonderful story as it shows that a true hero isn’t just costumes, good looks and galore, but much more on the inside.