Epic Hero in Homer's The Odyssey
With its larger-than-life plot twists, The Odyssey is a classic representation of an epic in literature. With that understood, it is no surprise that the main character of the story helps to define an epic hero. A character must express certain virtues to be considered such. Strength, courage, and nobility are almost prerequisites. Cleverness is an added bonus. Odysseus possesses many characteristics and virtues that make him a true representation of an epic hero.
Strength is one characteristic that Odysseus exhibits. One scene that displays this is when Odysseus, disguised as a poor man, bends his old bow. "He bent the bow with little difficulty. With his right hand he grasped the string and let it twang beautifully. During all this, the suitors were amazed." 194. In contrast, the suitors cannot, try as they might. In particular, "Leiodes was the first to try. He was a fairly decent sort who did not approve of the suitors' arrogance. He took the bow and tried it. He couldn't stretch it. His hands grew sore from the unsuccessful attempt. 189." It enrages them that some pauper has the audacity to be superior in any way. Little do they know that this "pauper" doesn't only have physical strength, but strength of character, as well. Odysseus is able to control his temper, for the most part, and not let his anger betray his true identity to the suitors.
Strength and courage seem to go hand in hand. Alone the two are weak, but together they are nearly invincible. Even before the book takes place, Odysseus exhibits courage in being a war hero. Only the brave succeed so well in battle. In every trial that comes to pass, he shows courage to some extent. When Poseidon wrecks his ship, Odysseus cli...
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... an entire mansion's worth of armor. Odysseus, however, did. Even through his slaughter of the suitors, Odysseus is ever thinking. He commands the musician to play a wedding song to disguise the true action behind the walls. His plans generally worked themselves out. These displays of cleverness set him aside from the more common men. Cleverness is a trait that he is revered for. It proves to be lifesaving more than once.
Odysseus may not display all of the traits associated with epic heroes. However, he still shows a good deal of them. Strength, courage, and nobility are the materials that make up the cookie-cutter of epic heroes. Not all are quite as crafty as him, but that is what sets him apart and makes him his own person. A character doesn't need an unusual birth or foster parents to be considered epic. Odysseus sets a high bar for others classified with him.
One of Odysseus’ traits is bravery. One example of Odysseus’ bravery is when he injures a Cyclops that is 5 times his size, “I drew it from the coals and my four fellows/ gave me a hand, lugging it near the Cyclops/ as more than natural force nerved them, straight forward they sprinted, lifted it, and rammed it/ deep in his crater eye. 329-332” This quote shows how brave Odysseus and his men are to face the Cyclops. Odysseus was intelligent to think about this idea, but he was brave for actually following through and doing it. Odysseus was also brave for fighting Penelope’s suitors even when he was outnumbered, “Now shrugging off his rags the wiliest fighter of the islands/ leapt and stood on the broad doorsill, his own bow in his hand/ he poured out at his feet a rain of arrows from the quiver/ and spoke to the c...
To begin with, there are many examples of Odysseus using his mental strength over his physical strength. To illustrate, in book 9 Odysseus and his crew is faced with an unmerciful Cyclops named Polyphemus. Odysseus and his men were subject to watch their own be smashed to pieces and ate as a meal by the Cyclops - helplessly. Odysseus restlessly thought of a plan to rescue himself and his men, but if he just killed the Cyclops, he and his remaining men would never escape the Cyclops monstrous cave. Therefore, as he witnessed his crew’s lives end, he reverently devised a plan to escape the Cyclops cave. He finally conjured an ingenious plan. Odysseus fills the Cyclops with fine wine; however, his most ingenious aspect was what he spoke to the Cyclops, “you ask me my name…my name is Nobody” (Homer IX, 365). This was the most important aspect because after Odysseus stabbed the Cyclops eye out the Cyclops screamed, “It’s Nobody’s treachery, not violence that is doing me to death” (IX, 408). So, obviously with ‘Nobody’ attacking the Cyclops, nobody came to his aide. Odysseus an...
Odysseus was also an epic hero because he had human weaknesses. One of his weaknesses was that he was arrogant. Even after he defeated Polyphemos (the Cyclops) Odysseus stayed longer just so he could taunt him. He “…wanted to shout out again…although [his] comrades…tried to coax [him] not to do it'; (p.110). Odysseus, against his crew’s wishes, shouted, “…Cyclops! if ever a man asks you who put out your ugly eye, tell him your blinder was Odysseus!'; (p.110). Another human weakness of Odysseus was that he had a bad temper. When Eurylochos refused to go back to Circe’s mansion, Odysseus “…thought for a moment that [he] would draw [his] sword and cut off his head…';(p.121). If his men did not stop him, Odysseus probably would have killed Eurylochos and therefore lost a good man because of his short temper. Lust was another weakness of his. For Seven years Odysseus and Circe were lovers. Because he stayed with Circe, Odysseus prolonged his return home to Ithaca. Odysseus had many human weaknesses.
Throughout the epic, Odysseus is portrayed by his friends and peers as a magnificent man, a godlike figure. But, throughout the journeys of The Odyssey, Odysseus’ true character shows. Heroes are no exception to human nature; all people tend to act differently in public than in private. A commonly accepted definition of a hero is, “a man of distinguished courage or ability, admired for his brave deeds and noble qualities.” Odysseus has not shown the noble characteristics of a hero by acting cowardly, barbaric, selfish and greedy in certain situations; such qualities do not deserve such a title. To be a hero, you must have a noble and courageous purpose. As The Odyssey moves along, Odysseus is revealed not to be a hero through his ignoble acts. Homer uses the character of Odysseus to depict false morality which undermines the concept of his heroism.
Some of Odysseus’ most recognizable traits are his bravery and leadership. One thing that shows his bravery was his escape from Polyphemus. He was courageous to stab out Polyphemus’s eyes using a burning pole. Odysseus states: "I took my twelve best fighters and went ahead." This example involving the Cyclops shows that one of Odysseus’ great traits is his leadership. He is not the type of leader that sits on safe land while he sends his men in to fight, but a leader who engages in battle with his men. There are also times when many men are afraid, but Odysseus shows he's in not letting anything get in his way and speaks up when nobody will: "We all felt pressure in our hearts, but I spoke up in reply." He was fearless enough to take risks. Odysseus said: "Friends, have we never been in danger before this? More fearsome, is it now, then when we faced Cyclops?" This quote shows that in time of danger, Odysseus is willing to put his life in jeopardy and not give up. Odysseus had the heart of a fighter, he would battle whenever necessary, no matter who his opponent was, in this case the Cyclops. Most epic heroes are aided and guarded by gods wh...
First of all, Odysseus is brave and courageous, giving him the initiative to fulfill his goals. One example is when Odysseus confronts Skylla. Odysseus purposely “made [his] way along to the foredeck—thinking to see her first from there” (Homer 217). If he was scared, he would have hidden underneath the deck. But instead, Odysseus goes out to face the beast. Odysseus knows that Skylla is immortal and cannot die, yet he is brave enough to confront her. Next, Odysseus fights the suitors, who are courting Penelope in his palace. The suitors greatly outnumber Odysseus, but Odysseus still chooses to fight even though the odds are against him and he is able to win. He stands up against those who do wrong. Having the courage to fight, Odysseus defeats the suitors and fulfills his goal of regaining his palace. If Odysseus was a coward and did not fight, then the suitors would have eventually won Penelope, resulting in Odysseus losing his palace and his wife. Many people have bravery and courage, but not many use it, as Odysseus does, to achieve their purpose.
When trapped in a cave and held captive Odysseus makes a hasty, but intelligent decision to spare his captor's life. His captor just happened to be a Cyclops. Odysseus was astute in his decision to spare the Cyclops's life, because he and his crew were not capable of moving the stout bolder blocking the avenue of escape. Odysseus knew that if he killed the Cyclops that he and his men would perish along with it. Another story in which Odysseus displays his intelligence is "The Sirens". "Going forward I carried wax along the line, and laid it thick on their ears." (1072) In the story "The Sirens" Odysseus portrays his remarkable ingeniousness when he plugs the crew's ears with beeswax. Because of Odysseus's apt solution, the crew was protected from the Sirens' seductive song...
To begin with, Odysseus is an intelligent and clever man. He is a hero because he has the capacity to understand the situations and think through the struggles they are going to face. Odysseus is put against all the odds possible, and at times it seems like the gods are against him. Odysseus tricks the Cyclops, Polyphemus, in a very strategic way and handled the situation effectively. “My name is Nohbdy: mother, father, and friends, / everyone calls me Nohbdy (Homer 498). Odysseus’ cleverness is brought out because he conceived an idea that would be adequate enough to trick a Cyclops. Later when Polyphemus is stabbed, he screams, “Nohbdy, Nohbdy’s tricked
In conclusion, Odysseus displays the good and heroic characteristics of cleverness, bravery and strength throughout his actions in response to the challenges he faced in The Odyssey. Like any great heroes in literature, Odysseus does have some character flaws, such as pride and violence. But his good characteristics makes him a hero to root for and agree with, despite any flaws that he has.
The main character of the Odyssey, Odysseus the King of Ithaca is given a complex personality to an extent where it is hard to identify whether he is a true hero or not. True heroism is only achieved when a person achieves certain qualities that portray heroism. Odysseus is not a hero based on the standards of merciful, selfless, and gentle because of his actions of sacrificing his men, killing the suitors and being ruthless throughout the Odyssey. Along with many others qualities these three are helpful and necessary in a hero. A hero must be willing to do service for others and put the needs of others safety and protection before his own. Odysseus does not even come close to matching these qualities because he is a person, who only serves of himself, and he sacrifices his allies to achieve his goals and often he takes action ruthlessly.
The first characteristic that makes Odysseus an epic hero is that he answers a call to action. Odysseus answers two calls to action in The Odyssey. His first call is to go to Troy with Agamemnon and rescue Helen even though his son Telemachus has just been born and his wife Penelope doesn't want him to go. Odysseus does not have much of a choice due to the promise he and the other men made when Agamemnon won Helen's hand in marriage. Odysseus' second call to action is to get home to his family after the war in Troy despite all of his confrontations on his journey home. Odysseus does not give in to temptation and not return home, he continues on his journey so he can reclaim his wife and island.
One of the most important traits displayed by Odysseus is his courage. Throughout his journey he has courage when fighting off monster,Gods, and other mythical things. One example of this is near the end of the story when he is about to fight off the suitors. He decided to fight off all of the suitors with mostly just his son. For him to kill of all the suitors just to get his house back is very courageous.Right before he attacks them all, he strings his bow and takes aim at Antonis, then shoots an arrow through his throat ”Odysseus’ arrow hit him under the chin and punched up to the feathers through his throat. Backward and down he went, letting
Odysseus obviously presents these traits in the way that he is able to escape and defeat Polyphemus. His crew looks up to him as an honorable leader and trusts him with their lives, and he feels the same way toward them. Homer constructs a perfect example of a strong protagonist and Odysseus’ cleverness of his little scheme evidently creates a feeling of success and accomplishment for him and his crew. This is only one example of many different occasions that Odysseus is rightfully claimed an epic hero. A similar condition arises when Odysseus has to block out the song of the Sirens, a threat to sailors, when he and his crew pass by their island. He urges his crew to “tie me up, tight as a splint, erect along the mast, lashed to the mast, and if I shout and beg to be untied, take more turns of the rope to muffle me” (lines 695-698). True heroism is displayed in this scene by the way that Odysseus is able to sacrifice his strength or sanity and trust his crew in order to fulfill their goal of passing the Sirens. Through Odysseus’ achievements, Homer forms an incredible epic hero that is able to draw the plot of the
Throughout The Odyssey, Odysseus shows us a vast amount of bravery and courage; the primary thing a hero needs. In book 9, when Odysseus battled Polyphemus (the Cyclops) to try and save the lives of all the crew members held captive in the cave, he was demonstrating bravery the entire time because, the true meaning of bravery is when you have the ability to challenge fear, or danger which is exactly what he did in this situation. Even though Odysseus was afraid to confront the Cyclops, he did it anyway in order to get him and his crew members out of the Cyclops cave alive; despite the 2 men the Cyclops ate. Another way Odysseus demonstrates courage and bravery was when he didn’t give us on his crew even when things got rough for example, when he faced Scylla knowing he would lose se...
The challenges that Homer give the protagonist is all a test of character. Odysseus continues to pass the obstacles with flying colors, but his arrogance is the one flaw that is in dire need of correction. Some of the many challenges Odysseus overcomes on his voyage home is defeating the Cicones, surviving the Island of the Lotus Eaters, outsmarting the Giant Cyclops, saving his men from Circe, Traveling to Hades, passing between Scylla and Charybdis, escaping Calypsos’ Island and many more. Odysseus survives these obstacles and uses his smarts to escape near disaster. Often times he was the only one to survive these things and his crew often lost their lives due to their own stupidity. “‘We left the island and resumed our journey in a state of gloom; and the heart was taken out of my men by the wearisome rowing. But was our own stupidity that had deprived us of the wind.’”(P127 L75-79) Odysseus shows how he is an extraordinary man by being much smarter than his crew and the men that follow him. As a part of this stripping of Odysseus, Homer shows that Odysseus is a collective symbol of Everyman. On the one hand Odysseus is a great warrior, who is extremely intelligent, noble, and a great man. Although he has many god- like qualities he is still human. He shows that he is human and like every man, because of the fact that he still has major flaws. The