Examples Of Courage In The Odyssey

Christopher Reeves once said, “A hero is an ordinary individual who finds strength to preserve and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles.” In modern times a hero is strong, brave, wears a colorful costume and is incessantly saving people. It seems as if anyone can be a hero, if they can save a cat from a tree or return a missing child to their parents because the bar for being a hero has been set so low. In ancient times however it took so much more for a person to be valued as an Epic Hero, they had to be the most courageous, the most intelligent, and the strongest amongst all mortals. The Greek Gods also took special interest in them and they embodied the traits the Greek people venerated. In the epic, the Odyssey by Homer, the main

character, Odysseus, is an epic hero, despite the flaws he reveals because of the strengths he displays on his perilous journey, such as cleverness and bravery.
Throughout the treacherous trials he undertakes, Odysseus constantly exhibits unwavering bravery, which is the ability to do something that frightens one. For instance, in his venture to the underworld during The Land of the Dead, Odysseus “crouched down with [his] drawn sword to keep the surging phantoms from the bloody pit, till [he] should know the presence of Tiresias.” (translation AM 268) This quote exhibits that regardless of the souls attacking and suffocating him, he does not cease to finish his task, which also reveals his perseverance. This is important because he realizes he must confront these souls despite the imminent danger they pose to him, in order to uncover the information he needs to finish his journey home. In addition, in the Cyclops and his encounter with Polyphemus, Odysseus “lifted [the large spike] and rammed it into his deep crater eye and leaned on it.” (Collections, lines 291-295) This quote depicts a scene where Odysseus must blind the Cyclops in order to carry out his plan of escape and once again, this puts him face to face with death. He faces the giant who earlier is described as brutal and savage, even demonstrating this by eating members of Odysseus’s crew, which shows how courageous he is to deal with the cyclops. Ultimately, the instances shown above and many more throughout the entire Odyssey, shows how Odysseus bespeaks the exact definition of bravery, which is one of the main qualities of an epic hero.
In addition to courage, Odysseys displays the strength of constant ingenuity, the quality of being clever, original, and inventive.

For example, during an interaction with his newfound son Telemachus he devises, “I shall signal to you, nodding: at that point you round up all armor, lances and gears of war left in our hall and store them away.” (Green Book pg. 1027, lines 1134-1138) Odysseus knows exactly what he wants to do when dealing with the men who took advantage of his wife, he wants to get rid of them but he wants to do so easily, so he plans it out. By taking their weapons, he leaves them vulnerable while he strikes, which proves his ingenuity but showing dexterity when dealing with problems. Another illustration of Odysseus’s wiles is once again during his experience with Polyphemus, while trying to escape with his crew he “bound the sheep together three by three, he tied one comrade fast beneath the belly of each middle sheep.” (Green Book pg 993, lines 380-385) This quote delineates the exact ingenious thinking he is known for because the cave where he is trapped in by the barbarian cyclops is practically devoid of useful materials to use. Even under the looming threat of death he faces with the giant around, his adroitness is depicted through the plan he manages to concoct which saves himself and his men. Overall, Odysseus once again demonstrates a common strength not only of an epic hero, however also a characteristic valued by the ancient Greek

society.
One might object against the claim of Odysseus being labeled an epic hero because of the doubt cast upon his leadership.

This is false because of the many instances where he proves he is a good leader by constantly leading his men to the best of his aptitude and ultimately doing what is best for them. For example, during the Lotus Eaters it stated, ““[The Lotus-eaters] gave them [Odysseus’s crew] to eat of the lotus, which was so delicious that those who at it left off caring about home...nevertheless, though they wept bitterly I forced them back to the ships and made them fast under the benches.” (Collections Textbook, 362)The men did not want to leave the island to return home, if they had stayed they would’ve been forever trapped by constantly ingesting the plant that made them feel so wonderful. Odysseus knew it was simply the plant clouding their judgement, he knew their ultimate goal was to return home to their families and recite their stories, so he did what was best for them by forcing them on the ship. Another instance of Odysseus good leadership is during their encounter with Scylla and Charybdis when he “sent them on towards Scylla, [he] told them nothing, as they could do nothing. They would have dropped their oars again, in panic, to roll for cover.” (Green Book pg. 109, lines 783-786) In this instance Odysseus must choose the lesser of two evils, instead of all of his men dying through Charybdis, he’d rather save most of them by sailing closer to Scylla.

Once he chooses this he decides not to tell them because he knows they’ll act up causing them to stop rowing, which could lead to them being lost at sea instead of going home. This proves he is a good leader because he is leading his crew through the best options and doing what is ultimately best for them, which is leading them home and keeping them alive. Overall, Odysseys alleviates the uncertainty of his leaderships skills through the examples shown above.
Throughout the entire epic, the Odyssey by Homer, the main character Odysseus manages to display the common characteristics of an epic hero, bravery and cleverness. Although in modern times he would undoubtedly be a hero, it takes his many perilous adventures and misfortune to prove himself as an epic hero in ancient times. He demonstrates exactly what it means to be an epic hero, even proving this even more with the constant involvement of the Gods. In the end, it leaves the driving question of whether our standards of a hero in today’s society are too low because of the trials Odysseus had to endure to be labeled one.