Heroes In The Odyssey

When people think of a hero, they picture someone flawless, someone who does no wrong. A hero is humble and is recognized for constantly saving people in dangerous situations. But that is not realistic. Heroes have flaws, and they do not always make the right choices, but they are still heroes because their courageous actions outweigh their rather dishonorable ones. This topic is discussed in the epic poem, The Odyssey by Homer. Odysseus does not always fit his image as god-like, but he is still very much a hero because he has respectable morals and he protects those in need of protection.
Homer does not introduce the main character, Odysseus, until the middle of the story but instead introduces his family and kingdom. Twenty years after he

leaves Ithaca, everyone is still longing for Odysseus to come home. The audience can already make assumptions that Odysseus is important and depended on without even being introduced to him in the story. Odysseus has a reputation for being heroic, and Homer wanted to show the effect he had on his people. When Odysseus´s son, Telemachus, visits a king of another island, he says this. ¨And I have traveled over a good part of the world but never once have I laid eyes on a man like him- what a heart the fearless Odysseus had inside him!¨(Book 4, lines 301-303) Odysseus was known for being courageous and kind-hearted even twenty years after his disappearance. Odysseus was even perceived as legendary to his son. ¨ I am on the trail of my father’s widespread fame, you see, searching the earth to catch some news of great-hearted King Odysseus who, they say, fought with you to demolish Troy some years ago.” Odysseus is still remembered throughout the known world for his noble actions and bravery in battle.
Odysseus’s physical obstacles, however, are not discussed until Book Nine, where Odysseus recalls his ten years lost at sea after the war.

He was being challenged mentally, emotionally, and physically by Poseidon but still managed to save his men from tough situations. Odysseus even told the Phaeacians that “Any crewman who ate the lotus, the honey-sweet fruit, lost all desire to send a message back, much less return, their only wish to linger there with the Lotus-eaters, grazing on lotus, all memory of the journey home dissolved forever. But I brought them back, back to the hollow ships, and streaming tears.” (Book Nine, lines 105-110) Odysseus did not give in to the temptation of the lotus plant, and he saved the men who did. Odysseus is also very quick on his feet. He knows when and how to react while in a dilemma. When Odysseus and his crew had to deal with a Cyclops, Odysseus came up with a plan to defeat him. “With that he toppled over, sprawled full-length, flat on his back and lay there, his massive neck slumping to one side, and sleep that conquers all overwhelmed him now as wine came spurting, flooding up from his gullet with chunks of human flesh-he vomited, blind drunk. Now, at last, I thrust our stake in a bed of embers to get it red hot.” Even in a situations where most people’s thinking would be clouded with fear and panic, Odysseus managed to come up with a successful plan to derail the Cyclops. He most likely acquired these skills from battle, which is very

heroic.
Even when Odysseus comes home, he has to defeat the ruthless suitors that have taken over his home. They have been bothering his wife for twenty years and now he must devise a plan to finally get rid of them. “But Odysseus aimed and shot Antinous square in the throat and the point went stabbing clean through the soft neck and out.” (Book 22, lines 15-16) Odysseus takes back his property and wife when he kills the cruel suitors. Odysseus is also quite skillful with weapons, as he beats all the suitors in archery. “Quickly his right hand plucked the string to test its pitch and under his touch it sang out clear and sharp as a swallow’s cry. Horror swept through the suitors, faces blanching white, and Zeus cracked the sky with a bolt, his blazing sign.” (Book 21, 457-460) Even the great and powerful Zeus acknowledges his talents with a bow. Of course, every hero deserves a true homecoming, and Odysseus gets just that.