Odysseus As A True Hero In Homer's Odyssey

How would someone handle being away from home for a long time, not knowing if they would ever return? Odysseus, the protagonist of Homer’s The Odyssey, spends 20 years at sea while enduring many trials and tribulations that only a true hero could overcome. He encounters numerous obstacles on his journey home, some of them including monsters and gods. Most of his obstacles come from Poseidon, who he angers by blinding Polyphemus and priding himself for his accomplishment. In spite of his tragic flaws, Odysseus’s bravery, cleverness, and unwavering determination all contribute to portraying him as a true hero.
In numerous points throughout the story, Odysseus performs many feats of bravery. For instance, after he tells his crew about Circe’s

warning of encountering the Sirens, half-bird and half-woman monsters who sing to lure men to their deaths, he follows Circe’s advice and chooses not to cover his ears with beeswax. Instead, Odysseus tells his men, “You are 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 rope to muffle me” (Homer 859). The fact that he forces himself to listen to their songs shows his bravery because a true hero like Odysseus would choose to withstand temptations rather than cower away from it. The bravery of his actions sets him apart from his fellow soldiers because it shows that he possesses more strength and bravery than his men, who must use beeswax to cover their ears so that they would not give in to the temptation of listening to the Siren’s songs and kill themselves. Later in the story, Odysseus faces another challenge. He and his crew must pass through a narrow channel that sits in between Scylla, the immortal monster with six heads, and the ship-destroying whirlpool Charybdis. The text states, “… I sent them towards Scylla, I told them nothing, as they could do nothing” (Homer 861). This also proves his bravery because Scylla can eat his men, while Charybdis can potentially destroy their ship. Odysseus’s decision of staying close to Scylla puts all their lives in danger but at least it will not destroy the only vessel that can take them home, showing his heroicness. Afterwards, Odysseus and his son, along with two loyal herdsmen, must battle with his wife’s suitors to dispose of them. Due to his absence, many men attempt to take Penelope’s hand in marriage to obtain her wealth. During the battle, Telemachus, offers to retrieve armor and weapons for the four of them. According to the text, Odysseus tells him, “Run then, while I hold them off with arrows as long as the arrows last” (Homer 889). This illustrates Odysseus’s bravery and heroism because he only fights alongside three allies against a crowd of suitors. If one of them leaves, the suitors will outnumber them even more and it will become more dangerous for his group. Additionally, Odysseus only uses one weapon, a bow and arrows, while his enemies fight them with swords. He must defend his group with a limited supply of arrows that can run out, further proving his braveness. Without a doubt, Odysseus’s bravery portrays him as a hero due to the fact that he can take risks and use his bravery to overcome the challenges he faces.
In addition to his bravery, Odysseus also possesses unwavering determination.

In fact, when they reach the island of the Lotus Eaters, three of his men eat the Lotus flowers that cause people to no longer want to go home. The text states that Odysseus to the problem by, “I drove them, all three wailing, to the ships, tied them down under their rowing benches, and called the rest: ‘All hands aboard; come, clear the bench and no one taste the Lotus, or you lose your hope of home’” (Homer 843). This proves Odysseus’s determination because by dragging them back to the ship, he shows that he will not let anything hinder him, not even his own men, from being able to go back home to his family in Ithaca. Like a true hero, he will use anything at his disposal to get past an obstacle and accomplish his goal. Soon after, Aeolus, the god of winds, aids Odysseus and his men by giving them a bag of unfavorable winds while leaving the west wind to blow their sails. According to the text, “Instantly, the winds rushed out, blowing them back to Aeolus, who refused to help them a second time” (Homer 858). This shows Odysseus’s determination because he continues his journey home even after losing all their progress. While many people may give up in this situation, only true heroes like Odysseus would possess the determination to keep going and return home. Later on, a lightning bolt from Zeus strikes Odysseus’s ship as punishment for eating Helios’s cattle, resulting in the deaths of his crew

but he survives by making a raft. His raft soon approaches Scylla and Charybdis and the whirlpool sucks his raft, leaving him clinging onto a tree branch for survival. According to the text, “… I clung grimly, thinking my mast and keel would come back to the surface when she spurted. And ah! how long, with what desire, I waited! till, at the twilight hour… the long poles at last reared from the sea” (Homer 869). The fact that Odysseus can keep holding the branch while waiting for his raft to reappear, illustrates determination because he refuses to let go of the branch and hangs onto it for a long time. Only a true hero could possess a large amount of determination to keep persevering and not succumb to exhaustion in these situations. Evidently, the amount of determination that Odysseus shows throughout the story, especially during tough times, contributes to depicting him as a hero.
Furthermore, Odysseus also illustrates cleverness, a trait that many heroes possess.

For instance, he devises a plan after Polyphemus, a giant Cyclops with one eye, captures him and his men and trap them in his cave. The text states that Odysseus introduces himself to the Cyclops by saying, “My name is Nohbdy: mother, father, and friends, everyone calls me Nohbdy” (Homer 848). His actions show cleverness because since the name sounds like ‘Nobody,’ when Polyphemus calls for help after the attack, his fellow Cyclops think that he says ‘Nobody’ hurt him, prompting them to ignore his cries. Without anyone helping Polyphemus, Odysseus and his crew can escape with less trouble. A while after escaping the Cyclops, Odysseus must find a way to sail past the Sirens, whose songs lure men to their deaths. After informing his men of the Sirens, he devises a plan and quickly puts it into action. The author states, “I carved a massive cake of beeswax into bits and rolled them in my hands until they softened… Going forward, I carried my wax along the line, and laid it thick on their ears” (Homer 859). This demonstrates Odysseus’s cleverness because he comes up with a way for his men not to hear the songs, enabling them to move forward without any injuries or casualties. Near the end of the story, Odysseus arrives home to Ithaca and learns about his wife’s suitors overrunning his household due to the assumption of his death at sea. With the help of Athena, the goddess of war, wisdom, and

crafts, he disguises as a beggar and recruits his son and two loyal swineherds to help him reclaim his home. The final battle between them and the suitors commence after Penelope declares that the victor of her shooting contest will become her new husband. The text states, “Telemachus orders the women to leave, Philoetius locks the gate, and Eumaeus presents to Odysseus the great bow he has not held in years” (Homer 882). Considered together, the fact that Odysseus chooses to go against the suitors during the contest clearly illustrates his cleverness because he will regain his bow during the contest and can use it as a weapon to kill the suitors. Gathering allies also shows cleverness because although he possesses lots of strength, Odysseus knows that he cannot eliminate the suitors alone without help. Also, locking the door ensures that the suitors cannot escape Odysseus and his allies. True heroes know that they must use cleverness to make their plan succeed and prepare for any future conflicts that may arise during the execution of their plan. Overall, Odysseus’s cleverness also portrays his heroicness since he can utilize it to accomplish his goals and help him make progress in getting home.
Some may argue that Odysseus tragic flaw, his pride, shows that people should not consider him as a hero because his pride ultimately causes all the struggles that he faces on his journey. After Odysseus and his men escape Polyphemus’s cave, he brags to the Cyclops about being able to blind him and reveals his true identity. According to the text, Odysseus exclaims, “Cyclops, if ever mortal man inquire how you were put to shame and blinded, tell him Odysseus, raider of cities, took your eye: Laertes’ son, whose home’s on Ithaca” (Homer 854). This is significant because with the information Odysseus gives, Polyphemus prays to Poseidon, the god of seas and earthquakes, to get revenge on Odysseus. Poseidon hears his son’s prayer and fulfills it by leaving him alone without his crew and prolongs the time he spends at sea, showing that his pridefulness results in many consequences.