Odysseus's Heroic Actions

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“I am Odysseus, son of Laertes , know to the world for every kind of craft- my fame has reached the skies” (Homer 22-23). As a famous Greek hero, Odysseus embarked on a long journey in the epic poem, the Odyssey, written by Homer. While on his adventure, Odysseus visited two locations which provided him the opportunity to take heroic actions.On his brave journey over the sea, Odysseus showed true heroic traits by providing for his people, venturing to the Land of Cyclops, defeating the Cyclops, and escaping from his cave.
When Odysseus and his crewmen first set sail, they were headed to participate in the Trojan War. The winds guided their ship and drove them to Ismarus, home of the Cicones. Upon arrival, Odysseus and his crewmen “sacked …show more content…

Odysseus decided that he would go with his crew and ship to “probe the natives living there” (Homer 201). The Cyclops’s did not live within a community of laws or any sort of government. They lived in caves “each a law to himself” and had no care for their neighbors (Homer 134). While wandering this foreign land, Odysseus came across a cave belonging to a Cyclops. Him and his men saw no one in the cave and walked in to explore. As they explored the cave, the Cyclops returned to his home. He then shut his door by lifting a “tremendous, massive slab” and placing it in front of the opening of his cave (Homer 319). Being that the Cyclops was a monstrous creature of tall height and muscle, Odysseus and his men knew that they were not strong enough to move the slab and that they were …show more content…

He asks them what they are doing in his home and Odysseus tells him that they are here because the storm wrecked their ship. The Cyclops doesn't seems to care and he reaches down, picking up two men and eats them. He does this again the next day, so Odysseus begins to make a plan. He starts by working with his men to create a club and shaves “the tip to a stabbing point” (Homer 411). He then offers the Cyclops wine when he arrives home. Soon after, the Cyclops lies on the ground, drunk, and falls asleep. Odysseus decides it is time to take action with the club he and his men created. They remove the club from the flames, and together they gouge it “straight into the monster's eye” causing the Cyclops to go blind (Homer 470). The morning after this incident Odysseus and his men sneak out. Each of them tied under the bellies of sheep so that when they were released the Cyclops could not feel the men as he grazed his hand across the backs of the

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