Odyssey

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Recommended: Character analysis on Odyssey

Today in our society, we have many movies, books, and comics about superheroes and their amazing quests and adventures. To be recognized as a “hero,” these characters must defeat the evil villain, a force of anti-civilization, much like the homeric hero Odysseus in The Odyssey by Homer. This epic poem is about Odysseus and his ten year journey home from the Trojan War during which he is away from his wife Penelope and son Telemachus. Odysseus encounters many challenges on his way home and must deal with many anti-civilized forces including Cyclops and the goddess Circe. Although he receives help along the way, Odysseus faces some of his greatest challenges on using his own personal judgement. Eventually, Odysseus returns home and he and Telemachus deal with the suitors, all of which have been disrespectful and rowdy during his absence. Through fighting the forces of anti-civilization and maintaining arête when battling the Cyclops and Circe, Odysseus proves he is truly an epic hero.
In Odysseus’s encounter with the cyclops Polyphemus, he proves he is a leader when it comes to fighting those that do not follow Greek values and traditions. On his long voyage home, Odysseus and his men stopped at the lawless land of the Cyclops.Here, there are no rules, they do not follow Greek values, and they believe they are stronger than the gods. This contrasts with the Greek society, which values making sacrifices to the gods and believes one should act with cleverness rather than brute force. Once Polyphemus eats two of Odysseus’s men, Odysseus realizes how inhumane they are and how they threaten human values, dignity, and control. Knowing that he might be the next victim, Odysseus comes up with a plan. First, Odysseus gives Polyphemus a large...

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...ld by tricking her guests into becoming swine. During Odysseus’s encounter with Circe, he displays his strong leadership skills and courageous bravery to uphold human values and fight anti-civilized forces.
Odysseus shows he is an epic hero when he fights the Cyclops and Circe to uphold human values, dignity, and control. Odysseus uses his mental strength and cleverness to overcome the challenges of the Cyclops. He also proves he has effective leadership skills when he develops and implements his plan. During his encounter with Circe, he also shows leadership and bravery when going back to save his men after they are turned into pigs. Despite the fact Circe is a powerful goddess, Odysseus is persistent until he knows his men are safe. Odysseus is truly a superhero in the way he ensures dignity and human values will be upheld and those threatening it will be defeated.

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