What Is Odysseus Made Of?

577 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Odyssey analysis

What Is Odysseus Made Of? Odysseus returns home and seeks revenge on the suitors that plague his wife. In order for him to be successful with the revenge he must use his cunning, knowledge of battle and his desire to be with his wife Penelope. Odysseus is a very intelligent and cunning person; these are some of the main reasons why Odysseus is not only a great person but also an outstanding king. Odysseus is also constantly compared to a god because only a god is supposed to be as cunning as he is. In Book 13: Ithaca at Last; shows an instance of what I am talking about: Any man-any god who met you-would have to be Some champion lying cheat to get past you For all-round craft and guile! You terrible man, Foxy, ingenious, never tired of twists and tricks- So, not even here, on native soil, would you give up Those wily tales that warm the cockles of you heart! (329-334) Another instance that proves that Odysseus is a cunning person is when he is trapped in the Cyclops' cave. The Cyclops asks him his name and Odysseus tells him that his mane is "Nobody". This is a key part in his plan to escape, because he plans to kill the Cyclops but he knows that the Cyclops has friends nearby. Lines 454 through 455 shows why: "'Nobody, friends' --Polyphemus bellowed back from his cave-'Nobody's killing me now by fraud and not by force!'" So Odysseus escaped by blinding the Cyclops thus enabling he and his men to flee from the cave. One other time that shows how clever and sneaky Odysseus is when he was trying to get into the city of Troy to sack it: Scarring his own body with mortifying strokes, Throwing filthy rags on his back like a slave, He slipped into the enemy's city, roamed its streets- All disguised, a totally different man, a beggar, Hardly the figure he cut among Achaea's ships. That's how Odysseus infiltrated Troy, And no one knew him at all…(274-280) One article I found on the Internet stated that "Odysseus was the most cunning man in the world". Also that the meaning of his name means intelligent and cunning showing why he is the way that he is. Being so cunning and intelligent allowed Odysseus to be such a tactical person when it came to battle. Odysseus' reason for being so good at battle is the fact that he was a fearless person and would stop a nothing.

Show More
Related

  • Comparing the Hero in Homer’s The Odyssey with the Modern Hero Described in Whitman’s I hear America Singing

    648 Words  | 2 Pages

    In Homer’s the Odyssey, Odysseus has many different qualities that classify him as a hero. He is brave and courageous as shown when he murdered all the suitors who were disrespecting his property even though he was outmanned by them. Despite this, he is by no means all brawn and no brain as he shows his intelligence and cunning numerous times during the epic. A few example of this would be when he was able to blind the one-eyed Cyclops while the rest of his crew didn’t know what to do. Odysseus in many ways is similar to a flowing river, because whenever there is a problem (dam in the river), he would first try to go through it, but if he can’t he would then find a way ar...

    Read More

  • Role Models in The Odyssy

    695 Words  | 2 Pages

    One of Odysseus’ traits is bravery. One example of Odysseus’ bravery is when he injures a Cyclops that is 5 times his size, “I drew it from the coals and my four fellows/ gave me a hand, lugging it near the Cyclops/ as more than natural force nerved them, straight forward they sprinted, lifted it, and rammed it/ deep in his crater eye. 329-332” This quote shows how brave Odysseus and his men are to face the Cyclops. Odysseus was intelligent to think about this idea, but he was brave for actually following through and doing it. Odysseus was also brave for fighting Penelope’s suitors even when he was outnumbered, “Now shrugging off his rags the wiliest fighter of the islands/ leapt and stood on the broad doorsill, his own bow in his hand/ he poured out at his feet a rain of arrows from the quiver/ and spoke to the c...

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Odysseus

    1071 Words  | 3 Pages

    Odysseus is an epic hero but at the same time he is also human. For example, he is cunning and heroic but he gives into temptation and is overly curious which gets him into trouble. Odysseus remained emotionally to Penelope so he needs a partner that is also faithful. Odysseus gives into the temptation of revenge when he rids of the suitors that were in his home.

    Read More

  • Odysseus Foolishness

    892 Words  | 2 Pages

    When people think of Odysseus, they think of a great, cunning, warrior. Who wouldn’t see him that way, he fought his way through Troy and embarked on a journey back home to see his son and wife again. On the surface Odysseus seems like a genius but in Homer’s, The Odyssey, Odysseus shows many instances where he outwits his foes but his foolishness heavily outweighs his smarts; he becomes boastful after a victory which leads to more hardships, he leaves precious cargo in the open for his brutish crew to mess with, and refuses help from the gods which nearly leads to his demise.

    Read More

  • Odysseus - Far From a Hero

    852 Words  | 2 Pages

    Odysseus is a Foolish and selfish leader, who makes rash decisions that kill his men just for his own personal gain.

    Read More

  • Selflessness In The Odyssey

    263 Words  | 1 Pages

    In The Odyssey, book nine and ten written by Homer, Odysseus constantly embodies the principal characteristics of a hero which are : cleverness, leadership, and selflessness. Thus, this character is regarded as an idol among the other characters and greatly captures the reader’s sympathy for his choices and the fruit to his actions in life. First, Odysseus displays cleverness in Book Nine when he tricks the Cyclops Poluphemus that his name is “nobody” in order to escape the horrors of the cyclop’s cave. He states: “Nobody--so my mother and father call me, all my friends” (Homer, 18). Second, Odysseus is a brave leader of his army especially in book ten when he displays leadership by motivating his comrades in keep trying to sail despite the

    Read More

  • What do you admire and criticise about Odysseus behaviour as a hero?

    829 Words  | 2 Pages

    He escapes the cave using a sharpened, burning stick to blind the son of Poseidon, and then laughs to himself about how the ‘cunning notion of a false name’ fooled the Cyclops. He shows a lot of pride in what he has done when he says this. A hero should be smart and have confidence in his own abilities, and Odysseus certainly shows both of these traits in this book.

    Read More

  • Odysseus

    1326 Words  | 3 Pages

    One of the major themes of Homer’s Odyssey is the importance of cunning over strength. This also happens to be the case with Odysseus and his long ten year journey home from fighting in Troy. Odysseus uses his intelligence over strength to ‘fight’ through tough times and bring himself home to Ithaca. Odysseus uses his intelligence when he has his men tie him down while passing the Sirens, so he himself will be able to hear their beautiful song, but not be entranced by their singing. He also uses cunning to escape from the Cyclops’ cave without being harmed. He then uses his cunning by storing away all of the armory, shields, and knives from the suitors so he is able to kill them easily.

    Read More

  • The Role Of A Hero In The Odyssey

    534 Words  | 2 Pages

    Another example of Odysseus’ cleverness is when he met a giant, one-eyed monster named Polyphemus. Odysseus and his men went into this giants’ cave and stayed to meet him. What they saw when Polyphemus came home was a huge surprise. Polyphemus liked humans, yes he did. He liked them as dinner, lunch, and breakfast. Odysseus was losing his men rapidly while they were trapped in the cave. He had to do something. Suddenly an idea popped in his head. He and his men sharpened a stick, and shoved it into Polyphemus’ eye while he was sleeping. Plus, when Polyphemus called for help, nobody listened because Odysseus had told him that his name was ‘Nohbdy’. If that doesn’t take a clever mind then I don’t know what dose.

    Read More

  • The Fool Of Odysseus In Homer's Odyssey

    614 Words  | 2 Pages

    One example that shows how Odysseus is a fool is when Odysseus’ men were turned into animals by Circe and Odysseus saved them by using Hermes’ moly. “On the way [to Circe’s hall], he meets the god Hermes, who gives him a magical plant- called moly- to protect him from Circe’s power” (Homer 514). Saving his men may sound heroic, but when Odysseus first ventures to save them, he does not have a plan about what he will do. He may feel brave at first, but only fools do not have a plan. Another reason Odysseus is a fool is when he has to fight Scylla and Charybdis. Circe said, “No,

    Read More

  • The Hedgehog and the Fox

    626 Words  | 2 Pages

    Odysseus has the essential character traits of a suitable leader. Some of his greatest distinguishing traits include his combination of cunning and divisiveness. In several situations that Odysseus faces it is essential for him to think immediately to survive. That ability to think on his feet is what helps him escape some of those deadly situations. For example, in book nine, Odysseus plains out multiple steps for his escape. First, he finds a wooden staff in the cave, he then processed to sharpen and harden the staff of wood in the fire. Second, as Polyohemus returns Odysseus proceeded to make him drink wine. A...

    Read More

  • Odysseus Hero Quotes

    1017 Words  | 3 Pages

    To begin with, Odysseus is an intelligent and clever man. He is a hero because he has the capacity to understand the situations and think through the struggles they are going to face. Odysseus is put against all the odds possible, and at times it seems like the gods are against him. Odysseus tricks the Cyclops, Polyphemus, in a very strategic way and handled the situation effectively. “My name is Nohbdy: mother, father, and friends, / everyone calls me Nohbdy (Homer 498). Odysseus’ cleverness is brought out because he conceived an idea that would be adequate enough to trick a Cyclops. Later when Polyphemus is stabbed, he screams, “Nohbdy, Nohbdy’s tricked

    Read More

  • Odysseus And Marlin As An Epic Hero In Homer's The Odyssey

    1292 Words  | 3 Pages

    In several events Odysseus uses his cleverness to escape undesired situations while Marlin tends to get injured when those times arose proving Odysseus more clever than Marlin. In one of Odysseus’s crisis Odysseus and his crew are stuck in a cyclops’s cave and they have to fool the cyclops to get out of the cave. In Adventures of Reading Odysseus tricks the cyclops into thinking Odysseus’s name is Nohbdy and eventually gets out of the cave with the cyclops screaming “Nohbdy, Nohbdy’s tricked me, Nohbdy’s ruined me!” (498). This statement gives a clear example of how Odysseus is more clever than the regular person by manipulating the outcome of this event. With Odysseus’s clever plan, Odysseus and most of his crew got out safely. In addition to the cyclops crisis, Odysseus runs into another crisis where he has to use his cleverness to overcome the obstacle. Odysseus’s ship is stuck between Scylla and Charybdis in a narrow waterway and he has to pick to go closer to one of the two. Odysseus uses his wits and choses Scylla because six people devoured is better than everyone dieing to Charybdis. In Adventures of Reading, Odysseus uses his cleverness once more and states “But as I sent them towards Scylla, I told them nothing, as they could do nothing” (510). With his quick thinking this idea single handedly saves everyone but six people, as if he told them they would panic and cease rowing then everyone would be eaten. Odysseus proves he is clever time and time again by saving his crew through brilliant ideas. Rather than being clever Marlin showed vacuousness in facing dangers. In Finding Nemo, Marlin and his companion accidentally swim right into a jellyfish field. In the scene in Finding Nemo, Marlin states “We’re gonna race. First one out of the jellyfish wins”. This one statement from Marlin causes both Marlin and his companion to be put into a

    Read More

  • Book 9 Odysseus Character Traits

    272 Words  | 1 Pages

    Homer portrays Odysseus as a physically adept, intelligent, and good with quick thinking in high pressure situations. He has the characteristics of a homeric leader showing courage, nobility, and strength. He is a good speaker and has no troubles winning over an audience. But there comes moments that proves his humanity where he acts in foolish measures. Sometimes Odysseus’s glory ­seeking self let him looking foolish. For example, in book 9 written as a flashback, Odysseus and his men come upon a cave full of sheep and crates of cheese and milk on the island of the Cyclops. His men suggest to grab the crates and leave, but he decides to stay and feast on their upcomings. When the Cyclops Polyphemus returns to its cave, it seems hostile at

    Read More

  • Odysseus Character Analysis

    937 Words  | 2 Pages

    The first heroic characteristic of Odysseus is his cleverness. In The Odyssey, one of the instances where Odysseus displays cleverness is in his encounter with the Cyclops, Polyphemus. Polyphemus captures Odysseus and his men in the island Cyclopes, which was filled with other giants. Although it is expected among the Greeks to display hospitality to strangers, Polyphemus ends up eating some of Odysseus men. In order to escape the giant, Odysseus comes up with a clever plan. He offers Polyphemus wine in order to get the giant drunk. When the giant falls asleep, Odysseus stabs Polyphemus’ singular eye, blinding the giant. The giant naturally wakes up, and starts to try and recapture Odysseus and his men. Knowing that the giant’s shouting would most likely attract the attention of the other giants in the island, Odysseus replies to Polyphemus when the giant asks him his name that his name was “Noman.” But when Polyphemus shouts for help, none of the other giants come to his aid, since he is shouting “My friends, N...

    Read More

More about What Is Odysseus Made Of?

Open Document