Examples Of Odysseus As An Epic Hero

Odysseus is the main character of The Odyssey which is an epic by Homer. Odysseus can be portrayed as not heroic, but you could say he is an epic hero and he does possess all the qualities to be one. On Odysseus’ time away from home he travels over a vast setting and he is also a great warrior. Odysseus travels far and wide: “West from Ilium brought me to Ismarus(40,983)...

Imagine what it would feel like to be away from your home for 20 years and to not be able to find your way back. In this epic The Odyssey, the main character Odysseus and his 720 men are in the same situation and face many conflicts that make their journey back home a lot harder. Odysseus proves himself as an epic hero, which is someone who is almost perfect but has a few flaws to keep them from this, by continuing throughout the story to fight and lead his men back home. Odysseus is an epic hero because he’s brave, he’s smart, but he is also very conceited. My first reason why Odysseus is an epic hero is he’s brave.

In the books of the Odyssey, we see Odysseus as an epic hero, as he has many obstacles and hardships on his journey home. Odysseus shows loyalty. Calypso talks about Odysseus, "Son of Laertes, versatile Odysseus… you would stay here, and guard this house, and be immortal though you wanted her forever.” (Homer p. 1109, lines 69 - 75) This proves Odysseus as an epic hero because he has

Julia Schultz Ms. Nokes Honors English 9 7 February 2023 Odysseus the Flawed Hero The term hero is significantly misused in The Odyssey by Homer. Odysseus, king of Ithaca, is an example of a hero who does not deserve the title. Nonetheless, Odysseus shares many qualities of being a hero: he led his crew to victory in the grueling ten-year-long Trojan war due to his strategic thinking, and bravely made it home alive from the ten-year-long journey back. Odysseus is brave, cunning, and has great leadership skills: all of these traits are characteristics you would expect in a hero.

It is evident that instead of dying victorious or fighting in dangerous battles, he would instead choose the option of risking the lives of his men or finding unrealistic solutions. While some may consider this admirable, others would argue that he is timid and desperately tries to avoid conflict. To illustrate, “‘Odysseus, raider of cities, took your eye’” (Homer 459). After Odysseus had successfully wounded and escaped Polyphemus, in that moment, he succumbed and was controlled by his ego and desire, just for the purpose of a good reputation.

The First Anti-Hero In the story The Odyssey, the author Homer introduces the reader to a hero who shows qualities of courage and intelligence. Odysseus, our main protagonist throughout the story, is known for his cunning intelligence and courage in the face of danger. As the reader follows Odysseus' journey home after the Trojan War, Odysseus is seen to contend with many challenges and obstacles that test his skills as a leader. He shows the reader how to overcome these challenges using his quick thinking and strategic planning.

Odysseus receives supernatural help and he shows his tragic flaws of pride and recklessness which is a trait of an epic hero(to have tragic flaws and receive supernatural

The Epic Hero Odysseus In The Odyssey by Homer, Odysseus shows determination and curiosity which demonstrates that he is an epic hero. Odysseus shows that he is determined to get home when he says, “ I grew sick with fear but presently I gave command to my officers” (Homer 388). He shows that he is determined to get home when he could leave The Land Of The Dead but he needs to talk to Tiresias. Accomplishing this task makes Odysseus heroic because he will do what it took for his men and himself to get home.

One characteristic of an epic hero is being powerful in someway and reflect the values of their culture while battling fearsome beings. I Think that Odysseus really embodies this trait. Ody is the King of Ithaca, when he is away at war on his way home, he is caught by Poseidon. Odysseus then has to go through many obstacles and fearsome beings. But during all of this, he is strong and still has his heart and eyes on getting home to Ithaca and ruling again.

Odysseus, King of Ithaca was categorized as an epic hero. It is clear why he is described this way, and all in all, understandable because the ancient greeks valued different qualities in people and heroes a person would nowadays. For this reason, Odysseus could be seen as a hero in the eyes of the ancient greeks but not in the eyes of people today. The greeks during Homer’s time chose to ignore his traits that people today would see as major flaws. Despite all of this however, Odysseus from The Odyssey by Homer, was and is the epic hero that the greeks saw him as.

To start, Odysseus shows traits of being an epic hero because he is a vast traveler, a great warrior, a national hero, faces supernatural foes, receives supernatural help, and lastly is capable of deeds of great strength and courage. To add on, Odysseus is a vast traveler because he has traveled to lots of different islands such as, Troy for the Trojan war, Kalypso’s island, Cyclops island, the Lotus Eater island, Circe’s home, the underworld, and many more. He shows bravery and courage when going to the underworld to help is crew turn back from pigs into humans. “The Odyssey” points out that, “Odysseus rushes to save his men from the enchantress” (Homer 15). Moreover, it was said that Odysseus went to Circe’s home to rescue his crew but Circe wouldn’t give his crew back unless he went to the underworld for a prophecy, which Odysseus did because he did not want to leave his crew behind if he could save them.

Odysseus’s cleverness is defined by his escape from the cyclops, Polyphemus, In the beginning of the epic poem, the text states that “The fool did not realize that his men were tied underneath the sheep.” (45). By thinking of a creative, and artistic plan to get past the cyclops, Odysseus helps his

The Odyssey by Homer revolves around the character, Odysseus, and his ten-year struggle to return home after the Trojan War. As the epic’s idol, he displays the combination of a clever, handsome, and courageous man popular among the mortals as well as the gods. Essentially, he embodies the ideals of the ancient Greek culture, being adorned with many favored characteristics of the era. However, an intriguing aspect of Odysseus lies in his personality. As the protagonist, he does not manifest the entirety of a stereotypical hero because Odysseus has a fatal flaw—his arrogance.

Just as Achilles is confronted in the Iliad with the problem of balancing his honor with his pride, Odysseus repeatedly faces situations in which self-restraint and humility must check bravado and glory-seeking. In his early adventures, he fails these tests, as when he taunts Polyphemus, inflaming Poseidon. As the epic progresses, Odysseus becomes increasingly capable of judging when it is wise to reveal himself and when it is appropriate to rejoice in his

Well the definition of an epic hero is, “a brave and noble character in an epic poem, admired for great achievements or affected by grand events. ”(Dictionary.com) If that doesn’t describe Odysseus, I don’t know what does. He risks his life in many circumstances, and he’s widely admired for being the one of the reasons the trojans won the war. He is also affected by lots of events throughout his adventures.