The Hero Of Odysseus In Homer's The Odyssey

Later on in the story, Circe tells Odysseus “ he will be the only survivor on this long journey. ”(211)Odysseus seems not to care. This is another example of why Odysseus is not caring to his crewmates. Odysseus now knows that if he takes Circe’s path home that he will be the only survivor but he shows no concern. He immediately agrees with her plan and never asks if there is another way.

Odysseus tells his men about the sirens and how to ignore their luring music to death (Homer 686-698). This shows Odysseus’s loyalty to his men and how he is not going to keep important secrets to his men unless it is necessary. “I carved a massive cake of beeswax into bits and rolled them in my hands until they softened no long task, from a burning heat came down from Helios, lord of high noon”(Homer 708-711). Odysseus took his time carving wax for his men's ears to not hear the sirens which was very generous of him, for Odysseus could have made his men make the wax earplugs themselves and if they messed up they would be in a trance like Odysseus. When Odysseus’s men tied him to the mass and told men to muffle him when he talks which shows true commitment to his men, and his men do so which shows his men are loyal to Odysseus to.

Odysseus’ crew raided the land of the Cyclopes and waited for the inhabitants to come back. Polyphemus came back, ate 2 of the Akhaians, and left the others to groan and wait for the morning (154). Odysseus, in the morning, gave Polyphemus alcohol to become drunk, stabbed him in the eye with a scalding hot hand spike, and escaped underneath Polyphemus’ handsome, fat, dark violet rams. Odysseus says his name is “Nobody” at first, but then he foolishly screams his true name after his ship was out of Polyphemus’ throwing range. Polyphemus prayed to his father Poseidon to curse Odysseus with loneliness and bitter days at home (160-161).

Odysseus is one of the most legendary heroes since ancient times. He is the type of person you picture when you hear the word “hero”. He is extremely noble and brave, but sometimes his other traits are overlooked. In Homer’s Odyssey, Odysseus shows attributes of cleverness, altruism, and courage, and the use of these characteristics could be perceived as heroic or the opposite. Odysseus demonstrates profound cleverness throughout the book.

In the Odyssey, Odysseus must persevere through many challenges and hardships. During his journey he displays the almost godlike qualities of the typical hero in a Greek myth, and the regular qualities of a human man. Throughout the entire story Odysseus possesses a very human goal: to return home and see his wife again. He constantly displays emotion for his wife during his travels. Athena acts as Odysseus’ mentor during his journey.

In his previous encounter with Polyphemus, Odysseus says that his name is nobody. Later on, when Odysseus stabs the Poyphemus’ eye, the he exclaims, “ Nohbdy, Nohbdy’s tricked me, Nohbdy’s ruined me!” (Homer 338). This makes the other Cyclops on the island think that Polyphemus is just drunk and they ignore his cries. This proves Odysseus’ cleverness and aids in his escape from the island.

Circe, the sorceress that Odysseus meets on Aaea, tells Odysseus about the Sirens who “lure sailors to their destruction.” (Fitzgerald 782) Odysseus tells his men he should only listen to the Siren's voice and he would plug the sailors’ ears with wax so they would keep rowing. The plan ends up working and Odysseus gets his crew out with no casualties. The last example of Odysseus’s wit is with Scylla, a six headed monster and Charybdis, a whirlpool.

The Odyssey by Homer is an exemplary story that teaches life lessons to those going on a journey for themselves. It illustrates how the challenges and obstacles one may face can help someone become a better leader. The Odyssey highlights one man, Odysseus, a man filled with excessive pride, experiencing the wrath of the god Poseidon. He expects to arrive at his home, Ithaca, safely to reunite with his wife, Penelope, but unfortunately faces many temptations and setbacks. Due to the challenges he faces, it prevents him from arriving home as early as he thought he would.

When the Cyclops cried out for help he said that Nobody had hurt him. He also showed that he was clever when he chose to go through the narrow strait close to Scylla and not Charybdis as he would only lose six men, not his whole crew. Another instance was when he was in the land of the Lotus-Eaters he knew that who tasted it would not want to come back home so he set sail

Before leaving The Land of the Dead, Teiresias told Odysseus that they will face destruction and only he will survive to return home. After the prophecy, Odysseus and his men encountered Charybdis and Scylla. To avoid destruction, Odysseus demanded his men to sail the ship quickly through Scylla and hug onto the cliff. Odysseus did not want his men to lose hope and turn against him if they knew that only Odysseus would return home. To avoid his men going against him, “Odysseus does not tell his men of Circe’s last prophecy-that he will be the only survivor of their long journey,” (Homer 716-719).

In the book called The Odyssey by Homer, it mainly follows the story of a king of a village called Ithaca, hundreds of years ago-This man, is named Odysseus. Odysseus goes through many adventures after the victory of the Trojan War. However, this is where Odysseus, is not being as strong as a great war hero and a king as he should be. Although Odysseus was seen as a very strong person, physically and mentally, he lacks the appreciation and the care of his crew throughout the trials and didn’t think through many of his actions thoroughly and how they would affect not only his crew but people around him.

In The Odyssey Homer makes Odysseus’ journey to his beloved Ithaca excruciating. Odysseus encounters many friends and foes throughout his journey and has to be a leader throughout his experiences. As an example, he encounters Polyphemus and Poseidon, both of whom make his journey mentally and physically painful. Odysseus faces countless scenarios in which he has to save multiple people in those situations. He also encounters the suitors, who are a group of men that try to marry Penelope, when he returns to reclaim his home.

The Odyssey by Homer is a book that involves the Journey of Odysseus and his men and the Obstacles they come across. The Odyssey portrays many themes including vengeance, hospitality, courage, bravery and more. Odysseus experiences some good and bad during his journey. He comes across people who help him, but also comes across creatures who hold him back. Odysseus is an Epic hero because of his quick thinking skills, bravery, and confidence for himself and his men.

The Cyclops then enters and asks Odysseus, who he is and why he is here. He tells the Cyclops his ship has been wrecked and his men are hurt. Polyphemus shows no care for the situation. He viewed Odysseus and his men as intruders. To show them how angry he is, Polyphemus does this “Then he dismembered them and maid his meal/ gasping and crunching like a mountain lion everything: innards, flesh and marrow bones” (9.195-198).

And he inebriates the Cyclops, then blinds him while he is asleep. Polyphemus starts to shout, "Nobody blinded me!" but as it sounds ridiculous, no one comes to help him. After that, Odysseus and his men escape from the cave. Odysseus next goes to Aeolia, home of Aeolus who is the god of the winds.