Examples Of Odysseus Being An Epic Hero

Will Rodgers, an American humorist and social commentator, once remarked that "Being a hero is about the shortest lived profession on earth" (atd. in carnival of wit 222). While this may be literally true, most heroes live on figuratively in the recorded stories of their exploits, and in many cases they model characteristics that can inspire readers to emulate they're behavior. One obvious example is Homer's Odysseus the fictional king of Ithaca whose courage, strength, and quest for immortality define him as the prototypical epic hero. His encounters with the Trojan war, the Cyclopes, the land of Aeolia with the bag of winds, a witch that accidentally turned his men to pigs and more. Odysseus manages to maintain the delicate balance