What Is Odysseus An Epic Hero

What does it take to be a true epic hero? Questions like this often appear in discussions about Homer’s The Odyssey. This epic poem chronicles the warrior Odysseus return to the kingdom of Ithaca. Parts of Homer’s work helped display the protagonist’s capabilities as a heroic leader. However, critics argue that Homer did not portray Odysseus properly to claim he was a hero. Despite the disrespect and arrogance Odysseus possessed, he overcame impossible odds and proved himself as the true epic hero by being courageous, persistent and resourceful.
Without doubt, a resourceful personality saved Odysseus’ life at least twice in the Odyssey. First in Polyphemus’ cave, Odysseus used his guile to escape certain death. Homer had Odysseus cunningly blind Polyphemus with the olive club left in the cave, which he had crafted into a tough stake (10). Again, during the crew’s punishment for eating the sun god’s cattle, Homer illustrated the crafty personality of Odysseus. Using only parts from his wrecked ship, Odysseus created a makeshift raft in the middle of Zeus’s thunderstorm (Homer 35). Groups of ancient warriors struggled to construct boats on solid land with supplies, so anyone that can build a boat during a storm, in open water, using broken supplies, contains ingenious traits only an epic hero can demonstrate.
Examples of persistence first appeared in the Cyclops cave, like resourcefulness. “But I kept thinking how to win the game;” Homer wrote that, despite the possible failures, Odysseus continued planning an escape for the crew. Again on Circe’s and Calypso’s Islands, Odysseus persistently continued his journey even though the Goddesses enchanted him to stay for eternity. Normal warriors would have openly accepted temptation and disregarded their end goals, but Odysseus remembered his plans and continued the journey with the persistence of a true epic