Odysseus is a hero because of his leadership. Odysseus led his men out of the Cyclopes cave and chose to go home instead of being immortal. Odysseus and his men were stuck in the Cyclopes Polyphmus’ cave for 4 days. In the article “Odysseus “Odysseus thought up a plan on the second night to get them out of there. When Polyphmus went to sleep they stabbed him in the eye blinding him. The next morning Odysseus led his men secretly out of the cave. Odysseus had 2 choices. He could stay immortal with calypso or go home to his kingdom. Odysseus stayed with Calypso for 7 years. She wanted him to stay with her forever. That all changed when Athena demanded Zeus to tell Calypso to let Odysseus go. Hermes sent the message to Calypso but she had a plan. She gave Odysseus a choice, to be human or immortal. Odysseus chose to go home because his heart is with Penelope. Also he hadn’t seen his son, Telemachus, in so long. Telemachus needed his father to help guide the kingdom. Making Odysseus a great person to talk to about being a great leader.
Odysseus is a hero because of his bravery. Odysseus’ courage help sacrifice few for many. The sirens were creatures that would charm you with their voice. In “The Sirens” Odysseus told his men to plug their ears so they couldn’t hear the sirens song. Odysseus knew that if the men heard the sirens they would immediately jump overboard. He decided to sacrifice himself by listening to the sirens to get information. Odysseus and his men had to go through Scylla and Kharybdis to get home. In “The Land of the Dead” Odysseus followed Teirasas’, a ling prophet, advice and went to Scylla. He knew that if he went to Kharybdis that they would all die. He sacrificed himself by going to Scylla knowing 6 men would die. Odysseus uses his courageous acts to help guide himself and the crew on the sea.
Odysseus is a clever planner, because he made up the plan for the Trojan horse. In “The Gift of Betrayal” Odysseus comes up with a plan to catch the enemies off guard. He decides to fool them by leaving a horse outside their walls and pretending that his crew had left. But what they didn’t know was that there where people hiding inside the horse waiting to attack. One of those people were Odysseus. The crew made their attack and won the Trojan War. Odysseus’ horse won the war. Proving his plans are creative and bold. When returning home Odysseus planned out his revenge carefully. He wanted to see who was against him and with him. According to Homers Odyssey, Odysseus attacks the suitors unexpectedly. His clever ways got him his kingdom back and win the Trojan War.
All around, Odysseus is a hero because his valor, versatile, and commanding traits. In the poem, The Odyssey, Odysseus didn’t want to be immortal, built the Trojan horse, and had a plan for the Cyclopes. It is crystal clear through the epic poem and resources provided that Odysseus truly is a classic hero.
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