Preview

Homer's Odysseus: A Hero

Satisfactory Essays
Open Document
Open Document
525 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Homer's Odysseus: A Hero
Do you have a hero? I have a hero and that is Odysseus. But who is Odysseus, he was a hero in Homers epic and not only that but was also one of the greatest heroes who fought in the Trojan war. Odysseus was a very smart man because he created a plan that would destroy the city of troy so the Trojan war could end. he encountered many different things on his way back home to Ithaca. Where he left his wife for more than 10 years. Odysseus ruled Ithaca so it was very important for him to go back home with his people. Odysseus had courage, strength was wise,wonderful leader/commander but also had desire to end war and go back to his people. This makes Odysseus an honorable hero.

A hero in physical sense. In physical sense because
…show more content…
Odysseus was a quick witted man at warfare because he was known for his famous wooden horse trick. He came up with the idea of the "Trojan Horse". But what was his plan? It was to get the Greeks to hide in the Trojan horse and have the people of Troy to open the gates so the Greeks would attack. In my opinion this is a very clever and outstanding idea. All of this lead his men to victory. Which proved that he was intelligent.

Odysseus has his weaknesses but also his flaws. He was prideful and arrogant at times. Odysseus was thought to be violent and cruel. This is his weakness. But most of the time had his flaws. A great flaw he had was having humbleness and admitted that the gods have helped him his struggles. passing out advise to his son Thelemachus. Advising his son to be patient is some great advise anyone would love to have. All of these qualities are characteristics of a great leader.

In conclusion, having a hero does not necessarily mean that they should wear capes. Qualities that a hero has is to be a good leader, wise, and one that has strength. Odysseus had all of these characteristics this is why i choose him as my epic hero. I hope that with this essay you choose Odysseus as your hero or something similar. Odysseus had courage,strength,was wise,a wonderful leader/commander, and desire to end war and return back home to his people. This is what makes an honorable epic

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Everyone has different personality traits. Odysseus has both hero qualities and not so heroic qualities. This epic poem is called “The Odyssey”. It was written by Homer, an ancient Greek poet. Epic hero qualities are traits the hero character of a story has. They include strength, loyalty, intelligence, and courage. One would think Odysseus has many epic hero traits, but he also has many traits that are not heroic. There are many examples of his heroic qualities. Something that shows loyalty is when he says, “So we moved out, sad in the vast offing, having our precious lives, but not our friends.” This shows that Odysseus is loyal because talking about not having his friends anymore and being with his men. He also has strength. “I drove them, all three wailing, to the ships, tied them down under the rowing benches…” shows this because it takes strength to tie three men down to a ship. When he shows courage, he says “We beached there, and I told the crew to stand by and keep watch over the ship: as for myself I took my twelve best men and went ahead.” in which one would notice Odysseus had the courage to go see who the enormous man was when he reached Cyclops Island and told his men to watch the ship for him.…

    • 515 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Odysseus shows heroic qualities in the passage about the Cyclops. It states in the passage “ Odysseus is the cleverest of greek heroes because he is guided by the goddess of wisdom, Athena.”. Clever is a quality that heros have. This shows that Odysseus has a heroic quality.…

    • 209 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Heroes are people who are admired for their courage and noble qualities. Walt Disney was, and may still be, perhaps one of the most influential people in the entertainment business today. He could be considered a modern day hero due to his many skills and the mark that he left on the world. Like Disney, Odysseus was determined and had many traits that helped to lead to reaching his full potential, making him a hero as well. Although discounted numerous times, Walt Disney and Odysseus refused to give up on their dreams and continued to chase them even through hard times of rejection and disappointment, making them heroes.…

    • 1037 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Tris Vs Odysseus

    • 614 Words
    • 3 Pages

    One would be right to think that Odysseus is hero because he is brave, strong, and smart, however he uses all his hero qualities for himself. To begin, Odysseus is a hero because he is brave. The text states,“‘Now!’…

    • 614 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    One way that Odysseus uses his intelligence is to help his men. For instance, He puts beeswax in all of his crew's ears when passing the Sirens. The epic states "Going forward I carried wax along the line, and laid it thick on their ears” (Homer 706). This helps them get past the Sirens successfully. Also, his intelligence helps him handle difficult situations. Like when they are in the Land of the Lotus Eaters, he only sends out three of his men so that everybody wouldn't eat the flower. In his story, Odysseus says "Then I sent out two picked…

    • 354 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Heroic people are known for having amazing characteristics. There are many people in this world that stand out for being heroic. Some of those people include police officers, military soldiers, and firefighters that prove their heroism everyday. Odysseus, the main character in The Odyssey, was very heroic. Some of Odysseus’ heroic characteristics were courage, strength and determination.…

    • 227 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    On the subject of heroism, Maya Angelou once wrote that “I think a hero is any person really intent on making this a better place for all people” (Angelou). The general picture that comes to mind when the word “hero” is said is the idea of Superman or Wonder Woman; however, a true hero is anyone who tries to make their world a better place. Odysseus, the hero in Homer’s epic poem The Odyssey, fought in the Trojan War and embarked on a ten year journey to return to his kingdom, Ithaca. During his quest to return home, he encounters many supernatural forces that show both his heroic, and not so heroic actions. He faces countless challenges, meets new people, and has to make sacrifices for the overall benefit of his crew (Bowler and Homer 645-705).…

    • 1620 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Odysseus is an epic hero because of all the challenging obstacles he had to overcome. He is strong and brave by never giving up, but rather determined to fulfill his accomplishments as a young and adventurous man. Odysseus was also very cunning, knowing how to create and form the ideal way to sabotage the Trojans. Such a bold hero and great father that seeks to win the 10 year war with the Trojans and succeeds. Although, weaknesses lye in every man as a human necessity and even this 'Hero' has one.…

    • 531 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Homer depicts Odysseus as the stereotypical epic hero. He was of noble birth, being the king of Ithaca. He was known for being cunning and brave, and traveled to fight against an evil. He fought in the Trojan War to rescue and return Helen to her husband Menelaus, King of Sparta. After the war he became a legend and everyone knew…

    • 571 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    What is a hero? On Dictonary.com it states thats its “ a brave and noble character in an epic poem, admired for great achievements or affected by grand events ” Now the real questios is. Is Odysseus a hero? In the Odyssey by Homer, it's an epic poem about a man is stuck in a war for many years. He finally escapes the war to go home but instead is faced with many adventures to come along the way. On his adventures he goes through terrible storms, Wicked creatures, he also had to face gods and goddesses face to face. I some moments it would seem that he would give up but he never did. He wanted to go home. He never lost sight in what he wanted, Home. There are multiple traits of a hero, but these three that I have chosen are traits that all heroes should have. Courage, patience, and Loyalty. Does Odysseus have these traits ?…

    • 740 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    In the Epic, Odyssey by Homer Odysseus has to save his men and get them home. Odysseus is a modern day hero hero. He qualifies for the job because first he is brave, cunning, and determined. He made smart decisions and knows how to get out of sticky situations. Second he is brave and he is ready for whatever comes his way. Although the ancient greeks consider odysseus a hero epic hero, according Modern day to Ethos and Logos he fails to measure by modern standards.…

    • 465 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    The epic poem, The Odyssey written by Homer near the end of the 8th century BC, focuses on a Grecian hero named Odysseus. Although after the falling of Troy Odysseus embarks upon a long, grueling journey home, it is through his travels that Homer is able to illustrate him as a hero. A hero is known as, “a man of distinguished courage or ability, admired for his brave deeds and noble qualities.” (Dictionary.com) Homer’s projection of Odysseus is essentially a fundamental way of helping one become familiar of what a hero actually is and the impact that this individual has on society and its people. Odysseus fulfills the different attributes that characterize a stereotypical hero, yet at the same time demonstrates that a hero can, indeed, be flawed.…

    • 1127 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Pride In The Odyssey

    • 1332 Words
    • 6 Pages

    In The Odyssey, Homer’s exciting and exhilarating tale of the great Odysseus, the mighty hero, brave and strong, slays and conquers many terrors and great evil. The greatest evil however, is his hamartia, hubris against the gods, his arrogance. Odysseus’ pride is the worst villain of all, keeping Odysseus away from his goal. Does his hubris stop him from being a hero? A hero must be just and moral, meaning they are loyal and selfless, while also having integrity and common sense. And without his hubris, is Odysseus still a hero? Who else in the story shoes heroic qualities? Let’s find out!…

    • 1332 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    What makes a person a hero? A hero is a person who puts others lives in front of theirs and treats those people as the main priority. In the book, The Odyssey, the protagonist, Odysseus, does not fit into this definition of a hero, although I consider him a leader. The reasons behind my disagreement with Odysseus not being a hero is because he drove his crew into a lot of trouble that was caused by his selfishness and care of his own reputation. Some might argue that Odysseus is a hero and I have an understanding of that since he did pull through with plans in many situations with his crew.…

    • 695 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Odysseus Epic Hero

    • 691 Words
    • 3 Pages

    This is close to his only concrete character flaw, yet it easily overshadows any of his other traits. As CliffsNotes says, “He is confident that he represents virtue even when a modern audience might not be so sure” (Character Analysis Odysseus). His prideful arrogance follows him throughout the entire epic, yet it is most blatantly exhibited after he and his men’s escape from the Cyclopes’ cave. As if Odysseus simply can’t resist taking credit for his defeat of the monster, he declares, “Odysseus, raider of cities, took your eye; / Laertes’ son, whose home’s on Ithaca!” (Homer 9.18-19). This was a rather unintelligent move, as he able to escape by cleverly tricking the Cyclops by saying his name was Nohbdy, and he only threw his disguise away because he wanted to be famed and known for defeating the monster. Odysseus’ pride is one of his most noticeable shortcomings, and similarly, one of his most…

    • 691 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays