Telemachus: the True Hero of the Odyssey

In The Odyssey, the reader is easily able to distinguish that Odysseus is a hero in the story. He is a god-like figure. Odysseus’s wife, Penelope, is a hero and seen by many readers as such especially females. Both possess characteristics of heroes and they deserve to be considered such but that does not mean that they are the true hero of the story. Their son Telemachus is the true hero in The Odyssey. The reader should be able to identify with him the most and realize everything that has happened in his life and he deals with it with extreme heroism. He handles the situation in his life the way every human being should. Majority of my classmates will argue that either Odysseus or Penelope is the true hero of the story. Most of the men in my class will argue that Odysseus has all the characteristics of what a true hero. Odysseus is the stereotypical hero. He is the man that every man wants to be and the man every woman wants to be with. He has conquered every enemy, beast and monster that he has faced during his lifetime. He is stronger than all other men. The soul of Amphimedon revels to the readers “No one of us was able to stretch out the string Of the mighty bow, for we were too weak by. But when the great bow came into Odysseus’s hands… Then godly Odysseus, who had endured much, took it in his hands, Easily strung the bow and shot through the iron.” (Homer 257) Odysseus was stronger than any of the best men the world could offer. All of the suitors that tried to persuade Penelope to marry them were unable to use the bow and only the mighty Odysseus was able to do it. They would argue that there is nothing that Odysseus has not done or could not do. He is the definition of a hero, he is not only exceptional at everything he does, he is the best at everything he does. I would be wasting your time if I even attempted to argue that Odysseus is not a hero. There is a difference between a hero and a true hero. The true hero is a role model to other human beings

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