Heroes are characterized by their intelligence and resourcefulness, strength, bravery, and loyalty. Based on this description, Odysseus, the protagonist of Homer’s epic poem The Odyssey, is a hero. In the section “The Cyclops”, Odysseus represents these five characteristics in many forms. His bravery is shown when he approached the Cyclops, Polyphemus, while trapped in his cave, to yell about not obeying the gods’ rule of treating guests well, as he was not, to Odysseus and his men. A portion of what he told Polyphemus was, “We would entreat you, great sir, have a care for the gods’ courtesy; Zeus will avenge the unoffending guest.” While hollering at him, Odysseus was very much in danger of being eaten alive, being so close and yelling at…
I will be writing a essay of the book The Odyssey written by the person Homer. The main reason why I am written is so that you can know Odysseus is a hero because how he helps other people before he would help himself.…
In the story Odyssey by Homer Odysseus action against the wooers and the people that were involved were justified. The wooers technically exiled there king. Then the wooers wanted to get rid of everything and everyone who were loyal to Odysseus and they wanted to cover up that Odysseus was actually gone.…
Odysseus is the protagonist of the epic poem The Odyssey, and a hero from the Trojan War years before. The Phaiakians describe him as seeming to be "strong as a bull" (VIII.144), and he sends a discus "beyond all others" (VIII.202) in a throwing competition. While Odysseus is clearly strong, it is his wits that allow him to return home to Ithaka in Books IX and XVI, "Nohbdy’s Smarter".…
Malala Yousafzai said, “We were scared, but our fear was not as strong as our courage.” To some people, courage is seen in everyday acts of bravery. When a person does what seems to be a brave act during a calamity, without proper training, it is not bravery. It. Is. Courage. Courage is doing something that is dangerous and noble, but not irrational. It should also make you a better person, or the world a better place.…
Odysseus played both the hero and villain role in The Odyssey; it all depends on whose perspective you see him through. Penelope saw her husband as a hero who fought hard to get back home to her. To Polyphemus, Odysseus was a villain who tricked him and blinded him. During the Trojan War he expressed an enormous amount of hero traits, but later in his journey, especially in books 9-12 his heroic behavior diminished.…
In book 9 when Odysseus impales a burning wooden staff into Polyphemus’ eye then informs the raging cyclops that his name is nobody is an ideal instance in which directly exemplifies Odysseus’ intelligence significantly benefitting him where using his somatic fortitude would not. Before stabbing Polyphemus in the eye, Odysseus gets him drunk first to ensure he would not have enough coordination to attempt to kill him and his remaining crew members. The triumphant plan of intoxicating Polyphemus before impaling him so that his coordination will be disoriented rather than actually fighting him portrays why Odysseus is often times looked at as an respectable character. In attempt to get the cyclops tipsy, Odysseus says, “Three bowls I brimmed and three he drank to the last drop” (9.405). Then, Polyphemus asks Odysseus…
Once upon a time there was a not so smart but clever man. In Homer’s The Odyssey,…
In The Odyssey written by Homer and translated by Robert Fitzgerald, Telemakhos, the son of Odysseus, makes an important journey to learn the fate of his missing father and in the process transforms from a boy to man. At the beginning of his journey Telemakhos demonstrates the character traits of immaturity and timidness, at the end of his journey he had become courageous, mature, shrewd, and physically capable.…
Every story needs a hero. In the Odyssey, the characters face challenge after challenge and they had a leader that helped them overcome every obstacle. Odysseus was this leader and he is considered the hero of the story. He is considered the hero because of how he handled the situation with Polyphemus. His journey was dangerous and hard but he persevered through it and was able to overcome every obstacle that was put in his way.…
In the epic myth The Odyssey, written by Homer, Odysseus takes a twenty year long and perilous journey back to his homeland Ithaka. He must face many physical and mental challenges that makes him worthy of being a hero. The physical qualities that possess an epic hero include immense gallantness and dexterity. This can be seen when “Odysseus had blinded god-like Polyphemus, the mighty cyclops who was Poseidon’s son” (Rosenberg 78). Cyclopes are gigantic and man-eating. To face such a powerful, terrifying monster one must be extremely valiant, a trait that as you can see Odysseus possesses. A task like this also reguires a lot of skill, one must be clever because strength alone will not suffice against a Cyclops. The mental traits that epic…
On his way home, Odysseus faces a plethora of challenges that extend his voyages. One such example that stands out is his ordeal in a cave with a vicious Cyclops. During this short but life-threatening period, Odysseus and his crew find themselves trapped in the cave with the beast, who had already “lunged out with his hands toward my men and snatching two at once, rapping them on the ground / he knocked them dead like pups - / their brains gushed out all over, soaked the floor - / and ripping them limb from limb to fix his meal / he bolted them down like a mountain - lion, left no scrap” (Homer 9 324-329). Homer creates a vivid image in the reader’s mind, using words like “limb to limb” and “dead like pups” to form an unsavory situation. The…
Odysseus is a hero. Despite him sleeping with other women, Calypso and Circe, he was very protective of his wife, son, and his men. He gets most of his men home safe to their families and he gets himself home to his own son and wife.…
In Homer’s, “The Odyssey”, Odysseus struggles to return home not only to rejoin his wife Penelope and son Telemakhos but also to fulfill his duty as ruler and legend. As Odysseus struggles homeward, the idea of his true self and what defines him shifts. His longing for family and sovereignty serves, at times, as a raging fire that propels him home. At other times it seems to be lost in the shadows of his adventures. At the end, when all conflicts are resolved and Odysseus is reunited with his wife and son, He becomes the Odysseus that is truly himself. We learn that a united family can overcome any obstacles and that true devotion and dedication will triumph in the end.…
When Odysseus finished his story,everyone was dumbfounded.Alcinos thought that the Phaeacians should get gifts for Odysseus to bring back home.Everyone agreed with this idea.Alcinous himself put the gifts in the boat himself while everyone else was preparing for a good-bye dinner for Odysseus.After eating Odysseus thanked Alicions for his generosity and prayed to the gods to bless the royal family with success and greatness.Odysseus walked to the shore where the boat was waiting to take him home.the crew had set up a bed for Odysseus so that he could sleep.The ship sailed quickly and smoothly to Ithaca.The crew got the boat into Phorcy,the Old Man of the sea which was in Ithaca.Poseidon saw this and was angry.Poseidon asked Zeus was he really going to let Odysseus off the hook so easily.Zeus then said…