Heroism

Andrew Vizcaino
Ms. Gross
English 1
14 May 2011

Epic Heroism Homer was one of the greatest poets to ever walk the earth. He was also known for his great epics. An epic is a long poem that tells the story of what the Gods or important people did in the ancient times. In The Odyssey by Homer, he bases his great epic on the king of Ithica. Homer’s epics characteristics is based on heroism (bravery, strength, and intelligence). In The Odyssey Homer gave this honor to Odysseus, King of Ithica. One major characteristic of heroism is to have bravery,. An example of Odysseus’s bravery is, “ My heart beats high now at the chance of action, and drawing the sharp sword from my hip I went along his flenk to stab him where the midriff holds the liner (p.663 line 289-292).In the quote Odysseus risks his lie for his men to save them from the Cyclops. Another example of his bravery is, “Odysseus arrowed him under the chin and punched up to the feathers through his throat” (p. 665 line 1234-1235). In this quote Odysseus is taking back what belongs to him, his home. These quotes are examples of Odysseus’s bravery because in one quote he risks his life for his crew in the other he overthrows the people that have over taken his home while he has been gone. A second important characteristic to epic heroism is strength. An example of Odysseus’s strength is “ I drone my big hand spike deep in the embers, charring it again “ (p.665 line 668-669). This is an example of Odysseus’s strength because he says he spiked a giant. Another example of Odysseus’s strength is, “Nine days I drifted on the teeming sea before dangerous high winds “( p.658 line 195-196). Odysseus claims in this quote that he can withstand any kind of weather. In these quotes these are examples of strength because he claims he can defeat a giant and withstand any kind of weather . The final and a main piece of epic heroism is intelligence . An example of his intelligence is, “ If I killed him we perish there as well, for we could never move his ponderous doorway slab aside” (p.663 line 293-295). In this quote he shows his intelligence because in this scene if he would have killed the Cyclops he and his men would have never been able to move the doorway causing them to be trapped forever. Another example of Odysseus’s intelligence is, “My name is Nohbdy: mother, father, and friends call me Nohbdy “ (p.665 line 360-361) In this quote he shows he is smart enough to out think a Cyclops. In these quotes he shows intelligence because in the first quote he decides to wait for the perfect chance to strike the Cyclops , in the other quote he Calls himself Nohbdy so the Cyclops wont know his real name. So as you can see, an epic is a long poem that tells the story of what the Gods or important people did in the ancient times. Homer’s epic heroism is based on what most people believe a hero is made of, bravery, strength, and intelligence. So as shown Odysseus is that figure of an epic hero.