Odysseus

Odysseus was a great leader and hero throughout the story in many examples as I have listed below. My first example is when Odysseus was able to make a spear when he was in Polyphemus's cave. He then took the spear and drove it through the eye of the beast, blinding him. The cyclops then moved the boulder and the men escaped by hiding under sheep.This example shows that O. is a hero because he is daring. If the cyclops was to find any of them or he had missed and woken him then this surely would have meant death for them. The second reason is in book twelve when O. must pass the sirens. To do so he slabs beeswax on the ears of his shipmates. This will make it so them can not be lured into the captivity of the sirens. O. then lashes himself

Although some believe that the epic hero, Odysseus is a fool for his arrogance and inability to take necessary precautions when dealing with the cyclops and Helios’ cattle, these do not outweigh the reasons why Odysseus is actually a hero. Overall Odysseus is a hero because he cleverly built his bed from an olive tree, since he resides with Circe he gains valuable

Odysseus heroic qualities are strength, courage, dignity, a thirst for glory, and self-confidence. He also shrewd and ingenious, all of which make him the ideal hero in both the physical form and the spiritual aspect. Odysseus being faithful and loyal to his wife shows his dignity. Even though he has been away from his home and family for twenty years his only thoughts are with them. He overcomes all the extreme dangers he encounters showing his strength and courage. His shrewdness and intelligence shows when he, the King of Ithaca, is disguised as a beggar before Telemakhos.

Merriam-Webster defines a hero as, “A person who is admired for great or brave acts or fine qualities.” For Odysseus to be a hero this definition is supposed to fit and describe him and his character, but why does this definition not describe or fit him and his character? This is because Odysseus is not a hero. Odysseus has done unethical things on his journey that makes him a person that should go unadmired. For example, when Odysseus ignored the death of his man in order to make more progress on his journey since he claims a task was pressing and waited for the Cyclops in order to be offered more gifts (his men die as a result), these examples prove he is a person who does unethical things. Odysseus is not a hero because he is disloyal, selfish, and greedy.

Odysseus is not a hero because he lets his pride make most of his decisions, which gets him into difficult situations. Throughout The Odyssey, Odysseus makes mistakes that causes his men to be killed. Most of these mistakes could have been fixed by Odysseus making better decisions throughout his journey.

Odysseus portrays himself as anything but a hero throughout Homer’s The Odyssey. Odysseus goes through his life believing he is the best. He has no regard for anyone’s feelings but his own, and he believes nothing and no one can harm him, not even the gods. Odysseus feels he is always the leader and no one can tell him otherwise. Odysseus should not be considered a hero because he portrays himself as a selfish man that failed his crew, and is controlled by his hubris.

The majority of those who read The Odyssey consider the protagonist of the story, Odysseus, a hero. On many occasions, however, Odysseus makes decisions beneficial to himself alone. For example, when Odysseus and his men find themselves on Polyphemus's island, Odysseus's actions are self-centered and at the expense of his men. This can be said for most of Odysseus's actions in the story, as his main objective is to reach his home. Having his men by his side when he returns seems a trivial thing to him. Odysseus could be considered a hero, but many of his actions say otherwise. Due to the many unfaithful and self-centered decisions he makes in the story, Odysseus is not a hero.

In homer's Odyssey the main character Odysseus is a person who only tries to help himself. Although he earns the trust of his men while in Troy, he loses it on his perilous journey home. Many times in the epic he manipulates others, commits foolish acts and is full of hubris. He tries to take shortcuts and as a result of this is men are killed and his boats destroyed. He plays with the lives of his men and he is punished for it. Odysseus is not a hero because, he is foolish, lacks faithfulness and is consumed by his Hubris and selfishness.

Joseph Campbell once said, “A hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself.” True heroes are those who do something for others rather for themselves, Odysseus doesn’t exactly show this trait in The Odyssey. In The Odyssey, Odysseus along with his men try to go back home to Ithaca but due to Odysseus nature, only he actually returns alive. In Homer’s The Odyssey, Odysseus proves he is not a hero because he is arrogant, secretive, and unfaithful; resulting for readers to believe that every action has an consequence.

Odysseus is not a hero because he constantly puts his men in danger and makes decisions without thinking. Odysseus is sailing away from Cyclops Island and he is teasing Polyphemus about escaping. The crew tries to get Odysseus to be quiet, but his ego gets in the way, and he tells Polyphemus his name; leading to Polyphemus cursing him and his men to make the journey home slow and painful. Odysseus tells the Phaeacians in his story, “So they spoke, but they could not persuade my great-hearted spirit; and I answered him again with angry heart: “‘Cyclops, if any one of mortal men shall ask thee about the shameful blinding of thine eye, say that Odysseus, the sacker of cities, blinded it, even the son of Laertes, whose home is in Ithaca’””(Homer.9.500-506). Odysseus comments that his crew tried to calm him down and get him to stop talking, but he

In the end, I think Odysseus is a hero because although he does make mistake and although no one is perfect he tried his best to get him and his men home safely. Odysseus has many good qualities consisting of quick thinking, creativity, protectiveness, and many more. He also has bad qualities like curiosity and ignorance. So even though people make mistakes and don’t always do the right thing I think that they can still be a

Again, Odysseus' darker and 'immoral' acts could be viewed could viewed as metaphors for and/or accurate reflections of the imperfection of the human race. Characteristics that show that heroes too are flawed. A hero who has some shortcomings is a more believable character, they may be godly in the sense that they do what no one else can, but that they are still only human. Drawing on this, Odysseus can be considered a hero for modern times. He possesses admiral skills, such as commitment and knowledge, which are still considered heroic today. He uses these traits to protect himself and his crew as they make the long journey home. Although Odysseus is renowned for his expertise in fighting, he is

Throughout the Odyssey, Odysseus shows multiple times where he made bad choices due to his hubris.He has shown many careless acts were he only thinks of himself. Is this not what a villain does? He believes he is always right and will do what he thinks is right, like a villain. Although he is brave and sometimes smart, so is a villain. Odysseus is no hero, if anything, he is more of a villain.

More specifically, the results leading to the announcement that Odysseus was not an epic hero was mostly due to his personality. Odysseus did not value the opinions of his men, or lives of his men, as the reader was lead first to believe. “Why not take these cheese, get them stowed, come back, throw open all the pens, and make a run for it? We’ll drive the kids and lambs abroad” (Homer 8). While in the land of cyclopes, Odysseus’ men told him to leave the cave and take all of the cyclops’ belongings. However, Odysseus did not listen, he wanted to see what else the cyclops had to offer, so he risked the lives of his men for his personal needs. Time and time again Odysseus, the “epic hero” and “brilliant leader,” risked his men’s lives for little or no reward. This is shown again later in story, as where his impulsiveness, arrogance, and greed lead to another reason why he is not suited with the description of an epic hero. In the Odyssey, Homer wrote Odysseus’ words, “Cyclops if ever a mortal man inquire how you were put to shame and blinded, tell him Odysseus, raider of cities, took your eye; Laertes’ son, whose home is Ithaca!” This quote shows Odysseus’ arrogance after he blinded the cyclops. Believing he had defeated the cyclops Odysseus decided to stroke his ego and reveal his name and put his men at risk. With this not well thought out idea, it caused the rest of Odysseus’ journey to be cursed by Poseidon. Without his men’s best thoughts in mind, Odysseus decided getting recognition was better than safety. Not to mention, after these events, Odysseus was shown as a more of an unlike leader and hero when his men soon realized what kind of man Odysseus is. “Remember

Odysseus has escaped death and monsters time after time and his sometimes heroic but bold actions turned him into a hero for the Greeks. There were as many disadvantages as there were advantages for Odysseus and whomever followed him throughout his voyage. He consistently wanted more and usually picked fighting over being logical and safe, therefore resulting in many casualties due to his forward behavior. Many may think Odysseus’ crafty and impulsive nature, how he almost always had a need for things that would be beneficial to him in the end (if he lived that is), even though they were usually risky, and how/what he did to cause so many redundant casualties, and how that all would have led to his downfall if he didn’t have luck on his side.