Odysseus A Hero

Words: 1040

Pages: 5

Open Document

What makes a hero a hero? To be a hero, you have to be selfless, courageous, and continuously act with integrity. Some might think that the “hero” in The Odyssey, Odysseus, is heroic because he exhibits these characteristics. In The Odyssey by Homer, translated by Emily Wilson, we can truly interrogate Odysseus’ actions throughout his journey and easily realize that he falls short of being a hero. Many of his self-centered actions lead to the suffering of his crewmates and himself. He continuously makes these mistakes throughout the duration of his journey. Odysseus is not a hero because his authentic self is egotistical, debilitated, prideful, and manipulative. In book nine of The Odyssey, Odysseus makes many leadership mistakes. This includes …show more content…
Diving deeper into this, he constantly puts himself before others. He was interested in the sirens' song, so he listened, his curiosity could have killed him (Homer12.92-3). Furthermore, while Circe tells him about the rest of his journey, she makes it very clear to row alongside Scylla and not Charybdis in lines 109-111, ‘“Row fast, and steer your ship alongside Scylla, since it is better if you lose six men than all of them,”’ (Homer 12.109-11). Instead of listening to Circe, Odysseus, the war-obsessed man he is, doesn’t listen and prepares for battle in lines 226-228, “Then I ignored Circe’s advice that I should not bare arms; it was too hard for me,”(Homer 12.226-8). This shows arrogance and a hyper-fixation of war. Odysseus is still traumatized from the Trojan War, which causes him to fight like he is still on the battlefield. He struggles with post-traumatic stress disorder, which makes him mindless. These reveal how Odysseus’ pretentious and curious self brings him into life-or-death situations. To make a long story short, no pun intended, Odysseus is not a hero because he has demonstrated over and over again that he is not

Is Odysseus A Hero

Do you think the man you call a hero is really a hero. Well not everybody thinks he’s a hero. The hero Odysseus not hero as or some people would say in their point of view as their own opinion. Odysseus is not the admirable hero he makes rash decisions to put his men and himself in jeopardy. Although Odysseus seems to be a hero in his own eyes because he is selfish he lets his men go and leave them there and ignore them and leaves them to die. He doesn't want any help from other gods. He has a rough…

Words 602 - Pages 3

Odysseus A Hero

A hero is someone people look up to and want to be. Some people may consider Odysseus in The Odyssey a hero or not. In The Odyssey, Odysseus and his men are on the way home from the Trojan War. They face many barriers on their journey home. In Homer’s Epic Poem, The Odyssey, Odysseus is not a hero because he never tells his crew anything, he is self-centered, and he either lost his men at stops or had to go and save them. One reason Odysseus is not a hero because he doesn’t tell his crew anything…

Words 754 - Pages 4

Odysseus Hero

“perfect” person would have in their society– but these heroes were still human. One such Greek hero is Odysseus, the king of Ithaca who fought in the Trojan war for a decade and, as stated in the epic poem The Odyssey by Homer, was away from his family for a total of 20 years. Odysseus is the hero of the story, yet some claim that he does not deserve the title of “hero.” In Homer’s The Odyssey, Odysseus demonstrates Greek values through his intelligence, strength, and belief in the gods; even though…

Words 1119 - Pages 5

Odysseus Is A Hero

Have you ever wondered what makes a hero? Is it strength, courage, or something more? Odysseus is a successful literary hero, having been known for more than 2000 years. He is the type of hero that uses intellegence and strategy over his physical strength. There are several major points of the story that prove this are facing Scylla and Charybdis and overcoming the Cyclopes. Scylla and Charybdis set forth a choice. Scylla is certain death for six of his men, but Charybdis is almost certain death…

Words 285 - Pages 2

Odysseus As A Hero

In my opinion I think Odysseus is a hero. The definition of a hero is a person, typically a man, who is admired or idealized for courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities. Which is perfectly shown in the story. This is because of being witty and clever. Odysseus protects the men from Polyphemus, he kept his loyalty and devotion, and Odysseus was a leader. He loved the pride of being strong and someone looking up to him. Even though he didn’t choose to tell his men about the impending…

Words 110 - Pages 1

Odysseus Hero

The Odyssey, by Homer, the hero Odysseus goes through challenges to return to his home and wife, Penelope. He is portrayed as a non-traditional hero because of his courageousness and intelligence. Typical famous Greek heroes get themselves and their crew into bad situations. Odysseus analyzes his circumstances before rushing into battle. Odysseus and the Genus ‘Hero’, an academic article by Margalit Finkelberg, comments on this by saying, “Odysseus is the only Achaean hero of importance who is described…

Words 334 - Pages 2

Is Odysseus A Hero

makes us heroic.” In The Odyssey, Odysseus tries to return to Ithaca, but he gets trapped by Calypso. Along the way, King Alcinious gives him a crew and ship. Odysseus shows he is a hero because of his bravery, intelligence, and leadership. Odysseus proves himself to be a hero because he shows bravery in his actions. One example of when Odysseus shows bravery is when he takes on the challenge of making it through between Scylla and Charybdis. In book 10, Odysseus gets help from Hermes, which allows…

Words 378 - Pages 2

Odysseus A Hero

Heroes, what exactly makes up a hero? This is the question that not everyone will agree on with what really makes a hero a hero. In my opinion, I think the characteristics that make up a hero is intelligence, courage, bravery, caring, strength, leadership, patience, and selflessness. I do believe that Odysseus has all those characteristics that a hero should have, because I do believe he is a hero. The story begins with Odysseus, Odysseus’s wife, Penelope, and his son Telemachus. They were all…

Words 373 - Pages 2

Odysseus Hero

Bill,” If there is nothing but what we make in this world, brothers, let us make it good.”In The Odyssey, Odysseus tries to return home but has problems. Along the way to home. Odysseus shows he is a hero because Odysseus can solve problems unlike other men, Odysseus is spiritually stronger than other men (closer to the gods), and Odysseus undertakes impossible tasks. Odysseus shows he is a hero when he is spiritually stronger (closer to the gods) than the other men. He has been out at sea for 10 years…

Words 501 - Pages 3

Is Odysseus A Hero

In the epic poem The Odyssey by Homer Odysseus is on a voyage back to his native land ithaca; on his adventure Odysseus and his crew experiences many challenges and hardships. Odysseus and others go to many places like the island of the cyclopes or the palace of circe the nymph and the city of the cyclones. In all of these places though Odysseus happens to always put his men in harm's way before himself. Odysseus is a villain in the odyssey due to the loss of men to the lotus eaters, massacre…

Words 666 - Pages 3