Odysseus As A Hero In The Odyssey By Homer

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“It doesn’t take a hero to order men to go into battle. It takes a hero to be one of the men who goes into battle” (General Norman Schwarzkopf Jr.). In The Odyssey, Odysseus gets lost at sea far away from his home, Ithaca. In the epic, he suffers many troubles and events that he has to be smart about while trying to find his way back. Throughout the story, Odysseus is a hero because he is a hardworking leader that never loses hope of his goal. Odysseus is a hero because he shows perseverance and has smart ways out of problems. Odysseus shows he is a hero when he gets himself and his men out of the Cyclops cave. Soon before this, all of them arrive at the land of the Cyclops and get imprisoned by Polyphemus. First he stabs the Cyclops with a giant spike, but still needs a way out since a boulder is blocking the exit. …show more content…
“I tied them silently together, twining cords of willow from the ogre’s bed; then slung a man under each middle one to ride there safely, shielded left and right” (9.337-340). Odysseus has the brilliant idea of having them escape with the animals. This shows he is a hero by using his quick thinking and ending up saving himself and his men. People may question Odysseus’ ways and what he did in the book, but overall he is still a hero. Another time when Odysseus shows he’s a hero is how he has grown and improved his flaws by the end of the novel. An example of this is when Odysseus is finally back home and meets his son, Telemachus. Odysseus transforms back into his normal self and Telemcahus is stunned and assumes he is a god. Odysseus humbly denies.“No god. Why take me for a god? No, no” (16.77) –