Odysseus Epic Hero

Odysseus: An Epic Hero There are many different types of heroes in literature. One example of a hero is an epic hero. An epic hero is a loyal and brave warrior who goes on a quest or a journey taking the values of his society with him. Furthermore, an epic hero also has some negative traits, including arrogance. One epic hero in particular plays a role in The Odyssey by Homer. This epic hero is Odysseus. Odysseus is an example of an epic hero. First of all, Odysseus is an epic hero because of his loyalty to his friends and crew. On his way back to Ithaca, Odysseus encounters the island of the Lotus Eaters. The Lotus Eaters are friendly creatures who invite wayward travelers onto their island and offer them their lotus flower blossom. …show more content…
Odysseus’ bravery is evident in many places throughout The Odyssey, but one place where he especially shows his courage is in the Land of the Dead. Circe tells Odysseus that the only way for him to make it back to Ithaca was if he goes to the Land of the Dead and talks to Tiresias, the blind prophet. It takes a lot of courage for Odysseus to go into the Underworld and encounter dead spirits all by himself. Also, he speaks to many spirits who he once knew, but he was not able to touch or embrace anyone. While recalling his encounter with Polyphemus to King Alcinous, Odysseus shows his bravery by saying, “I drove my hand spike deep in the embers, ...and we bored that great eye socket while blood ran around the red hot bar” (156). This is speaking of how Odysseus makes a spear, heats it up in the fire, and blinds the Cyclops with it. He does this because Polyphemus, a Cyclops, captures him and his men in a cave with a stone rolled over the entrance. This takes a lot of courage. Odysseus is an epic hero because of his brave …show more content…
This arrogance is revealed when he says, “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’s on Ithaca” (160). While in Polyphemus’ cave, Odysseus cunningly tells the Cyclops that his name was Nobody, so that Polyphemus would tell everyone that Nobody hurt him. However, the chance to get away with this was ruined when he arrogantly tells Polyphemus his real name. This results in Poseidon, Polyphemus’ father, making it hard for Odysseus to return home. Back when Odysseus was still in Troy, he boasts about how he defeated the Trojans without the help of the gods, and he says that he is even greater than the gods. Poseidon is offended by this statement and makes Odysseus’ journey back home very difficult for him. Odysseus shows that he is an epic hero because of his characteristic of arrogance, a negative trait in most epic

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