Odysseus's Traits Of An Epic Hero

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At an early age, Odysseus began to display great strength and courage, educated by the centaur, Chiron. He showed promising potential in traits such as leadership. As Odysseus came to reach manhood, his father, King Laertes, stepped aside and let him rule Ithaca for a while. It is apparent that King Laertes let Odysseus rule Ithaca because he had already proven that he has the quintessential traits of an epic hero and a king. In the epic poem, The Odyssey, by Homer, Odysseus is the typical epic hero because he showed that he was not only prudent but cunning as well.

First, Odysseus showed a trait many ancient greeks valued, which was prudence. For example, as Odysseus was explaining to Telemachus about, “‘...all these war weapons we must stash …show more content…
This statement could be debunked for the fact that he also showed moments of humbleness. For example, when Odysseus encounters Elpenor and requests to, “‘...burn me there with all my armor that belongs to me, and heap up a grave mound beside the beach of that gray sea, for an unhappy man, so that those to come will know of me. Do this for me, and on top of the grave mound plant the oar with which I rowed when I was alive and among my companions.”’ (book 11, lines 69-78, Homer, The Odyssey) This shows that Elpenor was a foolish man, yet Odysseus still showed respect and humbleness by sailing all the way back to properly cremate and bury Elpenor’s body. This is significant because Odysseus could have kept his pride and rejected Elpenor’s request, but instead he showed that he is humble and recognizes his men for their past deeds. Another example, after Odysseus got hit with a stool and announced, “‘Listen to me, you suitors of the splendid queen, so I can say what the heart in my chest prompts. There’s no pain in a man’s heart, no grieving, when he’s hit fighting for his own possessions, for cattle or white sheep. But Antinous struck me because of my wretched belly, that curse which gives men all kinds of trouble. So if beggars have their gods and Furies, may Antinous come to a fatal end, before his wedding day.’”(book 17, lines 602-611, Homer, The Odyssey) This shows that Odysseus was not only patient but humble, since he could have done physical harm rather than just giving out “nice” threats. This is significant because although deep in his heart he was making cruel plans to kill them, he showed humbleness in that instance and went along with the plan. To conclude, the moments where he displayed humbleness were far greater than the moments where he was
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