The Tragic Hero: Odysseus As An Epic Hero

Register to read the introduction… In The Odyssey, Odysseus has been separated from his family due to the Trojan War, and wishes to return. His son, now a grown man, is ruling his land and trying to stop suitors from marrying his mother and gaining power of the kingdom. “First by far to see her was Prince Telemachus, sitting among the suitors, heart obsessed with grief..” (Homer., Fagles, and Knox 81). Throughout the story, Odysseus encounters many situations. The last, and most famous, situation he was in was when he went in disguise into his own home, where his mother was going to marry whoever could shoot Odysseus’ old bow and arrow through 12 axes. Odysseus won the challenge, and then “ With the help of Telemachus and Laertes, he slaughtered the suitors and cleansed the palace” (Odysseus). Odysseus was one of the first heroes to be noticed not for his physical strength, but rather his intellectual strength. Also, he is the opposite of Achilles. Where Achilles is strength and might, like a bear, Odysseus is intellect and cunning, like a …show more content…
Throughout Plato’s Republic, Socrates is arguing with another character, which the discussion is what makes an ideal state, what is justice, etc. Never during that tale is Socrates physically fighting. It is all a really long talk between men. Now, within the text, “He provides a long and complicated, but unified argument, in defense of the just life and its necessary connection to the happy life.” (Plato: The Republic). Now, Socrates was very intellectual. However, his linguistic skills overpowered his intelligence within The Republic. For example, when talking about the rights of women, Socrates uses an analogy (he loves his analogies) Socrates is a complete split from all previous epic heroes, by not combating physically, like Achilles and Aeneas, or mentally, like Odysseus, but rather in the terms of …show more content…
However, they are similar in a way. Each hero represents their society, and even though they were separated by geography and time, they do have similarities. Achilles and Odysseus are considered the “main” types of epic heroes: the one who is strong in war, and the one who is strong in mind. Often, the two are combined to create the “epic hero”. For other information, just remember “Ni!”

Works Cited

The Aeneid Characters. GradeSaver, 2013. Web. 10 Nov. 2013.
Beowulf - Character Analysis. N.p., 2013. Web. 11 Nov. 2013.
Bull of Heaven. N.p., 2013. Web. 10 Nov. 2013.
Dickinson, Patric, illus. Virgil: The Aeneid. 1962. New York: New American Library, 2002. Print.
Homer., Robert Fagles, and Bernard Knox. The Odyssey. New York: Viking, 1996. Print.
Homer., Robert Fagles, and Bernard Knox. The Iliad. New York: Viking, 1990. Print.
The Language of Literature. Evanston: McDougal Littell, 2002. Print.
Odysseus. Rev. 3. Encyclopedia Mythica, 31 Oct. 2005. Web. 10 Nov. 2013.
Plato: The Republic. Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 4 Nov. 2012. Web. 10 Nov.