Examples Of Bravery In The Odyssey

Franklin P. Jones, a reporter, once said, “Bravery is being the only one who knows you’re afraid.” Mr. Jones has many great quotes about bravery but this one perfectly describes the bravery required to be a successful hero. Many heroes feel afraid at one time or another, but the key to being “brave” is not letting the fear allow a hero to make an emotional or irrational decision. Farida Nekzad, Atalanta, and Odysseus are brave because they did not let their fear prohibit them from rising to the occasion.
Farida Nekzad is brave. She displayed her bravery as she persevered through the many trials and tribulations she faced as a female journalist in Afghanistan, where men are usually the ones to do the work. Nekzad, a citizen of Afghanistan, …show more content…
While Odysseus was on his long journey home, he encountered many situations where he had to be brave. During his voyage to the Kingdom of the Dead, Odysseus had to be very brave in order to assure his men they had made the right decision in following him. His bravery did not end there. Once he and his men arrived, Odysseus would have to pour the blood of animals into a pit in order to summon the dead. After the souls had been summoned, Odysseus had to find the Greek prophet Teiresias and allow him to drink the blood first. A great deal of bravery would be necessary to fight off the hundreds of ghosts. Just when it seemed as if Odysseus was almost home, he had to face many more difficult challenges. Circe, a beautiful witch goddess explains these challenges to Odysseus, saying, “But in the side of the cliff is a dark gloomy cave, facing the west towards Erebos, just where you will steer your ship, Odysseus. There Scylla dwells, and yelps in her dreadful way; the cave is so high that the strongest man could not reach it with an arrow shot from the ship. It is true her voice is no louder than a puppy-dog new-born, but she is a terrible monster! Such a sight could give pleasure to no one, not even one of the immortal gods. She has twelve flapping feet, and six necks enormously long, and at the end of each neck a horrible head with three rows of teeth set thick and close, full of black death” (Homer, 140). She then goes on to tell about the terrible whirlpool, Charybdis, saying to Odysseus, “The other cliff is lower, as you will see, Odysseus. They are not far from one another; you could shoot an arrow across. There is a wild fig-tree growing from it, a tall tree covered with leaves; and Charybdis underneath swallows down the black water. Three times a day she spouts it out, three times a day she swallows it down: she is a terror-don’t you be there when she swallows” (Homer, 140)! Odysseus had to be very brave while facing these