The Heroic Character Of Odysseus In Homer's Odyssey

In our enormous world, powerful beings are sculpted by artists and authors of all sorts to express the exquisiteness that is heroism. In the epic poem The Odyssey, the main character Odysseus faces multiple trials consecutively, in an attempt to reach his homeland Ithaca. During these trials, he also demonstrates a very obvious and apparent heroic nature, which is seen throughout the epic. From an objective standpoint, there are several cases from the beginning to the end where he develops his heroic character through displaying courage and intellect, and proves himself as an early established “hero”, in the world of literature.
In the beginning of The Odyssey, Odysseus shows multiple traits that prove he is heroic. One example is located in …show more content…
When Odysseus is fighting Scylla and Charybdis, he shouts to his men: “Heads up lads! We must obey the orders as I give them” in order to keep them under control in the dangerous situation (Homer 885). The reason this is important is because he was warning his men ahead of time of the impending danger around them. This is heroic, because while he was aware the men would die, he decided to do the most he could to help without alarming anyone too much. This also shows his heroism, because he’s giving commands to his men in order to help keep everyone alive and safe—though he’s aware there will be many casualties. After Odysseus returns to Ithaca, Odysseus has finally reunited with his son, and says to him: “This is not princely, to be swept away by wonder at your father's presence. No other Odysseus will ever come, for he and I are one, the same; his bitter 1050 fortune and his wanderings are mine. Twenty years gone, and I am back again on my own island”, and afterwards, both share a happy reunion together for a short time (Homer 898). The reason this demonstrates his heroism is a little less obvious here. Instead of cunningness or strength, he is simply demonstrating his deep love for his son, which is certainly a deep trait within heroes. Along with this, his flamboyant way of speaking almost solidifies how deep his sorrow was, not being …show more content…
One example of this, is that one of the character traits of Odysseus, his persistence, can still be found in the personalities of heroes like Superman. Odysseus, in the story, never lets his goal slip out of mind—returning home to Ithaca. This strong will and perseverance to do what is right is also seen in the hero Superman, where he chooses to fight until he achieves his end goal. Also, this persistence shows the similarities between older and newer heroes because it applies also to characters like Harry Potter, where which he chooses to do his hardest to defend his friends at all costs in the story. Another trait, is Odysseus’ calm intellect in the situations with his men and what they encounter. Like Odysseus, the hero Sherlock Holmes is also a logical and intellectual character, which he demonstrates through his detective work. Separately, Katniss Everdeen is also very similar, only she demonstrates her smartness and cleverness while fighting strategically for her life in the Hunger Games. Lastly, his third trait involves how he handles his problems in The Odyssey with extreme care and thought. There are many heroes in our day who demonstrate this careful planning, but the character called the Doctor is a very significant example. The Doctor is someone who almost always has a plan, and if he doesn’t have one, can create one very quickly—similar to Odysseus’ fight with the