Odysseus As An Epic Hero

Since the beginning of recorded history, man has been telling grand adventure stories; exciting tales of heroes defeating enemies, seeking treasure, and experiencing perilous tribulations. “The Odyssey”, by the Greek poet Homer, is one of the most famous epics to date. It follows the adventures of the Greek king, Odysseus, as he travels through the Mediterranean, trying to return home. The protagonist of an epic is called the “epic hero”, and he must exhibit certain characteristics to fulfill this title: he must represent the values of his culture, be either aided or hindered by the gods, and demonstrate one or more character flaws. Because he meets all three criteria, Odysseus can be considered the definitive epic hero. Odysseus clearly demonstrates the values important to Greek culture. For instance, cleverness is one of the characteristics he is most known for, outsmarting the cyclops is a great demonstration of cleverness; Odysseus gives the cyclops plenty of wine and then stabbed him in the eye. The other cyclops did not know who did this to Polyphemus, since Odysseus went by the name of “Nohbody”. Later, he placed his men under the sheep to hide them and rode to their freedom this was mentioned in book 9 lines 280-319. Next, he demonstrates his leadership by making the wise choice of guiding his men through Scylla. Circe told him that if they went through Charybdis they had no chance and all of his men would die. But if they went to Scylla, he would lose six men at the least if everything was carried out efficiently. The decision was up to him as said in book 12, lines 72-88. Telemachus ordered the bow to be given to Odysseus known as the beggar and once given he strung it in one move and accomplished the impossible task ,this demonstrated his strength as said in book 21, lines 105-114. Throughout the epic, Odysseus is both helped and hindered by several gods and goddesses. For example, Athena helps Odysseus and Telemachus to win against the suitors. She deflects suitors arrows and she urges Odysseus to battle. At last she helped them win and becomes visible to all as mentioned in book 21, in the summary on page 412. Zeus helped Odysseus by sending Hermes to Calypso’s island to release him. Calypso did not want to release him …show more content…
When Odysseus yells his name to the cyclops his arrogance is demonstrated. He yells his name when leaving the island, so the cyclops would know who ruined him. This shows his arrogance and ruins his entire trip home said in book 9, lines 415-419. Impulsivity is displayed when Odysseus guides his ship and men towards Helio’s island being aware that his men ivoke no self-control due to this his men eat the cattle. In result, Zeus sends down a thunderbolt to sink Odysseus ship, in which only he survives as payment of eating the cattle mentioned in book 12, said in the summary on page 398. Stubbornness is represented when Odysseus goes against Eurylochus’s advice to sail away. Eurylochus tells Odysseus some men have been turned into pigs and they should sail away from Circe’s Island. Odysseus goes against his advice which later provokes him and his men to stay on her island which delays there trip for about a year as spoken in book 10, on the summary of page