Odysseus Is A Hero Essay

Odysseus The Hero Since there have been vast changes over the years on what is considered morally and socially correct, people have started to question whether or not Odysseus, from The Odyssey by Homer, should be considered a hero. Before we can answer this question, we must first ask ourselves; what makes a hero? In my personal opinion, a hero is someone who is able to make an effort to help rescue someone in some way. In the Odyssey, Odysseus does everything he can to save his crew from their demise and although he is only able to save himself, he made a valiant effort to save them. Odysseus is a hero because even though he was much too prideful for his own good, he still does everything he can to save everyone, and he is exceptionally …show more content…
In Particular, When Odysseus finds out about the several suitors in his house, he does not cower in fear from them, but fights back. “Telemachus lets Odysseus know that they face more than 100 suitors. Odysseus tells Telemachus to return home. He will follow- still disguised as an old man- and Telemachus must pretend not to know him”(Homer 16. Narration). Even though Odysseus finds out about the dangers he faces in his own house, he does not run away, and he musters up the courage needed to fight back so that he can protect Penelope and Telemachus again. Furthermore, In book 9, Odysseus was able to triumph over the cyclops, Polyphemus, by stabbing him in his eye when he could have just gotten on his good side and left everyone else for dead. “So with our brand we bored that great eye socket white blood ran out around the red hot bar. Eyelid and lash were seared; the pierced ball hissed broiling and the roots popped” (Homer 9. 296-299) Odysseus was willing to be brave and take the risk of being the one to stab Polyphemus. If he had missed somehow, he would have be eaten alive instantly. Because of Odysseus’ sacrifice, he could be considered a