The Tragic Hero In Homer's Odyssey

Register to read the introduction… Unfortunately, to reach their home, they were forced to sail directly between these two dangerous hazards. Odysseus was left with a huge dilemma. Should he sail closer to Scylla or Charybdis? He chose to go closer to Scylla, and this showed how he could make major decisions under great pressure anticipating a succesful out come. If they had gone near Charybdis, all of them would have most likely drowned. Since they were forced to go towards Scylla, it was almost certain that six men would be snagged by the monster, but this would be better than everyone in the crew dying. Odysseus chose not to tell his crew of this risk though. He did this for the welfare of everyone. If he had told them, they all would have gone and hid under the deck, leaving the ship to be sucked in by the whirlpool. Odysseus did what he had to do as the leader. Even though this was deceitful, he only lost six men compared to everyone. This event highlights many of his heroic qualities, such as bravery, foresight, intelligence, and leadership.
     All of these events obviously show what made Odysseus a great epic hero. Some of the characteristics that make up an epic hero are great fighting skills, intelligence, bravery, strength, and resourcefulness. Odysseus has shown all of these qualities, and was able to avoid the wrath of the Gods because he was a hero. He refused to back down to anyone. Odysseus kept on fighting for twenty straight years just to make it back home, and he succeeded in doing this.      Had Odysseus' overbearing self-pride not affronted the gods, the many obstacles placed in his path to prevent he and his crew from arriving home in a timely manner would never had existed. By his ability to overcome the many difficulties created by the gods, he showed that his pride may not have been misplaced.