Odysseus As A Hero In Homer's The Odyssey

Homer’s epic The Odyssey is on the surface an exciting story of Odysseus’ quest to finish his journey home after the Trojan War, battling monsters, battling the gods and overcoming temptations from seductive goddess. Through this voyage home the Gods put Odysseus through many obstacles, which not only show his heroism but his exceptional wit and bravery (9. 413-431). On the surface Odysseus is a great leader who is at the same time feared and praised, and considered superior to his men and the suitors in his home (1. 65-67). In the first half of The Odyssey, Homer presents Odysseus as a brave hero who is of no fault and presents the theme as being immaculate and glorious is what makes a hero a hero. As the epic continues Homer depicts a hero as a person who has fault, but also having an exceptional trait (Odysseus’ leadership, Penelope’s patience, and Telemahos’ bravery) that helps the cause in which they believe. Homer uses the character of Odysseus to present an archetype hero, however he introduces characters of Penelope and Telemachos to debate whether the hero is one of glory or superiority; though the story mainly focuses on Odysseus, Homer presents these characters to show a hero may not be glorious or a main character but one who …show more content…
Throughout the story he believes his wit and his gift of the tongue has gotten him through. He says to Athene “nor did I know of your visiting my ship, to beat off some trouble from me” (13. 318- 320). Up until this point he gave no credit to Athene or the gods for his victories, but always congratulated himself by calling his name every time he completed a wonderful task. This flaw of his character is not glorious but does not take away from the need to see his wife; Odysseus could have easily given up on that island after Polyphemus cursed him but he traveled on in hopes of seeing his