Preview

Character Analysis Of Odysseus In The Odyssey

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
491 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Character Analysis Of Odysseus In The Odyssey
Odysseus is a hero. Despite him sleeping with other women, Calypso and Circe, he was very protective of his wife, son, and his men. He gets most of his men home safe to their families and he gets himself home to his own son and wife. In The Odyssey Odysseus blinds Polyphemus, angering Poseidon, Polyphemus’s father. Poseidon in return gives him and his men a harder time getting the rest of the way home. In the book after visiting the islands of Aeolus it quotes, “See what fine prizes he is taking from Troy,” Odysseus’s men said, “yet we come back empty handed. And now Aeolus [the god of the winds] has given him even more. Quick, let us see how much gold and silver is in the sack. They opened the sack, [gifted to Odysseus, not

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    I believe that Odysseus fits the stereotype when it comes to following the man box. I say this because he does cry but he also doesn’t back down from a challenge. Odysseus is weeping on the island of Ogygia and showing his emotions. The book picks up when they “found him there on the the head land, sitting still, weeping, his eyes never dry.”(Book 5 line 167) This quote shows that he is not listening to the ingredients that are in the man box, which is to never cry and express his emotions. He does show that he is a superior man even after being beat up by the waves. He shows that he’s not afraid and he will stand up to challengers “ up he sprang, cloak and all, sized a discus, huge and heavy, more weight by far than those.”(Book 8 line 216-217)…

    • 197 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Odysseus, in The Odyssey by Homer, and I both demonstrate determination in many different ways. The first example is when they stopped at the land of the Lotus Eaters. The men that ate the lotus wanted to stay on the land because they were addicted to the lotus, but Odysseus, the great leader, would never let that happen. He said, “I drove them, all three wailing, to the ships, tied them down under their rowing benches” and told the rest not to eat the Lotus or they would lose their wishes of wanting to return home (898). This shows Odysseus’s committed and driven state of mind in the way that he would not leave any man behind, and he knew he needed to help them up on the ship and return them home safely. In addition, Circe warned Odysseus…

    • 403 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the epic myth The Odyssey, written by Homer, Odysseus takes a twenty year long and perilous journey back to his homeland Ithaka. He must face many physical and mental challenges that makes him worthy of being a hero. The physical qualities that possess an epic hero include immense gallantness and dexterity. This can be seen when “Odysseus had blinded god-like Polyphemus, the mighty cyclops who was Poseidon’s son” (Rosenberg 78). Cyclopes are gigantic and man-eating. To face such a powerful, terrifying monster one must be extremely valiant, a trait that as you can see Odysseus possesses. A task like this also reguires a lot of skill, one must be clever because strength alone will not suffice against a Cyclops. The mental traits that epic…

    • 208 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Homer’s Odyssey is an ancient epic revolving around Greek hero Ulysses who began traveling home to Ithica after warring against the city Troy, Turkey. Journeying our hero, with crew encounter numerous perils including: blinding the man-eating Cyclopes Polyphemus, being transformed by enchantress Circe, hearing maddeningly fatal Siren’s song, and many more exhilarating encounters. Ten years pass during which time suitors try marrying Penelope but her cunning actions keep them at bay. She lastly is forced claiming “I will wed any man capable of stringing my late husband’s bow. Some unknown beggar completes this task then kills all usurpers present, revealing himself as the protagonist. Finally after a decade lovers…

    • 110 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Odysseus. A name known by some as a glorious hero and known by others as a trickster who uses intricate schemes. During the story of The “Cyclops”, and many stories before it, Odysseus goes on a many adventures and creates many sticky situations for himself in which he finds ways to gets out of. “In the next land [what] we found were Cyclopes, giants, louts, without a law to bless them” (1050). Odysseus knows that the cavemen are uncouth and aggressive, yet he chooses to enter the cave- endangering himself and his men. A man who jeopardizes his crew's safety and does many other tricks, is a man who is not a true ideal.…

    • 667 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Though Odysseus had many adventures, the most important quality is that he was very smart about the strategies that he would use to complete his tasks at hand. This resourcefulness is important because it helped him survive his encounter with the Cyclops and Circe when she tried to keep him for her own.…

    • 369 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Odysseus has long been known as classic epic hero, and, coupled with that, the perfect portrayal of ancient Greek values. However, there is another character in The Odyssey who displays these values more accurately—Odysseus’ son, Telemakhos.…

    • 435 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    On the subject of heroism, Maya Angelou once wrote that “I think a hero is any person really intent on making this a better place for all people” (Angelou). The general picture that comes to mind when the word “hero” is said is the idea of Superman or Wonder Woman; however, a true hero is anyone who tries to make their world a better place. Odysseus, the hero in Homer’s epic poem The Odyssey, fought in the Trojan War and embarked on a ten year journey to return to his kingdom, Ithaca. During his quest to return home, he encounters many supernatural forces that show both his heroic, and not so heroic actions. He faces countless challenges, meets new people, and has to make sacrifices for the overall benefit of his crew (Bowler and Homer 645-705).…

    • 1620 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Flaws In The Odyssey

    • 459 Words
    • 2 Pages

    "Cyclops, if any mortal man ever asks you who it was that inflicted upon your eye this shameful blinding, tell him that you were blinded by Odysseus, sacker of cities. Laertes is his father, and he makes his home on Ithaca” (Homer 500-505). Homer’s work of historical fiction, The Odyssey, is the sequel to his earlier story The Iliad. The Odyssey follows Odysseus after the events of the 10 year Trojan war and his long journey home. He clashes with many monsters and it always seems that his pride gets the better of him. The quote above is Odysseus bragging to Polyphemus that he had blinded him, showing how prominent his ego is after clashing with the cyclops. This ego and several other mistakes lead to Odysseus’s entire crew being dead and taking 20 years to return home. Odysseus is not a hero. He was unfaithful to his wife and all of his crew is dead.…

    • 459 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Odysseus’s tale has been told several times, and most depict him as an epic hero. In fact, he shows several qualities one finds in classic Greek heroes, such as Achilles, Hercules, and Theseus. Like most epic heroes, Odysseus has been mostly harmed by the gods. From him angering Poseidon by blinding his Cyclopes son Prometheus, to Zeus striking down his ship, Odysseus did not have the gods on his side during his journey home. Athena, however, aided him when he arrived to his homeland. Although she did not help during his travels, Athena assisted Odysseus in his battle against the suitors in his kingdom. She was one of the only goddesses on his side. Odysseus also possesses the personal qualities of an epic hero. He is confident and cunning,…

    • 160 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the spiritual sense Odysseus is a hero, because he remains faithful and loyal to his wife and household. Although he has been wandering away from home for almost twenty years, the only thing that…

    • 760 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Why Odysseus Is A Hero

    • 682 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Odysseus is in many ways a hero. He is a good guy that the gods decided to mess with. He was tested and came out on top. He is a leader the fights for what he believes in. He does what is important to him. He wanted to to go home. In the end he finally made it to the place where he always wanted to be. He…

    • 682 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Odysseus In The Odyssey

    • 142 Words
    • 1 Page

    In the Odyssey of Homer Odysseus was a legendary Greek king of Ithaca and the hero in this epic poem. His adventures after the even that occurred in Trojan is what made Odysseus a hero. An episode that occurred while on this adventure is when Odysseus and his crew end up sailing to the land of Cyclops, where they discover a cave filled with cheese, milk, and a herd of sheep. Polyphemus, the Cyclops who resides in the cave, arrives to find these unexpected visitors who he ultimately entraps and devours two of his men. Odysseus comes up with a way in which he would be able to outsmart the Cyclops, escape, and put no more harm to his men or him. This episode was made into several representations in different artistic mediums that would emphasize…

    • 142 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In a middle of things, Odysseus is a “pleasure” slave of a goddess temptress, Calypso. She wants Odysseus because he is handsome, strong and clever, all of the characteristics of a hero. In the text, the god messenger, Hermes, gives Calypso a letter from Zeus to have Odysseus freed. Calypso did not want to give up Odysseus, but she had to. This makes Odysseus heroic because a goddess wants a mortal being for eternity.…

    • 396 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    journey also started mine. While following Odysseus I learned many things, one of them being, family is the most important thing. Odysseus defeats all his enemies and overcomes all obstacles in order to return to his wife Penelope and son Telemachuse. He was brave when he fought and he was smart, always making plans ahead of time. His journey also taught me to be patient; Odysseus waited ten years to be reunited with his family. For now unto the last part of Odysseus and his journey. I was watching from. It seemed as if Circumspect Penelope had given up on Odysseus return because she was hosting a competition and winner would win her hand in marriage. I only heard about this from some rumors so on the day of the competition I went to see using…

    • 262 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays