Homer's Odyssey: What Makes A Hero

John Smith
Mrs. Smith
English 1-D, H
20 January 2013
What makes a hero? A hero, in society’s eyes, possesses supernatural powers and demonstrates his justification of good and evil. But what really makes a hero? The Greeks had a well-specified idea of what attributes a hero needs. In the epic poem, The Odyssey, Homer provides insight in the Ancient Greek civilization’s concept of a hero as one who possesses bravery and intelligence, yet also flaws. Primarily, Homer does an amazing job demonstrating the bravery of heroes that the Greeks praised. The main character, Odysseus, has an established reputation as a well-experienced warrior. He deploys many attacks against his enemies with almost no fear. He also fears no man, or giant for any matter,
and says his thoughts without any thoughts of the repercussions that may occur.
During his journey back home, he encountered a giant, Polyphemus. This giant murders four of his soldiers and Odysseus does not stand for it. He purposefully drunkens the giant and yells at him “You barbarian!” “What you’ve done outrages all that’s right!” (Homer 9. 391-395). Although he makes sure that the Cyclops is drunk, he still yells ferociously at him, like no man has ever dared. Only a real hero would try to get revenge for his mates with no fear of consequences or of living beings. A real hero would also not worry in the face of danger, because danger only emphasizes what heroes are capable of containing. Another example of Odysseus’s bravery shows when he is finally fighting the suitors for courting his wife. Odysseus attacks one of them, consequently, allowing others to rally insults at Odysseus. He doesn’t
mind that his actions can “cost (him) (his) life” (Homer 22.27-31), but he still manages to fight every single one of them, and win. Odysseus stared into the faces of death with a mere grin and still survived. Ancient Greek society depended on heroes to come through the many obstacles in front of them. Heroes like Odysseus were successful in that criterion, and therefore were approved by the Greeks. That is one reason why many Greeks believed him to be a great hero. Additionally, Homer displays Odysseus’s cunningness, throughout the poem, that the Greeks respect and endorse. Odysseus proves his knavishness with many acts of trickery that deceive others, but aid him. Referring back to Book 9, Homer fluently deceives Polyphemus as “Nobody.” (Homer 9. 410) With this one name uttered, Polyphemus drunkenly accepts it without any suspicion unlike any normal man who wouldn’t. Odysseus successfully tricks the Cyclops into believing a false name! His ingeniousness enhances how he portrays the hero, which the Greeks value, by utilizing bravery and craftiness. Later, Odysseus lays his ace trick with his son as a final attempt to return home with no suitors. Odysseus does encourage Telemachus to “win them over with friendly words” (Homer 16. 298-327). But knowing, that they will not heed the advice, he recalls his entire plan of battle to Telemachus so they will not lose that battle. In the end, Odysseus does indeed win as planned, only because of his guileful plot and heroic bravery. Consequently, every hero has a tragic flaw and Odysseus remains no exception. His reckless behavior exposes that to the audience of this epic poem. Throughout the poem he displayed his arrogant attitude to every man and woman he passed. Even though he cunningly planned his escape and deceived the giant into believing that he was “Nobody”, Odysseus told Polyphemus to “say Odysseus” (Homer 9. 560) to anyone who asks how he Polyphemus became blinded. Therefore, he released his name due to his reckless arrogance. Poseidon heard his son’s cries and because of that, he cursed Odysseus and reeked havoc on his journey home. The Greeks did not, necessarily, uphold this view, but alas, every hero needs one flaw and Homer could not allow Odysseus to evade it. The Greeks did enjoy his hubris because it brought out Odysseus’s brave personality. Odysseus was also reckless by the many acts of “mount(ing)” (Homer 10. 380) many ladies’ beds. In the situation of Circe, he stayed with her for over a year and wasted away instead of going back home, due to the fact that he constantly feels the need to show off or not care about, for what seems like to him, trivial matters. Conclusively, Odysseus has a tragic flaw: Reckless behavior, and it controls him more than it should. All in all, Homer’s The Odyssey does indeed play to the Greeks’ heroes ‘ values by focusing on many points of Odysseus, the main hero. His poem provides a powerful insight into how Greeks expected their heroes to act like, which surprisingly shows similarities to modern society today. Today many heroes, war veterans and such, are brave, cunning, and end up receiving some painful memories or a brutal reminder of their experiences. This poem connects to the world today as a reminder of ancient customs that have still been kept alive.