Odysseus: A Hero
“Have we never been in danger before this?/ More fearsome, is it now, than when the cyclops penned us in his cave? What power he had!/ Did I not keep my nerve, and use my wits to find a way out for us?” (Homer 526). This long narrative poem is written about Odysseus and it clearly displays the adventures of a hero, not a fool as he faces against great odds. In the epic poem The Odyssey by Homer, Odysseus is a hero because of his strength, intelligence and loyalty.
Odysseus stands out among all others because of his physical strength. Penelope who is Odysseus’s wife has set up a challenge for her suitors, knowing that Odysseus is the only one with such strength, “Bend and string it if you can. Who sends an arrow/ through iron axe-helve sockets, twelve in a line” (548). His crew and the people of Ithaca, where Odysseus is king, all admire Odyssey for his strength, one of a great fighter. To them, he is their hero because he uses his strength to fight and protect his men and family. People not only respect Odysseus’s god-like strength but also his intelligence. He is assisted in situations by gods and goddesses like Hermes and Athena but is quite capable of using his own intelligence to get out of trouble. He …show more content…
Overall, Odysseus is a hero because of his strength, intelligence, and loyalty. It is clear that, at least by the Greeks’ standards and expectations of a hero Odysseus meets all those points. Afterall, there would not be a story about him if he is not a hero, epics are meant to tell the adventures of a hero who goes against great odds, which is what Odysseus is described of doing. The definition of a hero of the Greeks’ perfectly describe Odysseus and that is what makes him a hero, he does not classify as a hero to all, but to his crew and those who know him, he is their
Odysseus stands out among all others because of his physical strength. Penelope who is Odysseus’s wife has set up a challenge for her suitors, knowing that Odysseus is the only one with such strength, “Bend and string it if you can. Who sends an arrow/ through iron axe-helve sockets, twelve in a line” (548). His crew and the people of Ithaca, where Odysseus is king, all admire Odyssey for his strength, one of a great fighter. To them, he is their hero because he uses his strength to fight and protect his men and family. People not only respect Odysseus’s god-like strength but also his intelligence. He is assisted in situations by gods and goddesses like Hermes and Athena but is quite capable of using his own intelligence to get out of trouble. He …show more content…
Overall, Odysseus is a hero because of his strength, intelligence, and loyalty. It is clear that, at least by the Greeks’ standards and expectations of a hero Odysseus meets all those points. Afterall, there would not be a story about him if he is not a hero, epics are meant to tell the adventures of a hero who goes against great odds, which is what Odysseus is described of doing. The definition of a hero of the Greeks’ perfectly describe Odysseus and that is what makes him a hero, he does not classify as a hero to all, but to his crew and those who know him, he is their