The Odysseus: A True Hero

When people think of a hero they think of a good looking, strapping man wearing tights and a cape with powers that will save you when you are in trouble. When it comes to Homer’s Odysseus in The Odyssey he has the looks but not the powers, tights or the cape. What makes him a hero is how well rounded he is. A great hero has to have three traits, they have to be strong, smart, and sensitive and Odysseus has all three.
First of all Odysseus has the most important trait needed to be a hero, strength. It took strength to drive a stake through the eye of the Cyclops Polyphemus. This blinded the giant, and allowed his men to escape. When Charybdis, the whirlpool monster, attacked his ship Odysseus was able to hold on to a fig tree and survive while
Odysseus relies on his mind more than he does his strength. He is smart enough to know that he cannot overpower Polyphemus when trapped in his cave so Odysseus uses his stupidity against him. Odysseus outwitted him by calling out "Nobody is my name. My father and mother call me Nobody, as do all the others who are my companions" (), Polyphemus takes the bait thus allowing Odysseus to blind him. Odysseus also uses his craftiness by disguising himself and creating a plan to end up with the suitors locked in a room with him so he can kill them one by one. If Odysseus wasn’t clever he would not have been able to accomplish all that he has.
Lastly, a characteristic that proves Odysseus is a great hero is his sensitivity. He is often moved to tears, while he is a prisoner on the island with Calypso, he yearned to be home with wife Penelope and son Telemachus. Missing them gives him so much pain that Calypso would often notice Odysseus, "...sitting in his usual place on the stone, wearing out his soul with lamentation and tears." (). He reserves this sensitivity for the people closest to him that he trusts the most. His sensitivity reveals that he is human and humans can be sad when they are away from their