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
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Throughout Homer’s “The Odyssey‚” Odysseus’ actions and choices are the driving point of the plot. When he and his crew encounter Polyphemus the Cyclops‚ he tries to secure his legacy by shouting his real name‚ and giving other important information away. The Cyclops prays that a curse befall him and his friends and Poseidon hears him. After this‚ half of Odysseus’ men are turned into swine when they encounter an enchantress and give into temptation‚ and though no men are killed‚ the crew is again
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Odysseus and Penelope Once the suitors had been defeated and Odysseus emerged triumphant‚ Eurycleia scurried to Penelope’s side to declare the return of Odysseus and the fall of the suitors. A doubting Penelope had a hunch that the gods were trying to deceive her. She settled to test this victorious man who claimed to be her husband. “Penelope‚ you must rise at once. Your husband is home—Odysseus is home! After twenty years‚ he has returned for you!” I exclaimed. “No. You’re wrong. It can’t be right—that’s
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The Lotus Eaters We won the Trojan war! Thanks to Odysseus and his heroic intelligence we tricked those Trojan’s right into letting us in their kingdom and by now we were already sailing home to share the wonderful news. I was so thankful to have survived the war and couldn’t wait to be back home with my family again. I wanted to share all my stories and tell them how the great Odysseus won the Trojan war with a huge wooden horse. It was our third day straight of rowing. My body was shot. I
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Everyone faces struggles at some point in their life‚ no matter if you are a hero from an old mythical story or a modern day person living in Iowa. Even though the struggles faced by Odysseus and me are different‚ they have a common overlapping theme that ties them together. Which causes them in turn to be in fact very comparable. Both Odysseus and I face obstacles such as temptation‚ laziness‚ and distraction. Although his obstacles come from his want to go back home to Ithaca‚ mine are from my
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Persuasive techniques and a powerful refusal in Iliad Book IX From the outset‚ Homer concentrates his epic Iliad on the wrath of Achilles and probes the values and attitudes of him as a hero. Ìçíéí áåéäå‚ èåá‚ Ðçëçéáäåù Á÷éëçïò Sing‚ goddess‚ of the wrath of Achilles‚ son of Peleus (BI.1). Homer first draws our attention to the heated dispute between two individuals‚ Achilles and Agamemnon‚ rather than the Trojan War itself in order to highlight their significance and also his focus. Achilles’
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Beowulf and Odysseus have much in common as would be expected. When Beowulf is first introduced to the reader‚ he is described as being the mightiest man in Geatland‚ “There was no one else like him alive. In his day‚ he was the mightiest man on earth‚ high-born and powerful‚” (Heaney 15). Odysseus could be described very similarly‚ the mightiest man in Greece and also the smartest man in Greece. Also‚ the two of them are both on great quests‚ Beowulf to defeat Grendel and Odysseus to return home
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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
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or ’revelation’ not only of a person but also of what that person stood for and it is the critical moment in a Greek tragedy leading to the denouement of a story. In heroic myth‚ anagnorismos is the recognition of a hero at the end of his quest by other another person. A hero can experience anagnorismos by bringing back objects from his quest proving his heroic deed. For example‚ Perseus Polydectes recognizes that Perseus has accomplished the task that he sent him out to do with the intention
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none more so than Odysseus of The Odyssey. His quest to return to Ithaca and reunite with his family spawns a host of challenging tests and trials‚ driving him perilously close to the breaking point. Yet in the end‚ these difficulties transform a minor character from The Iliad into one of the most daring and enduring figures of literary history. Without such challenges‚ Odysseus would never have evolved beyond the ranks of ordinary men and would never have become a true hero. Odysseus’s journey
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