A Man of Loyalty, Patience, and Determination In the epic poem The Odyssey, written by Homer, Odysseus’ heroic deeds are recounted through a narrative that describes his arduous journey from the Trojan War to his homeland of Ithaka. This journey makes Odysseus an epic hero. An epic hero is a brave and noble character who is admired for his achievements. Traits of an epic hero are necessary for the journey Odysseus goes on to reach his homeland. Loyalty is a trait exhibited when Odysseus jeopardizes his own life and goes to rescue his crewmen on Kirke’s island. Odysseus presents skillfulness when he plans to kill the suitors in a productive and quick way. Determination is displayed when Odysseus is on Kalypso’s island. He is so determined to get home and to escape Kalypso’s imprisonment that he says he would die rather than spend another moment on the island. Loyalty, cleverness, and …show more content…
He strings to bow to win the hand of Penelope, while still disguised as a beggar. Succeeding this, he shoots an arrow through the 12 sockets, shocking all of the suitors. Odysseus says “ now watch me hit a target that no man has hit before, 5/6 if I could take the shot help me Apollo.”(XXII. 5-6) Then he shoots Antinoos, in one shot. Odysseus executes it in a way so that the suitors think it's an accident. This quotation exhibits skillfulness because Odysseus announces that he is going to shoot antinoos just in a discrete way, but also says he is adept enough to do so . Odysseus’ skillfulness is this shown through the epithet “a man skilled in all ways of contending”(460). This epithet proves skillfulness because Odysseus uses his skillfulness ways to cleverly and quickly solve a problem, in this case the problem being the suitors’ disrespect and disloyal ways. Odysseus is skillful when executing his plan to kill the suitors and is smart and able when doing
While Odysseus demonstrates that he’s strategic throughout the story, he also displays that he’s arrogant; however, these traits make Odysseus survive his journey. One of Odysseus’s positive traits is being strategic, As Odysseus is in the cyclops’s house, he pours the cyclops three bowls of wine to get him drunk & the cyclops drinks the wine. Homer, Author of The Odyssey, demonstrates that Odysseus is strategic by clarifying “Three bowls I brought him & he poured them down”(569). Odysseus & his crew being trapped brought the strategic trait out of Odysseus by Odysseus needing to do something to get out of the cyclops’s house or else he and his crew would have died. In addition to Odysseus being strategic he’s also very loyal, Homer, Author of The Odyssey, demonstrates that Odysseus is loyal by portraying “Put heart in me to eat & drink, you may by freeing my companions, I must see them”(1.92.93).
When Odysseus came back home all the suitors were in the middle of trail and were still competing against each other. Odysseus being dramatic as he is, dressed up as a poor old man and faked to be someone else. He then grabbed the bow looking over it and soon after revealed who he was to all the men in the room. All the men were shook and tried to reason with Odysseus on why they shouldn’t be killed, but despite their pardons Odysseus kills all of them with no good heart as described in page 960, “He aimed and shot, and every shot brought down one of his buddling enemies.” A good hero would not have killed all the men just because they tried to marry his wife, but would forget about it and let them leave without being
Another way Odysseus was clever was when he disguised himself as an old man. The purpose for Odysseus disguising himself is because if he didn’t the suitors would have known it was him and would have tried to kill him.
In addition to this, his unwavering loyalty to his family is demonstrated in his willingness to endure the hardships that arise with escaping from Calypso, maintaining his willpower along the way. Odysseus has a sense of obligation to fulfill his duties and return to his family, to which he carries out by standing his ground against the goddess. Ultimately, demonstrating Odysseus’ loyalty and determination to return home, as well as his intelligence in knowing that staying on the island will not bring him true
After intruding in an archery competition and hitting the target straight on, Odysseus begins to brag about his skill. After he had hit the target he turns and says, “‘ Telemakhos, the stranger you welcomed in your hall has not disgraced you. I did not miss, neither did I take all day stringing the bow. My hand and eye are sound, not so contemptible as the young say.’” ( Fitzgerald 405)
Odysseus acts quick, as soon as he shoots the arrow through the axes he fires a arrow through Antinous’ neck. The image that Homer paints with the words he choses make this scene incredibly graphic and gory. Homer describes how the blood spurts out of Antinous’ neck and how he falls and knocks over his food. As the fighting rages on, Telemachus forgets to lock the storage
Odysseus, the king of Ithaca, is a man that is looked at as a celebrity by humans because of his skillful fighting, and by the gods because of his intelligence and wits. The king went through numerous tasks and obstacles to get back to his homeland. One task in particular proves his power and the love he has for his loyal and wise wife, Penelope. Looking at lines four hundred fifty-one through four hundred seventy-one, the moment Odysseus, while disguised by the God Athena, proves to the suitors and workers that he is the rightful husband, king, and lord by stringing his own bow and shooting it through twelve axes; the task was quick and perfect for Odysseus.
Its point passed through his tender neck.” This quote clearly supported the revenge and justice Odysseus was seeking on the suitors. It shows the how brutal Odysseus was and just how
His first trait is being exceptionally skilled continued with cleverness and bravery. Despite Odysseus’s challenges he proves himself a hero because of the actions that show him as skilled, clever and brave. Odysseus is exceptionally skilled in many ways aiding him from each challenge to the next. When Odysseus is trapped in the cave with the Cyclops he decides to us his skills to make a stake to blind the monster, “[He] hewed [the stake] again to make a stake with a point at the end.” (Homer.
An epic hero is someone who is characterized commonly on their nobility and bravery. However ,there are more attributes epic heros can posses. For example Odysseus, the protagonist in Homer's retelling of “The Odyssey”, shows many forms of excessive arrogance and pomposity. After conquering Troy, Odysseus and his men set off on their way home.
Because in the beginning he was impulsive and arrogant, he set himself up for a journey of miseries, and in this quote he asks the gods to release him from those miseries. He has never asked that before and always thought he was better than the gods themselves. After being humbled, put in rags, and put through many hardships, Odysseus finds that he is not the most important being and becomes more humble because of this. When the suitors are trying to win Penelope’s heart they are tasked to string Odysseus’s bow and shoot it through axes. Odysseus waits for most of the suitors to attempt to string
Jason Sierra Professor Williams 5 October 2014 Word Count: 752 Odysseus: An Epic Hero The definition of a hero is a person with supernatural abilities at performing specific tasks that normal people cannot typically achieve. In the epic poem called “The Odyssey” written by a poet named Homer, there is a character named Odysseus who contains these characteristics.
The Odyssey by Homer is a book that involves the Journey of Odysseus and his men and the Obstacles they come across. The Odyssey portrays many themes including vengeance, hospitality, courage, bravery and more. Odysseus experiences some good and bad during his journey. He comes across people who help him, but also comes across creatures who hold him back. Odysseus is an Epic hero because of his quick thinking skills, bravery, and confidence for himself and his men.
Well the definition of an epic hero is, “a brave and noble character in an epic poem, admired for great achievements or affected by grand events. ”(Dictionary.com) If that doesn’t describe Odysseus, I don’t know what does. He risks his life in many circumstances, and he’s widely admired for being the one of the reasons the trojans won the war. He is also affected by lots of events throughout his adventures.
The Epic Hero of The Odyssey The Odyssey is a tale of a great hero trying to get home. An epic hero. An epic hero is a courageous and honorable person. Homer’s character Odysseus exemplifies this in many ways.