Odysseus: A Hero In Homer's The Odyssey

731 Words3 Pages
“A hero is somebody who voluntarily walks into the unknown”(brainyquotes.com) As stated by the famous actor, Tom Hanks. This shows that a hero is someone that can walk into a situation they have never been or put himself through something they may not want to. In Odysseus’ elongated adventure in The Odyssey, Homer, the author, depicts Odysseus to fulfill the description of a hero perfectly throughout the epic. He is brave, cunning, and loyal, all important traits of a hero. One major trait of Odysseus is his bravery in many situations. One main fight he has with his crew is Scylla and Charybdis (Book 12). He shows extreme bravery while sailing through a cave that he was told is very dangerous. This cave was home to the six headed serpent, Scylla.…show more content…
One event that Odysseus showed bravery in was his encounter with the island of the lotus eaters (Book 9).When Odysseus sends two men to scout the island and they do not return he went for them. When he found them, they were completely oblivious of their surroundings Odysseus used quick thinking and wits to quickly separate them, bring them to the ship and tie them up preventing them from escaping. Another instance of his smart and careful planning helps his escape Polyphemus. After wandering into a cyclops’ cave they find themselves trapped, but Odysseus has a plan (Book 9). Instead of doing something ignorant he is patient which is very smart of him. They get Polyphemus drunk to the point where he passes out. Then they sharpen a club into a point, heat it and stab him in the eye so he is blind. When his fellow brothers ask who is hurting him, he replys “nobody” because Odysseus told him that was his name which was cunning of him.”Nobody, friends— Polyphemus bellowed back from his cave— Nobody’s killing me now by fraud and not by force”(9.454-455). Knowing he will let his sheep out in the morning they attach themselves under the sheep and ride out to their ship and sail away. These two events show not only that Odysseus is smart be he can think fast and save his
Open Document