Odysseus As An Epic Hero

888 Words4 Pages
In many texts, such as The Odyssey and Jason and the Golden Fleece, there are epic heroes that must complete a daunting mission or journey while experiencing a significant growth of self along the way. Are all epic heroes strong, smart, and brave, or is some of their success due to luck? The answer to this question is simple, the success of epic heroes belongs only to the Gods. In each of these Greek epics the invocation of the muse is the basis of any prosperity. These heroes were not always smart, not always strong and not always brave, but each one of them had one major thing in common, this being Gods that were urging them to press forward and triumph. Many severe trials faced these heroes, and in many cases, these heroes did not act…show more content…
In this story Odysseus is not always brave. Bravery is not always easy to come by, in fact, even the great Odysseus shows elements of cowardice. For example, in The Odyssey Odysseus faked madness to avoid war, instead of finding a way to aid his people, he stayed in this tent, sulking over the loss of his good friend. There is no greater example of faintheartedness from the epic hero. Odysseus also showed a time of cowardice when he fights as a pirate, in a cheating way. A true hero would never cheat, this fighting is a pure example of cowardice. The success that Odysseus achieves is from none other than the gods and…show more content…
For Odysseus, Athena disguises herself as a beggar to give him advice, Zeus cracked a clap of thunder to let Odysseus come home. Hermes gives Odysseus Moly so Circe won’t make him an animal, then persuades Calypso to let Odysseus return home. Apollo deflects arrows coming toward Odysseus, Aeolus, the god of wind gives a bag of wind to Odysseus to aid in his travels home. And finally, Zephyr, the god of the west wind abets Odysseus in giving winds to sail him home. Without the gods and goddesses in his journey, Odysseus would have failed miserably, indeed, this luck came from an outside force. In Hercules’s journey he too was helped by the gods. The Titan Atlas assisted Hercules retrieve the apples of Hesperides. Without this aid, Hercules would’ve not been successful in his journey, this is luck from gods, not based off of his own
Open Document