What makes Odysseus a Hero Essays - Odyssey, Ancient Greek Religion

What makes Odysseus a Hero What makes a hero? The epic The Odyssey tells the story of a hero named Odysseus. Odysseus is the king of Ithica, Greece. There are many ways to identify heroes, superheros, tragic heroes, and epic heroes. Odysseus was an epic hero, defined by qualities through the epic. One of the characteristics of an epic hero is to have courage. Odysseus clearly shows this when he was in the Cyclopes cave. The way he reacted when faced with danger, was relaxed and calm, Odysseus was ready to fight. He came up with a smart scheme and escaped the Cyclops. Bravery is a quality of a hero because without courage, man cannot complete the journey of being a hero. Along with being brave, an epic hero must have physical strength. Odysseus shows his strength when he throws a discus. At the Olympics many men were competing and they asked him to join. Knowing his strength he humbly said no, but he was bullied a bit, and threw the discus. The discus went tremendously far, and no one challenged him anymore. Strength is required to defeat humans and to overthrow monsters. Scylla is a monster with 12 legs, six heads, and three rows of teeth, with an urge to eat humans. Charybdis is a monster that drinks the ocean and also swallows boats in the process to get back home to Ithica Odysseus and his crew must pass by these two monsters. In the process, Scylla kills six of his men and the rest of the crew makes it out alive. This is vital to the formation of Odysseus as a hero because to be a hero man must battle demons or monsters. Monsters are an important part of Greek mythology so the specification of battling against a monster is seen as a vital part of being an epic hero. While Scylla and Charybdis were seen as vicious monsters, many forget about the murderous nymphs The Sirens. These were sea nymphs that would use their beautiful singing to lure in men, and then kill them. Odysseus was told to but bees wax in the ears of himself and the crew. Instead, Odysseus took an unnecessary risk and listened to them. He did this because he wanted to be the only man to hear them and live, showing how he accepts challenges and invites problems, and takes unnecessary risks. To be an epic hero Odysseus had to descend into the underworld. There Odysseus gets advice on how to complete his journey. While in the underworld he meets one of his dead crewmen. The crewman speaks of how he was not buried and tells Odysseus to give him a proper burial. When Odysseus leaves the underworld, he does go back and bury the man. This shows his value of honor he respected what he was told and did the morally right task. While Odysseus was a man of most his morals, he did not do the right things at times. One of the characteristics of an epic hero is encounter women who tempt him. Odysseus was tempted by calypso but did not choose to be adulterous, but calypso forced him against his will. Calypso was later punished her actions, but she was angry because of a double standard for gods and goddess. Odysseus met Circe was tempted, and stayed with her for a year. A hero is a man of great strength and contains physical appeal, so the idea of women trying to seduce him, would prove as a common happening. Some women helped Odysseus in a beneficial way. Athena, the goddess, proved as a source of advice, and protection, through Odysseus journey. One of the ways she helped Odysseus was when he was trapped with Calypso. Athena urges her father to help Odysseus out, and Zeus sends Hermes to Calypso to release Odysseus so he can return home. Athena often makes Odysseus appear younger, stronger, and more attractive for many reasons. When he was put in a situation with fighting between men, appearing stronger and younger would provide a sense of fear, which would help Odysseus win. Also when Odysseus arrives home Athena makes him appear as an old man, a beggar. This lets him