The Odyssey: An Epic By Homer Essay, Research Paper

The Odyssey: An Epic By Homer

What do you consider to be a hero? What traits should a hero have? My hero is Odysseus. In The Odyssey by Homer, Odysseus proves to be a true epic hero through his intelligence, bravery, and loyalty.

One way that Odysseus uses his intelligence is to help his men. For instance, He puts beeswax in all of his crew s ears when passing the Sirens. The epic states Going forward I carried wax along the line, and laid it thick on their ears (Homer 706). This helps them get past the Sirens successfully. Also, his intelligence helps him handle difficult situations. Like when they are in the Land of the Lotus Eaters, he only sends out three of his men so that everybody wouldn t eat the flower. In his story, Odysseus says Then I sent out two picked men and a runner to learn what race of men that land sustained (Homer 685). Even though the three men ate the flower, the other men were able to get them back on the ship. Odysseus is not only an epic hero because of his intelligence, but also because of his bravery.

Odysseus is a brave enough man to go into the Cyclops cave even though he didn t know what the cave contained. He went into the cave with twelve of his very best fighters. When describing his experience with the Cyclops, Odysseus says, As for myself I took my twelve best fighters and went ahead (Homer 687). Him and his twelve men defeat the Cyclops, and survive. Another example of his bravery is when he and his crew have to pass Scylla and Charybdis. He is a brave man for attempting to pass Scylla and Charybdis. In the caverns of the gray rock, Odysseus says Heads up, lads! We must obey the orders as I give them (Homer 708). They listen to his orders and make it through. Odysseus portrays an epic hero also, because of his loyalty.

Odysseus shows his loyalty to the gods. He sacrificed a lamb and an ewe. While stating his actions, Odysseus says, I pledged these rites, then slashed the lamb and ewe (Homer 700). Sacrificing is one of the many ways that Odysseus is loyal to the gods. Also, Odysseus proves to be loyal to his men throughout the story. After Odysseus and his men defeat Polyphemus, He divides the cattle up evenly to his men. Then we unloaded all of Cyclops flock to make division, share and share alike (Homer 698). He could of kept it all to himself, but he didn t. Odysseus is very loyal to the gods and his men; this helps him be an epic leader.

Odysseus shows his intelligence by helping his crew, and handling difficult situations. Shows his bravery by defeating Cyclops, and going through Scylla and Charybdis. Last, shows his loyalty by sacrificing to gods, and sharing equally with his men. Odysseus intelligence, bravery, and loyalty are what mainly helped him survive his journey. Odysseus is the greatest epic hero of all time because of his three traits.