Odysseus Essay, Research Paper

Odysseus, the Hero The “Odyssey” is an epic story that has been a significant piece of literature since it wasfirst composed and will remain so for ages to come. One of the reasons it has been so isbecause of the hero, Odysseus. Odysseus is one of the first Greek mythic heroes renowned for his brain as well as hismuscle. He is a man with an intelligent mind, and he is also a man with outstandingbravery. I also must not forget that he is a top-notch athlete which only adds more to thisseemingly insuperable character. It is no wonder why many people refer to Odysseus as apowerful mythic hero.Odysseus often hesitates before acting, because he uses his reason and gift to evaluatethings. This patience is one of his most important additional attributes. This has saved himand his men many of times, and it can be easily seen in various instances throughout histravels such as when he disguised himself as a beggar when he finally reached Ithaca,waiting for the right moment to reveal himself.As great as he was, Odysseus still had some weaknesses that prolonged his voyage back toIthaca. His most important weakness that he possess is that of his pride. Pride is good tohave, but in Odysseus’ case he had to much of it. This is clearly evident in the episode onthe cyclopes’ island. When Odysseus and his men are clearly safe away from the islandOdysseus braggs about his exploit. Polythemus hears this and hurls giant boulders in thedirection of the ship. A couple came very close to sinking the ship. Still that was notenough for Odysseus. Carried away in his pride he unwisely gave away his identity toPolythemus. With that Polythemus called upon his father, Poseidon, to punish the manwho had harmed him. That incident hurt Odysseus more than losing a few men, becausePoseidon made his travel home ever so longer and arduous.Yet another weakness of our hero is his sensualness. Odysseus enjoys women. He stayedwith Circe for one year before his men reminded him of home. He also stayed withCalypso for seven years. Although we must take into thought that there were some otherreasons why he stayed with her for so long, like that she was an immortal and he didn’twant to have her against him.Nonetheless, Odysseus survived all that happened to him. His courage, wits, andendurance enabled him to come through each and every difficulty and arrive home safely. Therefor I believe that Odysseus is a hero.