Odysseus's Heroism

 In The Odyssey, by Homer, Odysseus is the main character and hero.  He is portrayed as a very strong and handsome man.  Although he does have many physical heroic characteristics, his heroism is even more apparent through his actions.  Throughout the poem,  Odysseus remains courageous, cunning, and dedicated in times of fear and doubt. 

         One of the most common attributes in a typical hero is courage.  Odysseus is faced with many frightful events throughout his journey but remains courageous the whole time.  For example, when Odysseus and his men are on the Land on Cyclops it is probably one of the most scary places they have been on the journey.  Any ordinary man would be petrified of a monster of that size.  Although Odysseus may have been terrified on the inside, he kept his cool on the inside and by doing this he was able to save himself and his men.  

         Odysseus is also very intelligent.  When he and his men travel to the Land of Cyclops, he is not only courageous but also very cunning.  The crew runs into Polyphemus who devours two of Odysseus’s men on the spot.  Although Odysseus wants to kill the giant beast right then, he knows he will not succeed.  The next day he comes up with a plan to intoxicate Polyphemus with wine.  Before passing out, Polyphemus asks Odysseus his name and he replies “Noman” so when he awakes he screams out, “Noman is trying to kill me!”  This made everyone think he was saying no man was trying to kill him and therefore no one came to his rescue.    

         Lastly, Odysseus is dedicated.  He is dedicated to reaching his main goal: getting back home.  After living on Calypso’s island with her for ten whole years he started to consider that his new home and was not sure if he wanted to leave.  However, he knew he had a family back in Ithaca waiting for his return.  Odysseus is determined throughout the entire poem to get home to his family and does not let anything or anyone stop him from doing that. 

         Heros are known to be courageous, intelligent, and dedicated, and Odysseus shows superior amounts of every one of these qualities.  His experience on the Land of Cyclops is when his heroism became extremely noticeable. He showed courage by staying calm through the frightening situation.  He also showed intelligence by tricking the cyclops and saving his men. He proved his dedication by fighting through all the rough patches in his odyssey to get home to his family.  It is apparent that Odysseus is essentially the epitome of an archetypal hero.