Heroic Characteristics in the Odyssey
-The Odyssey tells the tale of a man named Odysseus who was captured after a war ends and is trying to find his way home. After much time of being there, his son, Telemachus, comes to find him. Odysseus is a hero in many ways, one characteristic needed in being a hero is being very clever and smart. Odysseus often uses his knowledge to escape from dangerous situations. Once in the poem he uses his cleverness to escape the Cyclops’s cave. He blinds the Cyclops and sneaks out of the cave without getting hurt. Also, to be a hero you have to have the courage to never give up. When Odysseus is trying to get to the shore after being tossed around in the sea, he has to keep going and not give up, because if he did give up then he would not have made it to shore. This passage from the book shows that he is very brave, and that he did not give up:
"Odysseus' strong hands clinging to the rocks Until the skin was ripped off.
The wave pulled him under, and he would have died
Then and there. But Athena was with him.
" Even though he was having a really hard time holding on to the rocks, he didn't give up. Although the goddess Athena did help him, if he would have given up before she came, he would not have made it to shore to be able to survive. You also can't be selfish or to full of your self to be a hero:
"Don't worry about that, Alcinous.
I am not likeThe immortals, either in build or looks.
I am completely human............................" That passage from the poem shows that Odysseus thinks he is just like everyone else, which shows that he is not selfish. Also, if you are a hero you have to take blame for your own actions and not blame others for what you do.
Alcinous:
"Stranger, My daughter was out of line in not bringing you
Here to our house along with her handmaids,
Since you went to her first as suppliant"
Odysseus:
"Do not rebuke your blameless daughter for this,
My lord. She did tell me to follow along
With the girls, but I refused out of fear and shame,
Thinking your heart might cloud over with anger.
People everywhere, I have found, have tempers."
This shows that he is responsible enough to show that it was him, not Alcinous' daughter who was at fault.
"Odysseus' strong hands clinging to the rocks Until the skin was ripped off.
The wave pulled him under, and he would have died
Then and there. But Athena was with him.
" Even though he was having a really hard time holding on to the rocks, he didn't give up. Although the goddess Athena did help him, if he would have given up before she came, he would not have made it to shore to be able to survive. You also can't be selfish or to full of your self to be a hero:
"Don't worry about that, Alcinous.
I am not likeThe immortals, either in build or looks.
I am completely human............................" That passage from the poem shows that Odysseus thinks he is just like everyone else, which shows that he is not selfish. Also, if you are a hero you have to take blame for your own actions and not blame others for what you do.
Alcinous:
"Stranger, My daughter was out of line in not bringing you
Here to our house along with her handmaids,
Since you went to her first as suppliant"
Odysseus:
"Do not rebuke your blameless daughter for this,
My lord. She did tell me to follow along
With the girls, but I refused out of fear and shame,
Thinking your heart might cloud over with anger.
People everywhere, I have found, have tempers."
This shows that he is responsible enough to show that it was him, not Alcinous' daughter who was at fault.
