Free Essay Homer’s Odyssey

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Homer’s Odyssey - What is an Epic Hero?

What is an epic hero? Homers’ Odyssey is about an epic hero named Odysseus and his quest home. Odysseus is an epic hero because he is valiant and brave, the gods favor him, he shows respect to the gods, with the help of the gods he can survive things most men couldn’t, and he is

Odysseus shows he is valiant and brave when he fights the monstrous Polyphemus and stabbed him in the eye with a giant olive tree. He proves he is brave during this battle because Polyphemus is a giant Cyclopes, and Odysseus has to outsmart him in order to escape for survival. He also proves he is very wise and strategic by only stabbing him, not killing him. The bolder in front of the cave, locking them in is so giant, that a creature with his strength can only move it. Another example of Odysseus’ braveness is when he stands up to the one hundred sooters by stringing the bow and shooting the arrow through the axe handles. Then, he kills the hundred sooters with his bloody bare hands. This shows Odysseus’ braveness because fighting one hundred men by himself is a very big feat.

Next, Odysseus is an epic hero because the gods favor Odysseus through his treacherous quest. One time the gods showed they prefer Odysseus when Aeolus puts all the whisping winds into a sack, and the crew is on their quest. The crew thinks the sack holds gold and jewels. Thus, they open it, sending them crashing on the gigantic waves created by the wind and water which sends them back to the island. Aeolus, the god, still helps them because she understands their happenings. Also, when Odysseus is being imprisoned by the astonishingly beautiful Goddess Calypso. Zeus’ daughter requests that Odysseus be released because he needs to continue is quest. Because of her request, Zeus sends a messenger to Calypso to order Odysseus be released.

Odysseus then shows he’s an epic hero by showing respect for the Gods. Odysseus shows respect when he vows to sacrifice his choice heifer. Then he burns the best pieces of meat on the alter fire. Another way he shows respect to the gods is when he prays to the gods and washes his hands. While he is doing this, his men eat the cows of the sun god. Odysseus then cries out to the gods after discovering his men’s’ wrong doings.

Odysseus, with the help of the gods, can survive things most men can’t. Odysseus escapes from Laestrogenus even though his men are still viscously murdered. Odysseus thinks quick enough to cut the rope to the boat and sail away. Next, Odysseus used the help of the gods to outsmart the suitors by dressing as a beggar when the nurse discovers that the beggar was Odysseus by seeing the scar on his ankle Odysseus made her promise not to tell. When Odysseus went to his wife she did not know it was him either and Odysseus got the chance to string the bow and shoot the arrow through the axe heads. The suitors made fun of him when he was inspecting the bow and then when he succeeded in doing his task the suitors were shocked Antinoos was disgusted and threatened to kill Odysseus when Odysseus killed him the other suitors were very disgruntled they said they would kill him, but when they looked for there weapons and a place to hide they discovered that they had been taken. As a result of this they tried to blame it on Antinoos and say he was the leader he made us do this but Odysseus was smart and knew they were lying. Eurymakhos leads the pack of wild suitors in a rage and tries to battle Odysseus but Odysseus single handedly battles the suitors and kills every last one of them. This shows that without the Gods idea to dress as a beggar Odysseus would have not had the sneak approach that he did during the battle.

Odysseus helped the men keep there courage when they were forced to row through the murky waters while lie in wait for there entrance to send them down with a enormous mouth full of water blown to make a giant whirlpool never to return to the surface. Odysseus demands that the crew of his ship continue rowing and they succeed in getting past the giant monster.