The Characteristics Of Odysseus In Homer's 'Odyssey'

The term “dynamic” is often used in literature to describe a character who changes drastically from one point in the story to another. When reading “The Odyssey” an epic poem by Homer, we see that our protagonist, Odysseus, changes throughout the course of the novel. This essay will argue how he changes, and also what changes him, such as his travels, his relationships, and how fate and the Greek gods affect and change him.

A Homeric epic hero is considered to be above a normal human being. The traits of a typical epic hero are strength, loyalty, courage, and intelligence. In fact, the Macmillan Dictionary for Students defines a hero as "one who is admired and looked up to for valor, achievements, and noble qualities" (483). Odysseus fulfills all of the requirements for an epic hero and more. He demonstrates his ability to be an articulate speaker, and his poise aids him on his journey. His endless curiosity has gotten him into dilemmas, while his superb displays of strength and cunningness have helped both him and his crew escape danger. His arrogance sets him back, but his loyalty is what drives him forward on his long and treacherous expedition. In the

    When I say the name Odysseus, what traits come to mind? In The Odyssey by Homer, the epic hero Odysseus shows the reader what a hero should have been in the Greek culture at the time. A hero at the time typically showed great intelligence, skills in war, leadership, and planning, and they need to be a quick thinker incase things get out of hand. Odysseus showed all of the traits above, but had some other traits that stood out a little more. Those traits include strong physically or superhuman, arrogant, and bravery.

One of the reasons Odysseus was admired, was because he was a very wise and intelligent man. This is evident in multiple scenarios from the Odyssey, such as the time when Odysseus decided to tie himself, along with his companions, to the bellies of sheep in order to escape from the Cyclops. Before he comes up with this plan he says, Odysseus also tells the Cyclops that his name is “Nobody”, which later saves him and a few of his crewmembers. And one cannot forget his famous Trojan horse trick. These are other examples of Odysseus’s cunning nature.

“ Sing in me, Muse, and through me tell the story of that man skilled in all ways of contending, the wanderer, harried for years on end, after he plundered the stronghold on the proud height of Troy.” (Homer page 751 lines: 0-4) That was an opening prayer from The Odyssey. The Odyssey is about a 20 year-long travel of a man named Odysseus. He traveled to Troy facing the dangers on many mythical creatures and many fictional creatures. This king of Ithaca, left his beloved wife, Penelope, and his son, Telemachus, that he has not seen since his son was a young child. Odysseus expresses his traits, that helps him survive the obstacles he faces. Odysseus’ traits are bravery, curiosity, and intelligence.

In Homer’s The Odyssey, there are a lot of traits displayed that are considered important in ancient Greek culture. These are shown by many different characters, but mostly by Odysseus (he is, after all, the main character in the epic poem). Odysseus is the epitome of a Greek ruler: he has a lot of admirable traits. His only fault is his hubris, but that is overcome and taken care of. Throughout Homer’s The Odyssey, Odysseus displays wisdom combined with strong loyalty and inspiring leadership through the evident trust of his men and the ability to conquer any challenges that he may face along his journey back to Ithaka.

What it means to be heroic? A typical hero that you might read about, or go watch in a movie has multiple attributes and qualities. These heros are typically strong, fast, clever, and very intelligent. But in the Odyssey you meet a very strange heroic individual. His name is Odysseus son of Laertes, destroyer of cities.

In The Odyssey there is a man named Odysseus. He is a very heroic man. Heroic means to be some sort of hero, and to be a hero you have to be smart, know when to talk and when not to talk, and you have to be clever. Odysseus traveled starting at Troy and ending at Ithaca. But he made many stops along the way, in fact he went to fifthteen other places before he made it to Ithaca.

Imagine being in a war, seeing killing and dead bodies around you and coming back with mental problems. In The Odyssey, written by Homer, a father has left his family to go fight in a war, while he has been gone, things have changed. Odysseus, the King of Ithaca, goes to the Trojan War to fight for 10 years and leaves his family behind. His wife, Queen Penelope and his son Telemachus are living in their home always wondering what happened to Odysseus. Telemachus is also trying to find his father after not seeing him for a long time. Odysseus faces a lot of challenges to try to find his way back home to his family. It takes Odysseus multiple years searching and fighting to try to get back home. Odysseus has been in the battle for a long time

The ocean is a mysterious place, filled with creatures that impose varying degrees of danger. But the one thing Odysseus did not plan to see on the open ocean was a woman. She was floating calmly on the surface, her white dress and jet black hair surrounding her like a halo.

Many would say Odysseus is very intelligent and always comes up with a plan to save himself and others. A very notable time when he shows his skill is when he is stuck with Polyphemus, the cyclops. When the cyclops and Odysseus first meet, Odysseus introduces himself as Nobody. This was a very smart thing to do because later when Odysseus blinds Polyphemus other cyclops ask who is hurting him and Polyphemus answers with “Nobody’s killing me now by fraud and not by force” (9. 455). The others think Polyphemus is alone when really he is referring to Odysseus. In addition with this Odysseus uses a brilliant plan to take back his palace. Athena and Odysseus come together and form the plan of getting Odysseus’ power back by disguising him as a beggar, Athena explains : First I will transform you-- no one must know you” (13. 254). Once a beggar, he can easily go into the palace and learn more about the situation. Not to mention the fact that he was smart enough not to reveal his identity to early and ruin the whole plan. Lastly, Odysseus possesses the trait of leadership.

Odysseus, King of Ithaca, a wise man and great warrior was relaxing inside his home on a brutally hot summer day drinking honeyed-wine with his wife, Penelope, when there came a knock at his door. Odysseus quickly put down his cup of wine and rushed to open the door. He expected to see one of his servants, or a caregiver, but instead, he saw a man he had not seen in a while. It was Agamemnon, a general for the army. Immediately, Odysseus knew what was coming. With soft gentle words Agamemnon asked, “Would you, the great and wise Odysseus, join me, your old friend, in battle against the Trojans?” Odysseus replied, “Yes because it is for the greater good that I fight and protect Ithaca.” With that reply, Odysseus swiftly gathered his armour, helmet, and sword and set off for Troy.

Odysseus reach the possess the qualities of a leader because he's brave because he put his life last for his buddies. Odysseus faces the Cyclops Polyphemus, travels to the Underworld, overcomes the temptation of the Sirens, outmaneuvers the monsters Scylla and Charybdis, and leaves behind the beautiful Calypso. All these feats required a great amount of bravery and skill, two traits Odysseus was honored for in antiquity. Odysseus showed his bravery by fighting valiantly in the war with Troy, facing great dangers on his decade-long voyage home and ridding his home of his wife's parasitical suitors upon his return. On book 9 it says "old shipmate's friends the rest of you stand by and I'll make the crossing in my own

Heros normally display qualities that most of us could only dream about, but the skills Odyssey portrays aren’t otherworldly or superhuman, they are cunning, bravery, and honor. Odysseus’s cunning is shown rather quickly with the escape scene in “The Cyclops” where on page 571 and 572 it shows his ingenuity and improvisational skills when he straps himself and his men to the bottom of Polyphemus’ sheep and rams. This scene also shows his patience, which also is collaborated with cunning by writers, with how he didn’t panic when Polyphemus stopped the ram he was hanging on because it was

There are several traits and qualities that made Odysseus the character and hero he is and because of his circumstances, he could put those on display. In his dilemma with Polyphemus, he had to use his cleverness and intelligence to trick cyclops so he could escape from the cave. He also maintained vigilance. After Circe warned him, in book 12, that if he hoped to survive he would have to sacrifice some of his men he scoffed at the idea and instead tried to save and protect them on. He failed of course, but despite his shortcomings, it is very commendable because he very well could have simply saved himself, but he shows strong character as he tried to maintain a certain level of vigilance. Furthermore, Odysseus was virtuous and loyal to an extent. During his journey, he ran into two seductresses’, Circe and Kalypso, both of which he had an affair with.