Is Odysseus a Hero?

Rough Draft Blake Boyle

A hero as defined by Homer is a larger than life figure from history or legend. The Odyssey, foretold in ancient greek stories, was translated by Homer, a blind man who recreated the epic poem listening to stories he had heard over the years. The main character, Odysseus, has been described as a hero and often remarked aas being “non-heroic.” He has been referred to having a non heroic-trait because he let his men fall to Helios’ will off vengeance after finding out his cows have been consumed by those men. However, it was clearly the men’s greed and dominant hunger that got them killed. Odysseus is a hero because of his 3 strongest traits showed in the epic poem. His acts of being clever, loyal, and trickery are why Odysseus is a hero.

First of all, Odysseus is a hero because of how clever he was at the islands inhabited by cyclops. He and his crew fell on the island in which was controlled by Polyphemus. Polyphemus had trapped Odysseus and his men in a cave they went in to explore and scavenge. As they on got inside, Polyphemus rolled a huge boulder to trap Odysseus and his crew. This is where Odysseus shows one of his strongest traits, his cleverness. “Cyclops, you ask my honorable name? Remember the gift you promised me, and I shall tell you. My name is Nohbdy: mother, father, and friends, everyone calls me Nohbdy.” [356-361 Homer] The name, “Nohbdy” is a reference to the word nobody, and when the cyclops removes the boulder and screams for help, the cyclops ask what is wrong and he said, “Nohbdy, Nohbdy’s tricked me. Nohbdy’s ruined me”

Another reason why Odysseus is a hero was when he was at the Ithaca. He showed the trait, trickery here. There was a competition held in Ithaca. The winner of the competition would win Penelope's hand in marriage.