A Hero to All

What makes a hero? What gives one person the skills to become an effective leader? Who do you consider a hero? Martin Luther King? Abraham Lincoln? Brad Pitt? A best friend? A parent? Heroes have been around for countless years. They are often heard of in magazines or comic books, television shows and movies, or even real life heroes heard of in the news. In Homer’s Odyssey, Odysseus develops into an effective hero by exercising forethought, loyalty to his men, and reverence.

Odysseus is well known for thinking and executing clearly thought out plans. At one of Odysseus’ first stops on his journey home to Ithaka, Odysseus sends three of his crewmembers to see who occupies the Land of the Lotos Eaters before allowing everyone to explore. This is a good strategy to use because there might be harmful creatures on the land. Odysseus saves the rest of his crew by only sending three men to investigate the inhabitants. Odysseus also practices forethought when traveling past monsters of the sea, Skylla and Charybdis. In this situation, Odysseus decides not to tell his crew that they will be passing the monsters because he knows that this will cause excessive panic. Odysseus had to exhibit forethought while passing other creatures as well. While passing the Seirenes, women who lure sailors to their death by song, Odysseus secures each one of his shipmates’ ears with beeswax so they will not be able to hear them. He also thinks of a plan for himself. He has the crew tie him to the mast of their ship and tells them not to let him go if he asks. Odysseus’ clever planning ahead of time saves his life and prolongs the life of many shipmates.

Not only did Odysseus display forethought on his journey home to Ithaka, but he also showed loyalty to others. In the Land of the Lotus Eaters, some of Odysseus’ crewmembers want to taste the lotus plant, but Odysseus knows that this plant will make them forget about going home to Ithaka and make them want to stay in the land forever. Odysseus saves his men from the lotus plant and safely continues with the rest of the journey. In Aiaia, Odysseus stays loyal to his men once again. His men fall into temptation in Aiaia and Kirke turns them into pigs. Once more, Odysseus comes to the rescue and returns to Kirke’s place. In order to release his men Odysseus agreed to sleep with Kirke to satisfy her needs, but after one year, she finally let him and his crewmembers leave. Later, Odysseus visits Hades and meets Elpenor, one of his deceased shipmates. Here, Elpenor