Homer s Odyssey A Greek Hero - 940 Words

Homer’s Odyssey Work Sample Odysseus is not your typical Greek hero. Greek heroes like Achilles and Hercules used purely their physical advantages and enormous strength to overcome their challenges. Odysseus however, in addition to his god-like strength, used his wits and mental horsepower -- which needless to say he had a lot of. This allowed him to get out of some very sticky situations. Odysseus primarily used thought, patience, and clever tricks to overcome obstacles thrown in front of him and his men. In the Epic Homer’s Odyssey, Odysseus used his brains to take a Cyclops’ sight and escape its clutches, defeat the powerful witch Circe with garlic, and destroy tens of suitors attempting to steal his wife Penelope. Cyclopses, as portrayed in ancient Greek literature, are certainly a force to be reckoned with. They stand high over the height of your average Greek hero and have the muscles to rip a man in two like wet tissue paper. The single large eye in the middle of their head gives them enou gh of an in-human look to spark fear in the hearts of whoever is unfortunate enough to encounter one. These few facts about cyclopses would scare any tough Greek hero, but not Odysseus. He has the brains to accompany his muscles that would make a cyclops, assuming he knew about Odysseus, tremble in his dirty, oversized loin-cloth. When confronted by the cyclops Polythemus, Odysseus’s men and even the great Odysseus himself were worried. However, Odysseus had a plan. During theShow MoreRelatedOdysseus Is A Hero?1143 Words   |  5 PagesThe Odyssey by Homer, The character Odysseus is one of the greek heros in this book. He is known as a great hero, because he manages to get through all of these dangerous mission such as : First odysseus makes it alive after travelling for ten years and facing different and more difficult challenges. Odyssey faces dangerous creatures and people. Homer have odysseus pass all theses task and missions to name him one of the great greek gods that ever lived . Some may say Odysseus is not a hero butRead MoreGreek Epics873 Words   |  4 PagesGreek Epics There are some challenges in each history period, and authors will create some heroes in their epics that reflect values of the culture at the time. By studying the hero’s actions and his motivations, it tells the society conditions and the civilization of that history period. Homer; the authors of The Iliad and The Odyssey; and Vergil; the authors of The Aeneid are two of the greatest writers in ancient western civilization. There are heroes in these three literatures to reflectRead MoreThe Bronze And Iron Age Essay2093 Words   |  9 PagesQuestion: 1-What Can Homer tell us about the Bronze and Iron Age The Bronze and Iron Ages were 2 of the main periods in Greek History and Homer can tell us a lot about them. The Bronze Age was all about mixing copper with tin or arsenic to bronze hence it is called the Bronze Age. The Iron Age was when the whole of the east Mediterranean was in crisis. In central Anatolia, the collapse of the Hitties opened the gates to invaders who overran the country. Firstly, let’s talk about Homer- a lot of the worksRead MoreThe Between Greek And Greek Society1318 Words   |  6 Pageswere many forms of heroism. How would you define heroism? What does a true hero consist of? A hero is a common and quite simple term, but is not always easy to define within a character. A hero according to Roman and Greek Society is someone who stands up for their country and fights for their beliefs. Normally a hero is someone who everyone looks up to. Heroes show tremendous amounts of courage and desire to fight for one s country. Arete, known as excellence, is a well defined term in the HellenisticRead MoreComparison Between The Odyssey And The Iliad1068 Words   |  5 Pages In the novel The Odyssey, the author Homer describes an outcry against death; whereas in the Iliad death is portrayed as an accomplishment., Both were in the times that is also known as Before Common Era, or BCE. It is known that Iliad begins 10 years before the great Seige of Troy and eventually the odyssey had begun a couple years after that(Classical Lit). When Homer had written these novels it is clear that they have numerous lines, and Homer had written both. In the novel The IliadRead MoreHomer s Epic Hero, The Odyssey, By Homer1670 Words   |  7 Pagesthe greatest tales of a hero is one of a man returning home after war. King of Ithaca, Odysseus was a Greek champion in the Trojan War. However, he is known best not for his heroic acts during combat, but for his journey back to Ithaca, to his wife and son, in the ten years that follow. In Homer’s epic hero, The Odyssey, the Greek poet tells of Odysseus’s hardships and how he used his heroic traits to overcome them. The myth is told in twenty four books. Odysseus is a hero because of his clevernessRead MoreThe Odyssey By Homer s Odyssey Essay1314 Words   |  6 Pagescentury, The Odyssey, is Homer s epic of Odysseus 10-year struggle to return home after the Trojan War. Odysseus defining character traits, such as nobility, courage, thirst for the glory and the app ealing confidence in his authority dominated the storyline throughout. The many themes of this epic mainly focus around the Greek hero Odysseus however in my essay I will attempt to analyze hospitality. Hospitality shaped an important part of social interactions in The Odyssey. Although Greek society emphasizesRead MoreThe Demeaning Role Of Women In Homers The Odyssey1280 Words   |  6 PagesThe Odyssey is one of two poems written by Homer describing the drama of the Trojan War, more specifically, the catastrophic journey of the hero Odysseus back home. Throughout the tales, female characters exhibit the many and diverse roles of Greek women, and also their significance in a world dominated by immortal beings.   Like countless others, the goddess Calypso’s beauty and elegance could be the cause of circumstances both good and evil. Calypso is remembered most for keeping Odysseus as a prisonerRead MoreKleos in The Odyssey by Homer938 Words   |  4 PagesTHE ODYSSEY Heroic glory occupies a very crucial place in the Indo-European epic tradition, because the Greek society is a shame culture, in which being honoured is one of the primary purposes of people s lives. Hence, the concept of kleos formed an essential part of the bardic tradition which helped the people to maintain the heroic stature of the mythical heroes from generation to generation. This is why, it has got an important place in the Greek epics also. In The Odyssey by Homer alsoRead MoreWhat Is The Importance Of Storytelling In The Odyssey1111 Words   |  5 PagesWoodard Honors 111 9/25/17 Storytelling in the Odyssey The Odyssey is a story made up of stories. Because there is very little action that happens in the present, the presence of storytelling within the Odyssey is something that characterizes it and makes it unique. The spreading of stories serve to form legends and myths that can have the effect of shaping a culture. In addition, since stories were such an important aspect of entertainment in Greek culture, stories also shape the audience, either