Odyssey

In many stories and movies, heroes are depicted as being faultless and equal to any challenge. However, the Odyssey presents a more human champion. Although Odysseus appears to have supernatural qualities that benefit him and his men, he also makes mistakes that impact his journey to Ithaca and the lives of those around him. In addition, having Athena, the goddess of wisdom to guide him makes Odysseus the cleverest of the Greek heroes. In The Odyssey by Homer, Odysseus is portrayed as a hero who possesses admirable characteristics relatable to those of everyday people. Despite these traits, Odysseus has weaknesses that interfere with his main focus throughout the text.

Despite the interferences with his journey, Odysseus plays the role of a persistent man with the qualities of an epic hero. His outstanding courage reveals his ability to lead his men and with the use of his intellectual abilities, to survive. While Odysseus is trapped in Polyphemus’s cave sealed with a giant slab of rock wedged over the entrance, he’s required to quickly think of a way to escape without any more bloodshed. In order for Odysseus to escape the treacherous path of Polyphemus he reveals his name to be Nohbdy. This would be helpful when the deafening shrieks of Polyphemus were heard by the other Cyclops’s. The Cyclops’s hearing the screams gathered, all have thing the same question: had anyone harmed him? But all Polyphemus could respond with was “Nohbdy, Nohbdy’s tricked me. Nohbdy’s ruined me!” (403) The Cyclops’s taking it literally supposed no harm was done, therefore Odysseus’s plan was a success: the Cyclops’s had been deceived by the name, and Polyphemus had been fooled as well. The Cyclops, still wheezing from the agony, squatted in the center of the entrance with arms spread wide, making Odysseus and his men unable to run off. Nevertheless Odysseus had already thought of how to outsmart Polyphemus, but it required patience, he had to wait for the right moment. Odysseus...