Odysseus An Epic Hero

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“A hero is somebody who voluntarily walks into the unknown.”(Tom Hanks) Odysseus is a hero because he protects and fights for his country, he ventures on a long and perilous journey, and then he battles the natural and supernatural. Even though he might be an epic hero he may not seem like one because he doesn’t keep things in moderation but goes to the extreme. That is what most people consider a tragic flaw because it brings him grief but they also brought him fame and glory. Odysseus struggled being a hero because his traits and his thirst for glory would bring him pain and misfortune, just as it would us just on a much smaller scale because we would not anger a god just our parents.

Odysseus has many of the traits of an epic hero and
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Even though most of his battle strategies comes from the help of the goddess Athena. Athena’s battle strategies mostly used in the Trojan War and towards the end of the story when battles the suitors. Odysseus does have some battle strategies himself such as the standoff with the Cyclops Polyphemus. So after the Cyclops has drank the very strong wine Odysseus and his men make a giant stake and puts it in the eye of the Cyclops. So when the Cyclops would tend to his duty of taking care of his sheep the men would hide and escape with all the sheep. His brains would also do him some well to such as the Cyclops have been being stabbed in the eye, and would ask for help from the other Cyclopes and they were confused since nobody hurt him. He also outsmarted all the suitors by before the battle scene he would remove all the weapons from the castle. Also during the battle Athena favored him and help him use the brawns to throw an arrow right through men. His thirst for glory was a curse and a blessing at the same time. The way it saved him is when Odysseus was battling the likes of the Trojans and the suitors his thirst for glory would help him win those battles. It would get him in trouble when he had just beaten Polyphemus he would start boasting about the win. “Tell him Odysseus, raider of cities, took your eye: Laertes’ son, homes on Ithaca!”(P1 L426-428) The trouble that it would get him in is he would be cursed (which would get all his men cursed) and then Poseidon would not favor him