The Adventures of Odysseus In The Epic Poem

In Homer’s epic poem, “The Odyssey,” the story of heroes and triumph are continued after the Trojan War. It resumes with the adventures of Odysseus and his crew on their way back home to Ithaca. Throughout his 20 year journey, he faces many challenges such as Cyclopes, tempting goddesses, and the Underworld. Facing these challenges will reveal this epic hero’s character, which is comprised of his qualities and flaws as an archetype, such as his sharp intellect, courageness, and confidence, and Odysseus’s flaws of excessive pride and arrogance.

An epic hero displays a brave and noble character that is admired for their awe-inspiring deeds. Usually an epic hero will possess extraordinary strength or a special ability. What makes Odyssues an epic hero lies in his courage and quick wits when faced with a difficult situation. An example is when he faced Polyphemus, a Cyclops. His men were scared to death and couldn’t come up with any ideas, but Odysseus used his knowledge and gifts to ouwit Polyphemus.

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He used his god-given wine, and told Polyphemus his name was Nohbdy as, “‘Nohbdy, Nohbdy’s tricked me. Nohbdy’s ruined me!’” . This shows his cleverness put into use when Polyphemus unsuccesfully roars for help from fellow Cyclopes.

Odyessus is an intellectual that is excessively curious for risky situations. His crew did not want to go to the island of the Cyclopes, but Odysseus was curious and that landed them into trouble. They were trapped in the Cyclops’s cave, but with his quick wits he devised a successful plan which required his courage to face the Cyclops, and he displays loyalty and confidence in authority of his crew to follow his orders in latching onto the sheep and preparing the ship.

Although he displays traits of an epic hero, his flaws of being human include hubris and arrogance. Some examples are when his hubris compels him to yell back at Polyphemus that he is Odyessus, son of Laeretes, whose homeland is Ithaca, and his arrogance is shown when he takes a chance to listen to the Sirens singing.

An archetype is a very typical example of a certain person or thing, and Odysseus is considered an archetype, specifically as an archetypal hero. He is a hero that is known for his cunningness and ability to think himself and his crew out of tough situations. His adventures and qualities have set a standard for how modern heroes should be. However, he is more complex than the classic archetype, for his flaws are shown clearly throughout his adventures, like his thirst for glory which is often seen as arrogance.

Throughout his adventures he has displayed many of his qualities and flaws as an epic hero and archetype, revealing Odysseus’s complex character. Odysseus was faced with many challenges, and in the end his journey to Ithaca was successful. His contribution to the Trojan War and the adventures he faced returning to Ithaca has proved Odyssey a hero.