The Epic Hero: Ulysses Essay, Research Paper
Imagine what it would be like if it was acceptable to commit adultery.
This is what the Ancient Greeks thought. They portrayed this belief in
an epic called the Odyssey. In this piece of literature supposedly
written by Homer, a blind poet, Odysseus was returning home after defeating
Troy. Just before he left for home he defied the gods, thus making them
angry. Therefore they made his journey home extremely difficult. We
study the Odyssey today because so much can be learned from it and
compared to it (i.e. Rip Van Winkle, Huck Fin, and Moby Dick). When Sir Arthur
Evens discovered the Odyssey and the Iliad they confirmed much about
the Trojan War that before was thought to be myth. The epic hero in the
Odyssey is Odysseus. To the Greeks an epic hero was supposed to be
courageous, intelligent, and loyal. Although Odysseus is courageous when in
Hades, intelligent when up against the Cyclopes, and loyal when he
comes back home to his wife, his most important aspect is his intelligence.
I think this trait is shown with the Lotus Eaters, the Cyclopes, and
when he returns home and outwits the suitors.
Odysseus was courageous when he visited Tiresias in Hades. One of the
aspects that the Greeks thought an epic hero should have was courage.
Odysseus definitely displayed this when he ventures into the flaming
depths of the Underworld to talk to a dead person?s spirit knowing he
might never come out alive. If Odysseus had not gone into the Land of the
Dead then he might never have found his way home to Ithica. When
Odysseus was in Hades he not only showed courage but loyalty.
Odysseus showed that he was loyal when he returned back home to his
wife. When the Greeks thought of a person as being an epic hero that
meant the person was loyal. Without a doubt Odysseus demonstrated loyalty
since he could have stayed on Circe or Calypso?s island forever. If he
had stayed on either Circe or Calypso?s island for any longer than he
did things would be a lot different in Ithica. The suitors would have
continued to waste Odysseus? food and wine and one of them would have
married Penelope and might have killed Telemachus. To outsmart the gods and
return to Ithica Odysseus not only had to have loyalty but he also
needed intelligence.
Odysseus? greatest advantage was his intelligence. Intelligence was
one of the three qualities associated with being an epic hero. Odysseus
displayed his shrewdness when up against Polyphemus the Cyclops. When
Odysseus blinds Polyphemus the Cyclops yells, ?Nohbdy, Nohbdy?s tricked
me, Nohbdy?s ruined me!? because Odysseus told the giant his name was
Nobody. Odysseus showed he is very intelligent when he had the foresight
to do this. If he hadn?t said his name was Nobody then when Polyphemus
yelled, ?Odysseus, Odysseus has tricked me, Odysseus has ruined me!?
then all the other Cyclopes would have come running and Odysseus and his
men would probably have been eaten or killed. In that situation he used
his intelligence to save his own life and the lives of his men.
Odysseus also shows his intelligence in the Cyclops cave when he chose
to blind Polyphemus instead of kill him. By doing this he also saves
lives but this time from death by starvation. If Odysseus and his men had
killed the Cyclops then all the men would have starved because they
could not move the massive stone door. The Cyclopes might have come
eventually and opened the door but, having the sense of sight, would have
eaten the men anyway. This is another classic example of why Odysseus is
the epic hero and the other men are not.
Even though Odysseus displayed courage in Hades and loyalty when he
arrived back home to his wife his greatest trait was his intelligence
considering he went into the Cyclops? cave and came out alive. If Odysseus
had not had the courage to enter the Underworld he might have never
gotten home. If he had not been loyal and come home to Ithica then someone
else would have married his wife and taken over Ithica. If Odysseus had
not had the brains enough to outwit the Cyclops then he might have lost
his life. As you can see from the life of Odysseus? flute player in the
movie, the unintelligent shall be terminated.