Odysseus the hero

1. ODYSSEUS AS A CLASSIC
GREEK HERO
“Sing to me of the man,
Muse, the man of twists
and turns driven time
and again off course,
once he had plundered
the hallowed heights of
Troy. Many cities of
men he saw and learned
their minds, many pains
he suffered, heartsick on
the open sea, fighting to
save his life and bring
his comrades home.”
Translated by R. Fagles
(1966)
© Microsoft ClipArt 2000

2. What makes Odysseus a classic
Greek hero? How can Homer’s The
Odyssey be characterized as the
story of an epic hero?
Let’s start with the brains of the
operation!
Odysseus is intelligent, but his
intelligence is of the cunning, sly
type….not the book-smart type.
He is, after all, a man of “twists and
turns…” The Greek term for this
versatility is “polytropos,” or “turning
in many directions.” Odysseus is a
man of deceptions and disguises.© Microsoft ClipArt 2000

3. Odysseus is a wanderer who seeks
to return home.
The sharpness with
which he led his men
in the Trojan War is
the same devious
aptitude he uses to
find his way back
home after the war. It
is also the same
intelligence he uses to
outwit monsters and
other foes who block
his path and threaten
his men’s lives. © Microsoft ClipArt 2000

4. Odysseus mocks reliance on strength
alone. Strength without cunning is
what dooms the suitors to Odysseus’s
deception.
Odysseus cuts his losses to Charybdis
and Scylla through careful navigation.
Odysseus is also able to use the
strength of his mind to enjoy the siren’s
song without falling prey to their
seductive dangers.
Even Odysseus’s encounter with
Achilles in the Underworld is a
reminder of how brutish glory brings a
short, violent life. Odysseus’s glory, or
kleos, is won by his wits and will yield
him a long, peaceful life. © Microsoft ClipArt 2000

5. Physical Strength
While Odysseus
demonstrates cunning,
farsightedness, adaptability
and other aspects of
intellectual prowess, he is
by no means a physical
weakling! He is not
enormous, but he is
powerful, and he is both an
excellent athlete and a
formidable soldier. This
combination of intellectual
and physical excellence is
called “arete” in Greek.
© Microsoft ClipArt 2000

6. In order to use his cunning and his
strength, Odysseus must be willing
to face danger with courage. He
does not shrink away from his
leadership role in times of great
peril.
From http://www.bulfinch.org/fables/ships/grkship1.html

7. Fortunately……
Odysseus also has the
help of the gods at times.
In the beginning of the
epic, Athena represents
Odysseus favorably to the
other gods at council
meetings. Ultimately, Zeus
helps Odysseus rule
peacefully once he finally
arrives home.
Of course, the gods are not
always pleased. Poseidon
makes Odysseus’s journey
a true test of his wit and
valor.
© Microsoft ClipArt 2000

8. What else?
Odysseus is also an
aristocrat. He is a member
of the ruling class who
seeks to recapture his
“rightful” place after his
long years away at war.
He returns to one last
battle in which he takes
revenge on
interlopers…rude, crass
suitors for his wife’s
affections and
possessions…and
reasserts his claim to his
palace, a beautiful wife and
a loyal son to be his proper
heir.From http://www.bulfinch.org/fables/ships/grkship1.html

9. A few notes on his atypical
status….
Yes, like most
classic heroes,
Odysseus must
prove himself again
and again and
again, and the
perceptions others
have of him are of
vital importance to
his heroic stature,
but……….. From http://www.bulfinch.org/fables/ships/grkship1.html

10. ….unlike heroes such as Beowulf
who search out the dragon and the
danger….
Odysseus is always
willing to find another
way around the
danger if possible. He
doesn’t run, but he is
willing to hide…behind
disguises, behind well-
timed silences,
amongst sheep and at
a dinner table. (Oh,
yes! Odysseus loves
to eat!)

11. As with many tragic heroes,
Odysseus has faults that lead to
disaster. Unlike tragic heroes,
Odysseus is able to use his
conniving to escape the ultimate
price others have to pay for his
mistakes.

12. Odysseus has a voracious appetite
and a mortal’s weakness for
comfort.
He wastes valuable time from his “nostos,” or journey home,
on Calypso’s island where he indulges in sex, food and a
basically hedonistic lifestyle. When he finally misses the
excitement of activity and glory, he politely leaves for home.
He wants to colonize the Cyclops’ island. When he and his
men are trapped and in severe danger of being eaten down
to the last man, Odysseus thinks of a clever ruse to escape
the monster. Just before he and his men are truly free of the
beast, his appetite for fame makes him careless and he
reveals his name. By doing this, he earns Poseidon’s wrath.
When Odysseus and his men slaughter the Sun’s flocks, and
when they eat the fruit of the lotus and forget about their
homes, Odysseus as the leader is responsible for the fall into
temptation.

13. Let’s review…
Odysseus possesses a cunning wit, and he uses it more
than he uses his aging physical strength.
He is brave, but he prefers to defeat his enemies with clever
deception rather than meet them head-on.
He is on a journey home, and he must pass many trials to
reach the safety of his home.
He must take the hero’s journey into the underworld and
return, emerging as a new, wiser and more mature man.
He has weaknesses, but he manages to overcome them to
complete his journey and reclaim his home and family.
He interacts with the gods and receives both their favors and
their curses.
He is ultimately a heroic figure, a literary icon and an
adventurer’s idol.
The End

14. WORKS CITED
http://www.bulfinch.org/fables/ships/gr
kship1.html
http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/odysse
y/themes.html
Homer. The Odyssey. Translated by
Robert Fagles. New York: Penguin
Books,1996