Is Odysseus an epic hero?

In The Odyssey is a character that is called Odysseus. Odysseus is portrayed as a strong, heroic figure. He leaves his family to go off to a war in Troy and in the process ends up being away from home for twenty years. He goes through all sorts of different challenges to get back to his home in Ithica. Not only does he have to get home safely, but he also has to protect his crew.

Odysseus is indeed an epic hero is some ways, but he isn’t in some ways. Some of the obstacles he encounters are easy for him to overcome, but some of the simplest things he fails to overcome. He falls in love with women very easily, even though he has a wife and family at home. He also tries his hardest to obey the gods, hoping they will help him on his way home.

When Odysseus is captured on Calypsos’ island, he ends up falling in love with her, and stays there for a year. He was trapped, and claims he couldn’t escape, but he is so powerful that he could have if he really wanted to. He also fell in love with Circe when he arrived at her island and ended up staying with her for a year. These are the kinds of flaws that keep him from being completely epic hero quality. These events held him from getting him and his crew back home.

Even though Odysseus has some major flaws, he does have some heroic characteristics. He risks his life to keep his crew safe and return home. Even though he takes his time and gets distracted often, he still tried his hardest.

So, is he an epic hero or not? It’s more of a yes and no answer. In some ways he is, and in some ways he isn’t. The fact that he is and isn’t just adds to his character and makes him more unique. 

Hero Analysis

In The Odyssey by Homer, there is a character named Odysseus. He is the main character and hero of the story. Homer portrays him as a hero, which means that he has some of power and a flaw or two. Odysseus goes through a long journey to return to his palace in Ithica. His heroic qualities and personality flaws play a big part in his return home.

            Odysseus is portrayed as a strong human. He leads his crew around, protecting them, making sure they don’t die. He risks his life to ensure the return of his crew. In book nine Odysseus comes up with a risky plan to get out of the cave they were stuck inside. It was very risky, but he led it.

            Odysseus definetley has some personality flaws. One big one I can think of is the fact that he falls in love easily. When he gets captured by Calypso and trapped on her island, he ends up finding it hard to leave. He actually got sad when he had to leave her. Also, when he got to Aeolus and met Circe he ended up liking her too. He and his crew stayed with her for a whole year before the crew convinced Odysseus that they had to leave.

            Both the heroic characteristics and personality flaws contribute to the story. They are what pushed him foreword and held him back. If he didn’t have all these things contributing to his character, he would have nothing interesting in the story.