Wednesday, October 3, 2012

      Odysseus is portrayed by Homer to be a hero who is supposed to show the ideal characteristics of Homer's society. Odysseus shows that he is smart, sneaky, strong, and more through out his journey. However, he also shows his flaws when he barely escapes the cyclops. When they are sailing, Odysseus calls out to the cyclops and tells him Odysseus's true name, "Cyclops, if any mortal man ever asks you who it was that inflicted upon your eye this shameful blinding, tell him that you were blinded by Odysseus, sacker of cities(Homer 150). Here, Odysseus brought his own demise. When he told his true name to the cyclops, he became the only sailor/fighter left alive from his crew. With this, he also stalled his journey home by another eight to ten years.
      However, his other traits were able to keep him alive and help him get home. Through his strength, he was able to survive the attack done be Poseidon on his make-shift boat. He is smart because he always debates on which option is the best for that specific situation. he is sneaky because he was able to trick the cyclops and with that he was able to survive. I believe Odysseus is not an ideal hero because he gets many of his comrades killed on his trip from Troy. However, he can be seen as an ideal hero from the Greek perspective because of his traits, his hamartia, and him doing well in sports.

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