Odyssey Persuasive Essay

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Odysseus: was he or was he not a hero? Was Odysseus A Hero? Did he perform the actions that others considered heroic? Throughout the entire epic Odysseus had continuously displayed qualities of heroism. He had performed tasks that were too arduous for the ‘common man’, but had also had shown some flaws. In this essay the previous questions will be answered. One must demonstrate bravery in order to be considered a hero. First, Odysseus clearly demonstrated bravery when he went off to fight in The Trojan War. He knew that he may have died, but he lead his men into battle anyway. He also showed bravery when he crossed through the strait because he knew he was risking being killed by Scylla and Charybis. "‘Friends, have we never been in ... danger before this? More fearsome, is it now, than when the Cyclops penned us in his cave? What power he had! Did I not keep my nerve, and use my wits to find a way out for us? Now I saw by hook or crook this peril too shall be something that we remember. Heads up, lads!’" The quote was the word of Odysseus used to help summon courage into the hearts of his own men as they were crossing Scylla’s straight. Finally, Odysseus displayed bravery when he took on the suitors. Even though Odysseus, Telemachus and the herdsmen are greatly outnumbered they had defeated all of the suitors. Homer wrote "Every shot brought down a man in his house; there, one by one, they fell". Homer was saying that the each time they shot there arrows a suitor was killed until there were none left. The revenge he sought on the suitors must have had invoked great fear in him because there were so many suitors. Odysseus carried out the plan anyway, showed his bravery, and put aside his fears. So he had obviously that he was brave. Wisdom is another trait a hero must possess. Odysseus's wisdom has been put to the test many times. When Telemachus visited
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