Argumentative Essay Sample: Odysseus as a Hero

In modern eyes heroes are looked at through a lense of someone who risked their life for the greater good, but there are not many well known heroes from the ancient era .Odysseus was a hero due to his cunning, intelligence and bravery throughout the Odyssey. Furthermore, Odyyseus would be considered a hero today for his good and heroic actions. Looking at Odysseus' story from modern lenses would suggest that he is a hero, most heroes have to make some sort of sacrifice for the greater good, and Odysseus is not exempt from that. 

Of course Odysseus shows the readers how cunning he is in multiple parts of the Odyssey. For example on page 82 (book 9) when Odysseus is trapped in Polyphemus' cave he makes him very drunk by giving him pure wine. After Odysseus tricks Polyphemus into drinking the wine, he goes into a deep sleep and that is when Odyyseus and his men sharpen and char Polyphemus’s club. Finally, the men plunged the searing hot club into Polyphemus' eye, blinding him.  The next morning Odysseus and his men hide under Polyphemus´ cattle to escape. The whole plan was quickly whipped together by Odysseus showing the readers how quick thinking and cunning he really is. Furthermore, on page 96 Odysseus shows his men and the readers how cunning he is, when he outsmarts the goddess Circe to save his men. Odysseus uses the herb ¨molly¨ to become immune to Circe's magic. Then Odysseus lunges at Circe with his sword appearing as though he is going to kill her and at the last second stops and asks who she is. After this whole encounter Oddyseus saves his men from being turned into pigs and lives with Circe for a year. Odysseus not only outsmarts a goddess and Cyclops, but he also saves his whole crew in the process. 

During the Odyssey, Odysseus flourished in showing everyone his intelligence throughout the book. For example when the men are sailing near the Sirens, Odysseus is told by Circe that if he wishes to hear the Sirens voices he would have to be tied to the mast of the ship preventing him from going with the Sirens. Also Odysseus uses his intelligence throughout the whole journey home, there are so many small scenarios of Odysseus showing his high intellect throughout the journey home. Furthermore when Odysseus and Eumaeus create the plan to murder all of the suitors, it shows readers how elaborate and precise his plan was. From slamming all of the doors shut at the exact moment, to using Penelope's challenge as a way to initiate the plan. Finally Odyyseus tells Polyphemus that his name is “nobody” which saves his life because if Polyphemus knew that Odysseus was Odyssues then he would have killed him on the spot. We the readers know this because while Odysseus is sailing away from the island Polyphemus shouts that a prophet once told him that a man by the name of Odysseus would blind him. 

Comparatively Odysseus perplexuates the readers by showing them how brave  he can be throughout the book. For example when Odysseus is in the cave with Polyphemus he drives the hot spike into his eye with no hesitation.This really demonstrated true bravery because a small human is stabbing a massive cyclops which is almost 3 times his size. Also Odysseus shows his bravery by standing up and taking on Penlope’s challenge of stringing the bow and shooting a fire arrow through 12 axe handles. Odysseus shows his bravery there because he got up in a room full of angry suitors and completed the challenge. 

In conclusion, Odysseus shows all of Greece that he is cunning, intelligent and above all brave. He overcomes multiple obstacles throughout the book with these traits. .Odysseus was a hero due to his cunning, intelligence and bravery throughout the story, and is now brought to a modern view to show how much of a hero he really was.