The Odyssey Essay -- Homer, Odyssey Essays

Q1. What atomic number 18 the characteristics of a hero in Homers poems? What attributes are valued?The Homeric epics describe a race of heroic men these men are more mightily than ordinary men, and yet, they are not quite as glorious as gods. The heroes are characterized by their authority, warfare skill, intelligence, moral character, and favor of the gods.The Homeric heroes are strong and skillful warriors. Achilles is noted for being the greatest Greek warrior. He is bashn as the great runner (109). He is fast, strong, and skilled with his spear. When Achilles confronts Hector, top executive Priam implores Hector to flee. He tells Hector that he firet impertinence Achilles for hes too much (174). As Achilles closes in on Hector, he looks like the God of War himself (177). Brave Hector, the greatest of the trojan horse wars, loses his nerve and flees in terror. Achilles is a brave warrior he is not terror-stricken of anything. He charges against the fifth column army si ngle-handedly. He routs the Trojans, killing every Trojan in his path. When he refuses to fight due to his feud with Agamemnon, the Greeks are ineffective to stand without him. His very presence brings courage to the Greeks and sends fear to the Trojans.Physical strength is not the only thing that is valued. Odysseus is the hero who demonstrates the wit and intelligence can sometimes overpower brute force. Odysseus is introduced as the man of twists and turns (207). His cunning and glib skills are mentioned numerous times in the poem. The best display of Odysseus cunningness is his excogitate of escape from the Cyclops cave. Odysseus knows that he cannot merely kill the Cyclops in his sleep none of them are strong enough to roll ski binding the immense stone. So, he devises a clever plan, calling himsel... ...shows himself to be the defeat of the suitors, though he may be the handsomest. The other are frighten to see how Antinous treats the beggar. They know that the gods do take on the look of strangers (414). They know that Antinous fate is sealed (414). Antinous lacks any sense of morality and hospitality which a civilized Greek should display.The Odyssey illustrates the importance of hospitality. It shows examples of people who manifest hospitality and are blessed by it or who become instruments of blessing others. It also shows by contrast, guests who take scorn their hosts hospitality and hosts who are bleak to their guests. Those who manifest xenia, whether host or guest, are the civilized and moral characters. Those who demoralize the rules of xenia are seen as savage and ill-bred they eventually incur sound judgement for failing in their religious duty.