All about the Epic Heroes Odysseus Achilles and Hector
All About the Epic Heroes To me an epic hero holds the most importance in a poem and keeps the interest of the readers throughout the entire poem. The epic hero takes you on a journey, brings you into the poem with there amazing use of epic qualities. There are many qualities this person must have to even be considered an epic hero. In my opinion, some of the most important qualities one needs to have to even be considered an epic hero would be, extreme strength and quick thinking ability, respect and loyalty, admiration for there heroic achievements and nobility, and lastly one that can show great courage/bravery. Throughout the epic poems The Iliad and The Odyssey by Homer we see our epic heroes Odysseus, Achilles, and Hector use these qualities in both good and bad situations. We watch the different ways these epic heroes use there qualities to help them get in an out of danger, handle friendships, and deal with life and death. Odysseus is an epic hero in The Odyssey. It took Odysseus twenty years to return home after the Trojan War. ... I think Odysseus was a smart, quick thinker, and a sly kind of guy. I feel these were good qualities to have and Odysseus really used these abilities to his advantage. ... Odysseus shows another example of the quick thinking epic quality at the end of the poem referring back to the text Odyssey Book XXIII pg 494-495, when he needs to gain time from the townspeople after what he did to the suitors. Odysseus wants to order a harper to play a tune for dancing, so anybody who walked by would think Penelope finally was getting married. I felt that was a smart decision on Odysseus’s part. A good example of Odysseus using the epic quality of strength I felt would be towards the end of the poem when he is disguised as a beggar and the suitors were starting with him and one of them throws a stole at his shoulder. Odysseus got right back up didn’t let anything bother him and wanted a shot at that Bow. ... Also with Odysseus’s inner strength and quick abilities he also was respectful and loyal which is another one of his epic qualities. ... The first time referring back to the text, The Odyssey Book XII pg 352, was when Odysseus knew they were approaching the singing seirenes and he prepared and carved beeswax for all of his shipmates to put in there ears so they wouldn’t have to hear the sound and get their minds sung away.