John Lungo Lungo 1
Odysseus from "The Odyssey" was a brave man who was dedicated to obtaining his one
goal: getting back home. Many could say that Odysseus was a great hero who was respected and
read about even today. In his story, he proves to be a worthy leader by showing his intelligence
and getting his men out of trouble, he has braveness for battling all the monsters and enemies he
did, and dedication for his goal to get home. If Odysseus was considered an archetypal hero, I
would strongly agree, for this is no doubt that he proves to be one. Throughout his adventures, he
faces many hardships and enemies that help him prove that he is an archetypal hero.
Being an archetypal hero, Odysseus needs to possess three traits that hold considerable
importance. If I were to describe the great Odysseus, one word I would use would definitely be
intelligence, or cunning. An example of his unique intelligence is when he and his crew were
trapped inside the cyclops cave. When asked his name by Polyphemus, Odysseus smartly replied:
"Nobody–that's my name. Nobody–
so my mother and father call me, all my friends." (Pg. 223).
This was a very clever thing to do, since after Odysseus had blinded the cyclops eye, when
Polyphemus shouted for his comrades saying "Nobody was attacking him." they assumed Zeus
had sent a plague to him and did not help. Another example of Odysseus cleverness is at the
island of Circe. After Odysseus drank the honey wine and didn't turn into an animal, Circe
hugged his knee's and begged him not to kill her, and asked him to go to bed with her. But
before Odysseus did anything with her, he cleverly told Circe this:
how dare you tell me to treat you with any warmth?
You who turned my men to swine in your own house and now
you lure me to your room to mount your bed,
you'll unman me, str...