Throughout the history of traditional story telling, well developed characters have been a
fundamental aspect. We marvel at these characters as they become the universal heroes who we pass on to
future generations. These characters exemplify some of the most admirable of all human characteristics. The
famous greek story teller Homer speaks of one such hero in his epic poem The Odyssey. After fighting
victoriously in the Trojan war, Homer's character Oddysseus begins a seemingly endless journey back to
his home land of Ithaca. On this voyage Oddyseus shows us the value of a quick and cunning mind and
demonstrates true bravery while still reminding us of his strong unbreakable love for his loyal wife
Penelope. Oddyseus' bravery, wit, and endless love make him a character truly deserving of our homage.
Throughout Odysseus' long journey home, he encounters several dangerous creatures in
countless unknown lands. The following excerpt displays Odysseus' incredible bravery as he disembarks
and begins to explore the island he and his shipmates have uncovered:
The land was not far off, and when we reached it we saw a cave... these were the night-quarters of a monstrous man...Indeed he was a wonderful monster, not like a mortal man who eats bread, but rather like a mountain peek with trees on top standing up alone in the highlands... I had a foreboding that we would meet a man of mighty strength, but savage, knowing neither justice nor law... I picked out twelve of the best men I had, and we set out. (p.p. 103-104)
Odysseus is a man of many strengths and talents but in keeping with greek literary tradition we are
reminded that,as a human and not a god, he also posesses some weaknesses. Oddyseus fully understood
the dangers of exploring into the cave and yet the voice of his natural curious nature cajoled him in. Here he
does indeed demonstrate true bravery, however, some would say stupidity is equally...