How Odysseus is a hero in the Odyssey
             The Odyssey, according to Gilbert Highet "took place in a time of war and violence with pirates, savages and monsters pressing in upon the small world and in heaven, a dynasty of angry, incalculable and violent gods, quarreling with one another and men" (v). Through all of this misery and misfortune lived a hero, and his name was Odysseus. Odysseus was the king of Ithaca, husband of Penelope, and the father of Telemachus. He left his homeland to go fight in the Trojan War and didn't return until twenty years had passed. During this time he was faced with a war that lasted ten years, unforgiving gods that did not want him to return home, monsters that killed his crew and lands that were unknown to him. He was on a journey of self discovery and every obstacle that got in his way helped him become the person and hero that he became.
             "Odysseus is one of the first Greek mythic heroes renowned for his brain as well as his muscle" (Internet source). This helped him become the leader and fighter he became in the war. The Trojan war was the first adventure of Odysseus' journey. He spent ten years of his life fighting and suffering through many hardships, which showed heroic qualities such as patience and tough endurance of pain and set backs. "This battle depended a lot on the chiefs. A single hero with extreme dexterity, powerful will and terrifying strength could often turn the whole war around like an ace fighter pilot" (Myers, vii). Odysseus was one of those chiefs who became known as one of the most heroic leaders of all the Greek warriors. This was evident in Book Four when Menelaus realized that Telemachus was Odysseus' son saying, "here is the son of that great hero" (IV, 173), "the son of my dearest friend, that man who performed a hundred feats of arms for me" (IV,186-87). By this time the war had been over for sometime and Odysseus' journey home looked promising until he upset ...