ODYSSEUS AS A CULTURAL HERO Odysseus as a Cultural Hero

Odysseus as a Cultural Hero

Introduction

For any reader, who wants to appreciate the quality of Odyssey, one subtle clue would be enough; Odysseus came after Lliad. In this chapter, Odysseus has been represented as a cultural hero who destroyed the holy city of Troy. Though there is nothing ironic about Odysseus, he is regarded as an influential leader in The Odyssey. The first line of the poem tells us that Odysseus was a clever man, who had an unmatchable intelligence and is considered among those men who are well aware of the fate men have, who knows that by using their minds life can be better. He was renowned as a man of resource and became famous because of his efforts he did in the wars, before returning to home.

He is unique from other heroes of Homer because he uses his mind; supernatural powers or extraordinary physical abilities are not among the elements which constitutes Odysseus's strength, but mind. He has been referred to as an intelligent man because he uses his intellect to overcome the hindrances. This paper aims to compare the character of Odysseus with other characters of Homer, with respect to his character and his responses towards the situation of crises (MacKendrick and Howe, 1959).

Discussion

First comparing Odysseus with Jason, who was encountered a similar adventure as of Odysseus. Jason's adventure was for regaining his throne. Both of them faced many dangers in the sea and made their way to the destined places. Jason escaped the fleece of Aeetes' by using his intelligent tactics and escaped from Colchis by co-coordinating with Aeetes' daughter Medea. Odysseus did the same and used his mind to get out of Polyphemus. If it could have been some other hero like Diomedes or Achillies, he ...