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Odysseus is a man that embodies the general aspect of an epic hero but does not seem to have the morals of a hero. He fights in an unfair manner, lies to his crew, and he kills for no apparent reason. (Repetition) Odysseus is Superman to the Greeks. (Metaphor) Try to imagine Superman fighting one of his numerous archenemies. Superman fights fair like the bigger man (simile), no matter what. After defeating the monster Superman does not kill it, but takes it to some place that it can live without it hurting others and then he does not lie about what he does. To begin, a hero fights on the side of fairness and would never lay traps to ambush an injured enemy. That would be like Superman breaking someone s legs and then challenging them to a fistfight.
This is in reference to Odysseus blinding the Cyclops and then taunting them as the beast lays reeling in pain. Then on the way out, Odysseus taunts the blinded enemy again, basically challenging him. This shows Odysseus lack of ability to fight fair. This is not a quality of a hero, epic or otherwise. Second, Odysseus lies to his crew by not telling them of the impending danger. Instead of telling his men he lies and lets the monsters take his crew by surprise.
Think of your self in that situation. Row, Row. By the way, duck, there is a huge monster behind you that I forgot to tell you guys about. Would a hero lie and not tell his men about danger? Of course not, all classic heroes always give their people a choice when facing death. Odysseus appears to be acting like a coward and deceiving his crew into following him.
Finally, a true hero only kills his enemy as a last resort. Odysseus, after twenty years at sea, comes home to find his wife holding a contest with suitors for her hand. After winning the contest he stands on a table yelling that he will kill them all. We would never think of Superman, someone thought to be hero, yelling that he would kill all of his foes. That is something we do not expect from a hero, it does not fit the ideals that we have. To conclude, a classic or epic hero is not judged by only a few actions, but by everything that he does.
Odysseus is not an epic hero because of the fact that he fights dirty, lies to his crew, and he kills for no reason. These are not the action of a hero or epic hero. A true hero has morals, ethics and compassion. Odysseus the epic hero seems to lack all of these characteristics.
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Research essay sample on Epic Hero True Hero
