Julio Alvarez

Miss Skirtich

World Literature

18 April, 2018

Odysseus’s Bravery

Imagine going off to war and leaving one’s family. Imagine it taking ten years to get

there, and then, another ten to get back. Imagine encountering monsters and immortal beasts

beyond one’s wildest dreams, all set on keeping one from getting back home. Imagine the

Bravery that one must exhibit to make it home to ones loved ones alive. This is the situation that

the god-like hero, Odysseus was in, during the great Epic Poem, The Odyssey. The Odyssey is

Homer's epic of Odysseus’ 10-year journey home after the Trojan War. Odysseus, following the

classic Greek composition of a hero, exhibits superhuman strength on many separate occasions,

which allows him to tread on following any tragic events, and to finally make it home after

twenty years. Odysseus exhibits bravery throughout the Odyssey during his conquests in the

Trojan war, his encounter with the Cyclops, and his encounter with the Scylla.

Firstly, Odysseus exhibits bravery throughout the Odyssey during the conquests in the

Trojan war. Odysseus story begins before the Odyssey. In fact, it begins in the Iliad, which is the

equally epic story of the Trojan war. Paris, a young prince from troy, kidnaps the wife of King

Menelaus, the most beautiful woman in all of Greece, and takes her back to his homeland of

Troy. The King, infuriated by Paris’ actions, moves swiftly, and unites all the city states of

Greece in a great war against the Trojans, to take back Helen. Odysseus our great hero, brave as

he is, conceives a plan to infiltrate the city of troy and ultimately bring it down in flames. He
offers the Trojans a giant wooden horse, as a gift from the Gods, which the Trojans bring into

their city as a trophy, but little do they know that inside this wooden horse, are a small group of

soldiers, led by Odysseus, whom will open the gates of the city from the inside, and allow the

great armies to enter the city and bring it down. This is where Odysseus troubles begin, as the

city of Troy is favored by the Gods. Odysseus ultimately is the one to bring upon its downfall,

which angers Zeus and company, raining down hell on Odysseus, and causing his journey home

to be extremely long and full of misfortune.

Furthermore, Odysseus exhibits bravery throughout the Odyssey during his encounter

with the Cyclops. In books 8 and 9, where Odysseus finds himself in the land of the Cyclops,

Polyphemus. Son of Poseidon, the earth shaker, and mortal foe of the great hero. When Odysseus

lands on this island, he takes his most fit men and leads a search party onto the inland in search

of sustenance and shelter from Zeus’ wrath. He approaches the cyclops hoping for hospitality,

but instead, to his horror, receives abundant hostility. The hideous beast devours several of his

men and threatens to kill Odysseus as well. The hero comes up with a plan to escape,“So, I gave

him some more of the ruby red wine… He listed as he spoke and fell flat on his back. He was

sound asleep…I swung into action…My men stood around me, and some god inspired us. My

men lifted the olive-wood stake and I drove the sharp point right into his eye,” (Homer 71)

Odysseus exhibits bravery when he undertakes this seemingly ludicrous plan, but it was all worth

it, as he blinds the cyclops facilitating his escape later, until the next time he exhibits great

bravery as he is escaping the island of Polyphemus. Odysseus calls out to the cyclops on shore

from his ship saying, “So, Cyclops, it turns out it wasn’t a coward whose men you murdered and

ate in your cave, you savage! But you got yours in the end, didn’t you? You had the gall to eat

the guests in your own house, and Zeus made you pay for it,” (Homer 75) At this point, the
Cyclops, infuriated by the hero’s words, rips off a massive crag off rock and hurls in towards

Odysseus’ ship, narrowly missing it. Despite this, Odysseus still calls out to him again, showing

the audience that this god-like man fears nothing.

Later on, during his journey home, Odysseus learns of a terrifying and vicious monster,

whom which he must cross paths with, if he wishes to make it back to his cherished Ithaca.

Circe, a witch whom he and his men are being for by, tells him of the great danger this Scylla,

and other beasts pose to himself and his crew. Nonetheless, Odysseus treads on, fearless into the

belly of the beast, and faces the monster head on, “Come on men, this isn’t the first time we’ve

run into trouble. This can’t be worse than when the Cyclops with his brute strength had us

penned in his cave. We got out by my courage and fast thinking. One day we’ll look back on this.

Now let’s do as I say!” (Homer 121) Odysseus does indeed encounter Scylla, and its equally

horrifying counterpart Charybdis, but he does not retreat, “We sailed up on the narrow channel,

wailing, Scylla on one side, Charybdis on the other. Sucking down saltwater.” (Homer 123)

Odysseus and his men fortunately make it out alive, thanks to the hero’s indisputable bravery, but

not without having lost many of their brothers in arms. Lastly, Odysseus exhibits bravery

throughout the Odyssey during his encounter with the Scylla.

In conclusion, Odysseus exhibits bravery throughout the Odyssey during the Trojan war,

his encounter with the Cyclops, and his encounter with the Scylla. One can learn many things

from Homer great pic of the Odyssey and the great hero Odysseus himself. He shows readers

tthat one may have many dark times dawn upon one’s lives, just as Odysseus had, but if one is

brave, and has courage, one can overcome anything that comes their way.