Oliphant 1

Logan T. Oliphant
Ms. Noyce
English B4
December 14th, 2015
The traits of ancient Greeks, Odysseus
In the times of the Greeks, with Gods and Goddesses, the Greeks chose
many desirable traits and attributes to give to their heroes and Gods. Like
with Heracles and his strength that is matched by no-one, and Zeus thunder
powers making him God of all Gods, the Greeks look up to and honor their
traits. Each God, Goddess, and hero has something desirable or likeable
about them that makes them who they are. In Homers book The Odyssey
the hero Odysseus shows many desirable traits liked by the Greeks. In the
book the Odyssey, Odysseus is fearless which is very heroic to the Greeks
because he blinded a monstrous cyclops and slayed a suitor in close combat.
During the time Odysseus in the cyclops cave, Odysseus became a
fearless hero who saved him and his men. During the time they are trapped
in the cave Odysseus says, We drove the sharp end of the beam into the
monsters eye, and bearing upon it with all my weight I kept turning it round
and round (Homer 98). This shows just how fearless Odysseus really is. He
stabbed a huge cyclops in the eye with metal beams to help save him and
his men, thats truly heroic. The Greeks mustve been in awe to hear about a

Oliphant 2

hero like Odysseus taking down a huge monster because it said he bore
down all his weight into the beam meaning he had to put lots of strength and
effort into taking down the beast.
When Odysseus came back home, he was a fearless warrior. During
one of Odysseus fights with a suitor the author said, Odysseus struck the
son of Damastor with a spear in close fight (Homer 228). Odysseus, being a
true hero, would not stand for the fact that a suitor would go after his wife so
being the fearless hero he is he fights the suitor. His duel with the suitor was
a close fight and thats why the Greeks honor his bravery because Odysseus
couldve died. When a hero is in an intense moment and becomes victorious
its very exciting. Odysseus bravery was a key element in the process of
slaying the suitor.
Odysseus is fearless and very heroic in the eyes of the Greeks,
because he blinded a beastly cyclops, and fought and slayed a mad suitor.
Because Odysseus is so fearless during the time he was trapped in the cave
by the cyclops, he saves all his men by jabbing the cyclops eye. Odysseus is
very heroic when he comes back home and defends his wifes honor by
fighting the suitor. Because of these great traits of Odysseus in the eyes of
the Greeks he is a fearless and heroic hero.