The Odyssey: Bravery and Strength

            After reading The Odyssey, it is evident that no matter what obstacle he and his men face, big or small, Odysseus' character remains the same. In the epic poem The Odyssey Homer explores and describes the life of a man named Odysseus. Many of Odysseus' god-like traits are evident throughout the many challenges he and his men face. Odysseus is a very clever, brave, and strong man. Throughout this epic, there are many situations where Odysseus proved his cleverness that ultimately saved him and most of the times his men too. One example of his cleverness is in book five, Odysseus tells Calypso that he does not miss his wife, but that he was simply homesick. He did this so that she would not get jealous and help him home. In book nine there are many great examples of Odysseus' cleverness. First to escape the island of the Lotus Eaters Odysseus has to tie his men down preventing them from eating any more of the flowers. Later in book nine when he and his men are trapped in the cave with Polyphemus, Odysseus knows that he cannot kill the cyclops because Polyphemus is the only one strong enough to move the boulder from in front of the door so instead he devises a plan and sets it into motion. This is clever because even in a very stressful situation, he stays calm and thinks through the situation and devises a solution. Then Odysseus gives Polyphemus wine to make him fall asleep faster and daze his senses. "Nobody-that's my name. Nobody-so my mother and father call me, all my friends " (223). Odysseus tricks Polyphemus into thinking that his name is Nobody so that when he and his men attack and Polyphemus's brothers come to help him, he yells ˜help Nobody is killing me' therefore his brothers would think that the plague has fallen on Polyphemus. "I lashed them abreast, quietly, twisting the willow-twigs the cyclops slept on-giant, lawless brute-I took them three by three; each ram in the middle bore a man while the two rams on either would shield him well.