The Odyssey can be characterized as a list of things: a book, adventure story, or even a suspense story. But The Odyssey is truly identified as one thing, an epic. This is mainly because it shows the true characteristics of an epic, such as a hero, vast setting, plenty of action, and supernatural forces.
The hero in The Odyssey is obviously Odysseys. Some people may not consider him as a hero, but by epic standards, he is. A hero definitely has to be brave. Odysseys conquers this characteristic in several ways. One of his best examples of bravery is fighting off the suitors that are stealing everything from him. As Odysseys stated, "Now at last the crucial test is at an end, and yet there is another mark, one that no man has struck before" (Homer, 437). This shows that Odysseys is going to ward off the suitors, a task that no man has accomplished and requiring a great level of bravery.
A hero is nothing if he/she can't do deeds for the good of all (or at least the majority). Odysseys does this in the example of tricking Circe. Odysseys demands, "IF you indeed would have me drink and eat, release my men; bring back my faithful friends" (203). He is demanding his men be turned back into humans, which can be considered helping for the good of all.
If a hero isn't GREAT looking, he/she isn't going to make it in the hero world. Odysseys was considered very good looking, as stated by Circe, "But now put back your blade within the sheath and let us lie together in bed: in loving- (201). Circe was saying she wanted Odysseys to be her lover, and you need to be good looking to have a beautiful women say that to you.
Although an epic does need a hero, it also requires a vast setting, ranging from a country, to the universe. In The Odyssey, the vast setting is the "known" world during that time period. Odysseys travels far and wide just ti return home. The book explains, " the man who wandered many paths of exile after he sacked Troy's sacred citadel.
