The hurricane-like gusts were unleashed, blowing the ships completely off-course. After coming so close to reaching his goal, Odysseus could have easily lost all hope. But since he posses such immense resilience, he sets sail again with the dream of arriving in Ithaca. During their adventure, Odysseus and his men encounter many difficult odds. One of these was having to pass the six-headed monster Scylla and Charybdis, a strong whirlpool, to reach Ithaca. There was no possible way to avoid both unharmed. Instead of feeling defeated and turning back, Odysseus thinks about the problem logically and steers around the whirlpool, losing only six men to Scylla. Another time when Odysseus pushes on in the face of hardship is when he is the only man left alive after angering the gods. When Odysseus and his crew came upon the island of Hyperion, they were starving. Tempted by the herds of cattle, some of the crew members slaughtered and ate a cow despite the warnings of Tiresias and Circe. Shortly after they left the island, Zeus destroyed their last ship by striking it with a thunderbolt. This killed the entire crew with the exception of Odysseus, who was now left to fend for himself in the roaring sea. In a situation like this, most people would give in and let go. But Odysseus knew he had to hang on and because of his persistence, he managed to make it to the shores of Ogygia. Odysseus was an extremely determined man who would let nothing stop him from reaching his goal. To have this amazing ability to never give despite how hopeless things might appear requires strength and also intellect.
Many people believe that to be considered a hero, a person only has to be strong. But the fact is that having and deserving the title hero is much more. When someone is a hero, they are smart and use their knowledge in addition to their strength. This is exactly what Odysseus did. He was incredibly strong but he used his wits to find ways out of tricky situations.
