Courage

Courage: one of the most prevalent Greek values present in The Odyssey, exhibited mainly by Odysseus. Throughout the epic poem, Odysseus demonstrates courage in a great deal of ways; he demonstrates courage in almost everything he does. For one, Odysseus shows courage and bravery when he goes up to the Phaeacian princess and asks her for help and assistance. Odysseus is on an island that is completely foreign to him and he has no idea who the woman is or if she could be a threat, yet he still gathers up the courage to ask her for help. Odysseus also exhibits courage when he places beeswax in his shipmates’ ears and leaves himself to be tied to the mast of the ship without anything to prevent him from hearing the tempting and taunting voices of the sirens. Odysseus begs his shipmates to untie him and set him free, but they fortunately do not. Odysseus as well as his shipmates both show courage here because Odysseus knows the Sirens would be tempting, yet he manages to not let them get to him, and his shipmates show courage as well when they disobey Odysseus’s commands to set him free. Courage is demonstrated once again by Odysseus when he and his men encounter the land of the one-eyed giants known as the Cyclopes. Eventually, Odysseus’s men manage to get themselves stuck in a cave that happens to be the home of the Cyclopes that is Poseidon’s son; however, Odysseus manages to use his courageousness to create a plan to stab the Cyclopes in the eye with a hot rod, resulting in Odysseus and his men’s escape. If it weren’t for his courageousness, the giant would probably have eaten him and his men. Odysseus exhibits the trait of courage so well; consequently, it adds to why Odysseus is such a great epic hero, being so brave, bold, and dauntless.