The epic poem The Odyssey, written by Homer, focuses on the main protagonist Odysseus and his long journey home. Odysseus, the king of Ithaca, returns home after defeating the Trojans in a decades-long war. On the way home, he angers Poseidon, god of the sea, by blinding his son, the Cyclops Polyphemus. Because of Odysseus' actions, Poseidon refuses to let Odysseus reach home, and Odysseus and his crew are forced to overcome a number of obstacles throughout the epic. Through these adversities, Odysseus must display his heroic attributes to survive. Homer portrays Odysseus as a hero by giving him characteristics such as: cunning, loyalty, and courage. In situations where brute force has failed, Odysseus uses his cunning to create a plan and escape a difficult situation. Without his intelligence, Odysseus would not be able to survive. An example of Odysseus' inventiveness is demonstrated in the following quote: My time was near and I went forward with an ivy bowl of my dark drink in my hand, looking up and saying: "Cyclops try a little wine. Here's the liquor to wash down your leftover wine." men." (Homer page 991, lines 294-298)When Ulysses and his men realized they were trapped inside the cave, Ulysses was intelligent enough to realize that they would be trapped forever by the Cyclops' boulder if they had killed. Not only is Odysseus smart enough to create an escape plan by getting the Cyclops drunk, but he also remains calm and collected to trick the Cyclops into drinking the wine without arousing suspicion his identity as king of Ithaca and deceive the neighbors Cyclopes gives a false name saying: “My name is Nobody: mother, father and friends, / all call...... middle of paper... ...t, erect along the tree, tied to the tree, and if I cry out and beg to be untied, make several turns of rope to muffle me.' (Homer, lines 685-698) Ulysses orders his men to tie him to the mast of the ship, so he can be the only one to be tortured by the song of the Sirens. Circe predicts that Ulysses and his men will die and, in an attempt to sacrifice themselves for the crew, tells his crew to tie him up.These bold moves are another reason why he is separated from the other characters, as a hero.These heroic elements express Odysseus as a hero to some people.Others may argue that Odysseus is not a hero because he lost the crew members when he returned home to Ithaca But with the help of some characteristics, readers are strongly ignorant of the fact that he lost them all. Homer describes Odysseus as a true hero.