Homer's Odyssey is a Greek story that follows the journey of its main character, Odysseus, back home to Ithaca after the Trojan War. Odysseus encounters many challenges on his journey home, including his encounters with Polyphemus the Cyclops, the witch Circe, and even the ghosts of dead Greeks. Meanwhile, his home in Ithaca is threatened by the suitors of his wife, Penelope, who all want to inherit Odysseus' estate, believing that he was already dead. Like many epic heroes, Odysseus possesses many admirable qualities. Odysseus' three good characteristics are intelligence, bravery, and strength. Here are some examples from the epic that demonstrate that Odysseus possesses such characteristics. Odysseus' first heroic characteristic is his intelligence. In The Odyssey, one of the instances where Odysseus demonstrates intelligence is during his encounter with the Cyclops Polyphemus. Polyphemus captures Odysseus and his men on the island of the Cyclops, filled with other giants. Although the Greeks were expected to show hospitality to strangers, Polyphemus ended up eating some of Odysseus' men. To escape the giant, Ulysses comes up with a clever plan. He offers wine to Polyphemus to make the giant drunk. When the giant falls asleep, Odysseus stabs Polyphemus' singular eye, blinding the giant. The giant naturally wakes up and begins to attempt to recapture Odysseus and his men. Knowing that the giant's cries would most likely attract the attention of the other giants on the island, Odysseus responds to Polyphemus when the giant asks him his name: his name is "Noman." But when Polyphemus cries for help, none of the other giants come to his aid, as he cries "My friends, N...... middle of paper ......145)." This is a physically demanding thing to do, as he was responsible for turning the large wooden bar in order to pierce it into Polyphemus' eye. Finally, Odysseus' murder of all of his wife's suitors shows his great strength. Odysseus and Telemachus were able to kill the dozen suitors with the help of the gods. In these cases, Odysseus performs actions that most men would find physically difficult, which only proves that strength is one of his heroic characteristics. In conclusion, Odysseus displays the good and heroic characteristics of intelligence, bravery, and strength through his actions in response to the challenges he faced in The Odyssey. Like any great literary hero, Ulysses exhibits certain character flaws, such as pride and violence. But his good traits make him a hero to root for and agree with, despite all his flaws...