A person typically thinks of a hero as someone with great strength or skill. But a hero is much more than simply being brave or strong. In Homer's epic poem The Odyssey, Odysseus faces many challenges and is faced with his greatest weakness: his arrogance or excessive pride. However, Odysseus earns the title of hero because he shows courage, uses cunning, and overcomes his arrogance. To begin with, Odysseus deserves to be called a hero because his courage is necessary for his survival. If Ulysses had not had courage, he would not have survived the journey. Even though Odysseus is not fearless, he still has courage because he fights terror. When he approached Polyphemus, the Kyklops, Odysseus was very afraid because the Kyklops was a huge man-eating monster. But Odysseus had the ability not to worry, to control his men and to have the courage to fight the Kyklops using his wits. Another example is when Odysseus had the option to go to Skylla and have only six men die or go to Kharybdis and have all the men die or all the men live. Odysseus wasn't quite sure which one to go towards. The quote "that sight by far the worst thing I ever suffered" (XII, line 334) shows the reader that he was not fearless and rather scared, but he was brave following his "gut" feeling and going towards Skylla to risk six but all men. Odysseus is calm even when he finds himself in difficult situations, which means he doesn't worry when things take a turn for the worse. Odysseus was calm as he floated in the middle of the sea after the gods had destroyed his ship and his companions had died because they had eaten the cattle. It took him a great deal of mental courage to remain calm and hope that the gods... middle of paper... could devise plans to kill our enemies” (XVI, 275-277). This quote shows that she not only shows trust in the gods, but how she has already planned and prepared to kill the suitors. Ultimately, Odysseus overcomes his arrogance by becoming a new person who contains humility. In conclusion, Odysseus deserves to be called a hero because he displays courage, employs cunning, and contains humility instead of arrogance. Odysseus is not always fearless, but he has the courage to fight his fear and do what he must do. Furthermore, Ulysses's cunning is able to get him out of difficult situations by making him think on the spot. Finally, Odysseus realizes his flaws, one of which is that he did not think that the gods were higher than him and had more power than him. Overall, Odysseus' journey changed his life for the better and he is recognized as a true hero.