Odysseus thou try's to take the hard way. "I replied, "Both of your choices are dreadful, Circe! Tell me, is there not some way I can fight off Scylla and also escape the clutches of Charybdis?"(94) Odysseus was just advised not to fight these forces because of the dangers that were involved. It shows that Odysseus just likes to get himself in more danger. But it does show that Odysseus has the courage in dealing with the harder parts.
Being intelligent is one of Odysseus's finer qualities. One can be very strong and can fight like the greatest warrior alive, but if they are as thick as a brick, they wont be able to tackle as many obstacles as a smart man can. Odysseus often hesitates before acting, because he uses his reason and gift to evaluate things. This patience is one of his most important additional attributes. This has saved him and his men many of times, and it can be easily seen in various instances throughout his travels such as when he disguised himself as a beggar when he finally reached Ithaca, waiting for the right moment to reveal himself. This was very wise because he heeded the words of Athena. Odysseus also learns to pay close attention to the instructions of the gods, or he might have to face a terrible price. When Odysseus and his crew landed at the island of Aeolus, they were given a parting gift that would have helped them greatly if they had paid heed to the warnings of Aeolus. He gave Odysseus a bag full of the bad winds that would keep them from their home of Ithaca. Odysseus and his crew were in sight of the homeland they had waited so long to see, when a band of rebel crewmen opened the bag creating a great gale that blew them back to Aeolus. When Aeolus saw this he believed that Odysseus was cursed and banished him from the island. This is not the only time Odysseus was betrayed by his men and suffered a great price. When they landed on the island of Hyperion, bad winds prevented them from leaving.
After reading these essays, one's views on life can definitely change. ... According to Carleton Coon, an American Anthropologist, before A.D. 1500, there was one pure race of dark brown skin, then as subgroups traveled, mutations reduced pigmentation for different groups" survival (Coon, Racial Odysse 204). ...