A man of outstanding prowess and bravery, Odysseus uses his cunning ideas and insuperable intelligence to overcome the many obstacles presented to him. He is a crafty thinker, always searching for the best resolution that will prove beneficial to himself and others. "I was already plotting?What was the best way out? How could I find escape from death for my crew, myself as well? My wits kept weaving, weaving cunning schemeslife at stake, monstrous death staring us in the face.?(Book IX, lines 469-472) While his physical strength is greater than most, it is his emotional stability and level-headedness that allow him to reason and evaluate situations so well, thus often emerging victorious. But, without his perseverance, faith and ability to never lose sight of his true goals, he would have never managed to survive and reach his homeland of Ithaca. In times of peril, Odysseus was able to depend on his bravery and tact. Being the master of strategy, he often rationalized his way to victory by using his quick wit and persuasive personality. His cunning and creative ideas used when manipulating situations to fall in his favor were nearly flawless. A perfect example of his ability to maneuver out of tricky situations was demonstrated in his encounter with Polyphemus, the Cyclops. Odysseus and his crew were trapped in a cave by Polyphemus awaiting what they thought would be a gruesome and fatalistic end to their journey. However, after persuading Polyphemus into intoxication and then blinding him, Odysseus and his men were able to hide in the underbellies of rams. They clung to their fur as the exasperated Cyclops directed the rams from his cave in the hopes that he would find and devour Nobody, whom he would later identify to be Odysseus, and the remainder of his crew. "let my ram go free outside. But as soon as we" got one foot past cave and courtyard, first I loosed myself from the ram, then loosed my men, then quickly, glancing back again we drove our flock, good plump beasts with their long shanks, straight to the ship, and a welcome sight we were to loyal comradeswe who'd escaped our deaths.
