Discovering the Hero in All of Us
When we think of heroes,
the gods and goddesses
of Mt. Olympus probably
come to mind. But rarely
do we imagine heroes
within
our
own
world. Take Odysseus
and his son Telemachos
for example. Although
they had the praises of
the gods, anyone is capable of becoming a
hero like they did. Though this task may
seem impossible, all it takes is a call to
action and the passion to succeed. The
editors at Psychology Today have
interviewed Odysseus and Telemachos to
reveal ten simple steps to becoming a
hero.
Step 1: Discovering your call. Your call can
be anything that sets you on a journey
outside of your everyday life. Odysseus’ call
was when Teiresias prophesied that
Odysseus would return home, but not
without suffering along the way. Knowing
that he would be able to return home, he
began to prepare for what may
come. Telemachos’ call occurred when
Athena appeared in the form of his father’s
friend Mentes. She told him he needs to
take the responsibility to go and find his
father and to send his mother’s suitors on
their way. Both men needed a small push
to get them started on their journeys.
Step 2: Receiving help from allies. When
setting out for a new, unknown adventure,
it is important to have friends on whom you
can count on. Athena was Telemachos’
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main ally throughout his
adventure. She gave him
insight and courage to search
for his father and become the
man of his house by putting the
suitors straight.
Odyssues’
crew members helped him
throughout his time spent on
his journey. They listened to
Odysseus and respected his
word (at least most of the time, not
including the time on the island of
Helios). Eumaois and Peisandros, the trusty
servants of the house of Odysseus, came to
help Odysseus after his return to Ithaca
when
he
fought
the
suitors.
Step 3: Crossing the threshold—including
challenges along the way.
When
Odysseus blinded the Cyclops, Poseidon
formed a grudge against Odysseus. In order
to become a hero, one must encounter
challenges along the way. The challenges
push you to discover yourself as well as
strengthening
you
to
become
a
hero. Odysseus became a hero when he
had to fight against the Cyclops. Here, he
had to find creative and safe ways to injure
an enemy much bigger than him or his
crew. Because he was successful at this,
Odysseus became more of a hero. In
addition, because Odysseus blinded the
Cyclops, Poseidon formed a grudge against
him and put more obstacles in his path.
These were obstacles that Odysseus again
had to find ways to get over in order to
become a hero. Crossing the threshold is
one of the first steps of becoming a hero
that helps one on their way to becoming a
Discovering the Hero in All of Us
hero and can lead to more obstacles in the
future.
Step 4: Temptations. Sometimes, there will
be enticing offers along your journey, but it
is important not to be distracted from your
goal. Circe and Calypso tempted Odysseus.
While Odysseus continued on his journey,
certain characters attempted to stray
Odysseus from his path home. For
example, Calypso imprisoned Odysseus on
her island. Calypso was never going to let
her one and only true love go. After 7 years
of imprisonment, the messenger god,
Hermes, convinced Calypso to release
Odysseus. Not long after Odysseus was set
free, Odysseus’ men were drugged by the
beautiful witch-goddess Circe. The drug
turned the men into pigs. Odysseus, being
the hero he is, ate an herb, protecting him
from Circe’s drug. Odysseus successfully
changed his men back into human form but
unfortunately became Circe’s lover for the
next year. If it wasn’t for those 8 years of
temptations, Odysseus would have been
able to make to make it home to Ithaca a
lot
sooner
than
he
did.
Step
5:
Revelation
or
Turning
Point. Eventually, there will be a moment
in time when something drastically changes
or you realize something you had not
before. When Odysseus arrived in Ithaca,
he was disguised as a beggar by Athena.
The only person to recognize him was
Euryclea. She did so by recognizing an old
scar on Odysseus’s leg. Not even
Telemachos could see through his disguise,
but Odysseus eventually revealed his
identity to his son. Odysseus then became
aware that Penelope had remained faithful
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to him by pretending to weave a burial
shroud for him, and claiming that she would
only choose a suitor when she was finished.
The suitors become furious and demanded
that she finally choose a new husband.
Odysseus then arrived at his house and
spoke to Penelope. He told her that he had
met Odysseus and told her about
Odysseus’s bravery in battle. This brought
Penelope to tears. She went to the suitors
and told them that whoever could string
Odysseus’s bow and shoot an arrow
through 12 axe-handles would marry her.
The suitors failed. Odysseus then took the
bow, strung it, and shot an arrow through
all 12 axe-handles. Athena then took off
Odysseus’s disguise. After his disguise was
removed, Odysseus and his son Telemachos
kill
all
the
suitors.
Step 6: Sharing the gift. Once you have
gained insight from your experiences, an
important part of your journey is to share
the gifts you have received. When
Odysseus and Telemachos see each other,
they were thrilled to be reunited. Odysseus
then shared his own story of his adventure
and all of the challenges he faced along the
way. After the two men talked about
recent events that had taken place in their
lives, they came up with a plan to finally
finish off the suitors. As part of the plan,
Odysseus disguised himself as a beggar in
order to successfully enter the palace. In
the end, the plan was a success and the
suitors were killed. The reuniting of
Odysseus and Telemachos allowed the two
to successfully communicate and bring an
end to the suitors once and for all.
Discovering the Hero in All of Us
Journeying to find our inner hero is no
simple task, so don’t feel frustrated if you
don't succeed at first. Most of the time,
you don’t suddenly choose this journey, the
journey chooses you. Becoming a hero is
left your fate. Finding our inner hero
requires perseverance, courage, and a big
heart. In the end, being a hero is about
giving back to the universe what has been
given to you. Telemachos and Odysseus
didn’t plan their journey; they were thrown
into a cruel world that required all of their
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energy. These two men succeeded in
becoming heroes because they were willing
to face the challenge they were presented
with and they never lost hope. To become
a hero, we must act honorable and
respectfully in our everyday lives as true
heroes do. Being a hero doesn’t end with
one task, it is a lifestyle. Everyone has the
heart of a hero hidden within them, men
and women just have to wait and rise to
their calling.