Odysseus

Odysseus and the Trojan War
Odysseus is shown in many scenarios to prefer brains over brawn. Unwilling to be drafted into the Greek Army, the king of Ithaca feigned insanity. So Odysseus "went insane" and plowed his fields with salt, destroying its ability to grow crops. His "condition" was disproved only when a messenger of the army placed Telemachos, the king's infant son, in front of the plow. When Odysseus veered the plow away from his son and therefore displayed his complete sanity, the king was forced to join the army. Even after journeying to Troy, Odysseus showed his cunning and resourcefulness. On page 34 of The Odyssey, Nestor, one of Odysseus' most firm allies, confirms that Odysseus was the craftiest man in the entire Greek army at the time, saying, "Nine long years we were busy, scheming and plotting and planning in every possible way, and only just managed it, thanks be to God! All that time no one came near Odysseus in all plots and plans and schemes..." This declaration is proven true throughout the king's adventures in the Odyssey.

Odysseus and the Trojan Horse
After being drafted into the Greek Army, Odysseus displayed his cunning through his clever strategies. Knowing that the Greeks would be extremely outnumbered by the Trojans, the Ithacan king suggested a plan that would lead to the sacking of Troy. Odysseus created a large, hollow wooden horse in which a group of Greek soldiers hid. The horse was presented to the Trojans and was accepted as a sign of the Greeks surrendering. At night, Odysseus and the Greeks exited the horse and slew the Trojans, sacking the city of Troy and ending the Trojan War. Had he opted to charge headfirst into Troy as the Tank seems to think he should have, Odysseus and all of the men that followed him would have found only death instead of glory and wealth.

Odysseus and Polyphemus
The cyclops were man-eating giants with a single eye in the middle of their foreheads known for their brute strength and power. When he found a cave filled with all kinds of food and livestock, Odysseus and his men chose to stay there and eat some of the food, then present the inhabitant of the cave with extremely fine wine. This did not work out at all, and Odysseus and his men were trapped by the cave's inhabitant, the cyclops Polyphemus. Odysseus could not rely on brawn alone, as Polyphemus would have easily slaughtered him and his men, so the Ithacan king created a clever plot to save the lives of his crew.

Odysseus knew that he could not kill Polyphemus until the rock sealing the entrance was removed. Realizing that only Polyphemus possessed the power to open the cave, he tricked the cyclops into becoming drunk off the wine brought from the ship all while constructing a weapon out of a wooden pole. When asked for his name, Odysseus replied with "Noman." Right when Polyphemus fell into a drunken slumber, the crew heated the weapon in the fire and stabbed the cyclops in the eye. The neighboring cyclops came running to the sound of Polyphemus's screams and when they asked what happened, Polyphemus replied, "O my friends, Noman is killing me by craft and not by main force!" (108.) By saying 'Noman' had attacked him, the neighbors believed no man was with the cyclops and that Polyphemus only injured himself.

The now blind Polyphemus knew that the crew would escape if he opened the cave's entrance so he touched the backs of each of his livestock in attempt to find the men. But Odysseus was one step ahead; he tied each of his men and himself under the bellies of the sheep and rams. Polyphemus was unable to detect the crew as the men slipped out of the cave under the livestock.

Summary
Odysseus is a prime example of a great hero. Relying on brains more than brawn, the Ithacan king displayed cunning as he journeyed back to his family and home. But Odysseus still excelled in physical strength, efficiently using brawn to survive. In order to play a hero like Odysseus, one must show cleverness and resourcefulness.