Heroes always inspire people to be better and do good deeds. Sometimes a hero is the brave and strong man who is constantly saving his city from danger. Other times, the hero is the most unlikely civilian, an ordinary man who has never saved a single person, much less a whole population. Everyone roots for the ordinary man, because he represents everyday men and women all around the world who can also be heroes.Here are 7 characteristics of a hero that explain why we love them:
1. Heroes are unexpected. The people we expect to be heroes are charming, muscular, and over-confident. Usually, they just end up being jerks, though.
2. Heroes are unknown. The real heroes are lurking in the background somewhere. They aren’t famous. They’re nobodies.
3. Heroes are ordinary. At the beginning of the story, our heroes are losers. They’re mopping a floor somewhere.
4. Heroes become heroes through adversity. At the beginning of the story, their skills are untested. Conflict must draw out courage.
5. Heroes show up at the 11th hour. It’s not until the last moment when all hope seems to be lost, that a hero distinguishes himself from the rest of the pack. Heroes surprise us.
6. Heroes push through fear. They live what we all claim to believe — that courage isn’t absence of fear but facing it. They acknowledge their feelings but rise above them.
7. Heroes fight for others. Heroes emerge when the innocent are in peril. Heroes fight, not because they want to, but because those whom they love will die if they don’t.
Considering these characteristics, I think Mentor from the Odyssey could be considered an everyday hero. When I say Mentor, I mean the real Mentor not Athena in the form of Mentor. We never think about the actual Mentor and what possible role he played in the preservation of Ithaca. Athena may have been the brains behind the operation, but it wasn't as if the true Mentor ceased to exist. How do you think Mentor was an everyday hero? Does he express some or all of the characteristics above? Or do you think he wasn't a hero but rather just a vessel Athena used to guide Odysseus and Telemachus? Explain why.
Mentor is the quintessence of your average everyday hero. He fades in the background, and tries not to draw attention to himself. Mentor is an old wise friend of Odysseus, and is definitely not the save the damsel in distress type of hero. He kept the faith in Odysseus alive in Ithaca, and raised Telemachus. Mentor as Mentor, follows rules 1-3 in the above list. Mentor does follow the other rules, but only in the parts of the story where Athena disguised herself as Mentor. Athena changed the character of Mentor, and fought for others. So, in some ways I do agree that Mentor was a vessel for Athena, but only for her to finish the job of being the hero. Without Mentors heroism in the beginning, Mentor/ Athena would have never been able to accomplish the job with being a hero. Therefore, Ithaca would have fallen into corruption by the suitors, and Odysseus would have died. Mentor and Athena were both the heroes in this story, and they were both beneficial to the character of Mentor.
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