A part of the reading that caught my attention was when Homer posited that a brave person is one who seeks honor and social esteem. The Odyssey by Homer is one of my favorite pieces of writing and I definitely saw Odysseus as brave while I was reading it. I absolutely bought into Homer’s definition of bravery without thinking about what really makes a person brave.
Homer said that brave people are individualistic and concerned with their reputations and social standing. A brave person continuously improves upon their reputation and builds their legacy. This attitude, however, can conflict with the preservation of society and can cause turmoil in the individual as well. For example, seeking dangerous or risky opportunities to prove something or to improve reputation is reckless.
I thought this reading was interesting because while reading the Odyssey, I didn’t think about Odysseus’s motivations for his actions. If I were to read the Odyssey again, I think that I might view him a lot differently and perhaps not even as a hero. I tend to think of a hero or brave person as someone who does something selflessly to better the lives of others without seeking recognition for it and not wanting attention for their action. I don’t think Odysseus would fall under the definition of a brave person in Aristotle’s eyes or mine. I think, while his actions were daring, he would be considered reckless by Aristotle.