terior rather than exterior significant life experience.
The view of human nature that emerges in The Odyssey also has remarkable differences from Ulysses, particularly the view of the central character. Homer's Odysseus is undoubtedly a heroic individual to the degree he lacks for no physical courage. It is Odysseus who wants to make sure he hears the Siren's song, Odysseus who understands the need for escaping the Lotus eaters, Odysseus who is willing to brave the Cyclops. But as Homer repeatedly indicates, there is a cunning feature to Odysseus's psychological makeup. Both Helen and Menelaos describe Odysseus as the "enduring Odysseus" (IV.241; IV.270). But Menelaos also says that Odysseus is sui generis as a human being:
In my time I have studied the wit and counsel of many
men who were heroes, and I have been over much of the world, yet
nowhere have I seen with my own eyes anyone like him,
nor known an inward heart like the heart of enduring Odysseus (IV.267-70).
Odysseus's actions confirm Menelaos's judgment, and not always to Odysseus's credit
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