Is Odysseus Not Hero?

Merriam-Webster defines a hero as, “A person who is admired for great or brave acts or fine qualities.” For Odysseus to be a hero this definition is supposed to fit and describe him and his character, but why does this definition not describe or fit him and his character? This is because Odysseus is not a hero. Odysseus has done unethical things on his journey that makes him a person that should go unadmired. For example, when Odysseus ignored the death of his man in order to make more progress on his journey since he claims a task was pressing and waited for the Cyclops in order to be offered more gifts (his men die as a result), these examples prove he is a person who does unethical things. Odysseus is not a hero because he is disloyal, selfish, and greedy.

Odysseus is not a hero because he lets his pride make most of his decisions, which gets him into difficult situations. Throughout The Odyssey, Odysseus makes mistakes that causes his men to be killed. Most of these mistakes could have been fixed by Odysseus making better decisions throughout his journey.

Odysseus portrays himself as anything but a hero throughout Homer’s The Odyssey. Odysseus goes through his life believing he is the best. He has no regard for anyone’s feelings but his own, and he believes nothing and no one can harm him, not even the gods. Odysseus feels he is always the leader and no one can tell him otherwise. Odysseus should not be considered a hero because he portrays himself as a selfish man that failed his crew, and is controlled by his hubris.

He is stricken with hunger and longs for nourishment, but he is able to triumph over this temptation by remaining mentally strong: “One day I withdrew to the interior / to pray the gods in solitude, for hope / that one might show me some way of salvation” (XII, 426 – 428). Instead of giving in to temptation, Odysseus heroically prays to the gods. In addition to physical and emotional challenges, Odysseus faces intellectual challenges, and is able to overcome these challenges with quick thinking. Odysseus must utilize his cunning wit when he devises a plan to surprise the suitors in an attack, and hide their weapons: “I / shall signal to you, nodding: at that point / round up all armor, lances, gear of war / left in our hall, and stow the lot away” (XVI, 335 – 338). This challenge tests Odysseus as a tactician, and he is able to succeed with intellectual valor. Odysseus encounters a mental challenge when he is on the Land of the Kyklopes. He quickly tells Polyphemos that his name is “Nohbdy”, and then once the Polyphemos is stabbed, the other Kyklopes think that “Nohbdy” hurt him. Then, Odysseus and his men are able to escape on the underside of sheep. Odysseus bravely risks the lives of his men and himself. Odysseus overcomes all these challenges, using his physical, emotional, and intellectual abilities. The courage he displays in each of these instances makes him more heroic.

The majority of those who read The Odyssey consider the protagonist of the story, Odysseus, a hero. On many occasions, however, Odysseus makes decisions beneficial to himself alone. For example, when Odysseus and his men find themselves on Polyphemus's island, Odysseus's actions are self-centered and at the expense of his men. This can be said for most of Odysseus's actions in the story, as his main objective is to reach his home. Having his men by his side when he returns seems a trivial thing to him. Odysseus could be considered a hero, but many of his actions say otherwise. Due to the many unfaithful and self-centered decisions he makes in the story, Odysseus is not a hero.

Joseph Campbell once said, “A hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself.” True heroes are those who do something for others rather for themselves, Odysseus doesn’t exactly show this trait in The Odyssey. In The Odyssey, Odysseus along with his men try to go back home to Ithaca but due to Odysseus nature, only he actually returns alive. In Homer’s The Odyssey, Odysseus proves he is not a hero because he is arrogant, secretive, and unfaithful; resulting for readers to believe that every action has an consequence.

As a final point, being brave, strong, and making a quick decisions was many kinds of being a hero and that’s what Odysseus had that make him a hero. Odysseus with his men going through a lot of challenges but in the end he is the only one survived and alive. With this in mind, the epic poem showed us how big the difference between the people 3,000 years ago and people in this generation. The author shows in the epic poem how whimsical the world 3,000 years ago and how powerful the gods in their maturity.

Odysseus tends to use strategy over strength to be a hero when it comes to challenges. Instead of beginning with fighting the Cyclops, he takes his time and sets up a plan. Everytime he enters a new island, he does not start telling everyone that he is Odysseus, king of Ithaca. Instead, he charms the people he meets and uses his wise words that cause them to help and pity him. Odysseus represents what being a hero is actually all about. Throughout the novel The Odyssey by Homer, Odysseus continuously shows his personality of being an admirable hero to everyone by using strategy instead of strength.

Another way Odysseus was a hero was when he escaped from the cyclops underneath the bellies of the sheep. He got most of his men out and away from the cyclops from the sheep but he lost a few men to the cyclops. The men he had lost was eaten by the cyclops himself and was soon ready to feast on the rest of the crew of the ship. While escaping from the cyclops the men had took the sheep upon the boat with them. Odysseus took the biggest on out of the herd of sheep.

Odysseus: a hero in every way. He is a real man, skilled in the sports, handy with a sword and spear, and a master of war strategy. Most of the challenges and adventures in his return voyage from Troy show us this even if we had no idea of his great heroic stature and accomplishments in the Trojan war. I found in my reading of the Odyssey that most of the trials the gods place upon him are readily faced with heroic means. These challenges are not

After finally returning home from being away for twenty years, Odysseus realizes that things have changed. He learns that there are now a multitude of suitors who are trying to win over his wife and take over his kingdom. His wife, Penelope, does not want to marry any of these suitors, but she promised Odysseus that she would remarry if he was gone for more than twenty years. Penelope arranges a contest in order to decide which suitor she should marry. She decides that the suitors must all try to shoot Odysseus’ bow to win the contest. After the failed attempts of all the suitors, it is finally Odysseus’ turn. He shoots the arrow without a problem and wins the contest. Penelope accepts him as her husband again and they live happily ever after. Through this contest, Odysseus displays his heroic qualities. He is brave and incredibly intelligent, which is why he knew he would win the contest. He knew that he was the only one who was able to shoot his bow. He is once again the hero, because he could accomplish a task that no other man

A hero is defined as a person who is risking their life to save others. There are many differents types of heroes, such as Superman or Captain America. But the true heroes are the ones that were formed during the ancient times because those people set an example for the heroes today. On the topic of heroes Heroes, Odysseus from the book The Odyssey, by Homer has displayed many reasons as to why he should be a hero and why he should not. For instance, Odysseus appears as a very determined character that never lost hope in getting back home. On the other hand, Odysseus is very self-centered and does not listen to other people’s advice, therefore this caused a lot of deaths. Odysseus is also to be known as not loyal to his spouse Penelope because as

The odyssey, Homer's epic which documents Odysseus and his, give or take 20years struggle to return home after the Trojan War. Odysseus battles mythological creatures and fights against the wrath of gods like Poseidon, his wife Penelope and his son Telemacus turn away all other suitors looking for his mother's hand in marriage and defend his throne in Ithaca and at the same time anticipating Odysseus return home.

Odysseus is one of the greatest epic heros in the history of literature. The Odyssey, by Homer, is an epic poem, which depicts the journey home of Odysseus. Angering many gods, this voyage takes him through multiple obstacles, and ends up taking almost twenty years longer than it should've. Throughout his journey, “The Son of Laertes” must get his crew out of trouble multiple times. He uses his intellect and other strengths to do so, and never gives up, no matter the circumstance. Even after losing everything he needs in a storm worthy of the gods, Odysseus still never gives up, and gets himself out of trouble yet again. Throughout his entire journey, coming home from the Trojan War, Odysseus repeatedly uses many heroic traits to get himself and his crew out of many unfortunate situations. These heroic traits, how Odysseus uses them, and the steps of his journey all come together to illustrate that he is an epic hero. Odysseus characterizes himself as an epic hero based on how he almost perfectly follows the characteristics of an epic hero, gets his crew out of trouble multiple times, and follows the Hero's Journey.

Traditionally, a hero is the main character of a story and has noble qualities. In Homer’s Odyssey, the central character is the great Odysseus; however, Odysseus’s nobility is questionable on multiple accounts during the Odyssey. Odysseus almost fits the role of a character who is a strong leader, charismatic, and selfless, but under the microscope, he does not live up to hero status. Homer acknowledges Odysseus’s wit and wisdom through the accounts of other characters, but upon “meeting” him, he falls short of expectation. Odysseus acts only for the sake of his best interest, and that outweighs his achievements and abilities. Rather, Odysseus fits the profile of an anti-hero.