Odysseus Is Not A Hero Essay

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.

In Homer's Odyssey Odysseus is a character who, sometimes behaves like a proper hero and also as a very self-centered character at other points. He earns the respect of his men during the Trojan War by making good sound decisions and caring about the welfare of his men. But, in his adventure home Odysseus is definitely not taking the responsibility of a hero among his men. On almost any page you turn to in the epic, you can find some act of greed or foolishness coming from Odysseus. He plays with the lives of his men with no regard for the well-being or their families. Odysseus is not a hero because, he is foolish, lacks faithfulness and is consumed by his Hubris and selfishness.

    Some people might say the things he did were unheroic. After all, Odysseus’ actions were reckless and his men never made it back home, but this is wrong. Odysseus fought for each of his men on multiple occasions. Even heroes make mistakes, they are still human, however a real hero can overcome those mistakes

Odysseus is classified as an epic hero in the “ Odyssey.” In the story Odysseus wanders around the ocean and islands in search for his solution to get back home safely. Although he wanders for twenty years without his family, just crew members, he possess characteristics of being a brave warrior, a loyal husband, and a creative mind tricking person.

Odysseus is not a hero because he is selfish. First example is that he mounted Circe’s, a woman that helped Odysseus, bed. Odysseus said “ then, at last , I mounted circe’s gorgeous bed….” (Homer 10.386). This shows that Odysseus had mounted Circe’s bed and that he had a affair with Circe. He wasn't thinking about his wife and son. This shows that he is selfish. Also this shows that he cheated on his wife Penelope, he also never told her about it. Another example that proves he is not a hero when he was acting selfish by sacrificing his crew men. Odysseus said, “ comrades riven in agony/ shrieking out my name /.../ angler poised on a jutting rock /.../ gasping out their lives. (12.270-75). This shows that he is really selfish because instead of sacrificing his life he was thinking about him self and he killed his crew members. This also shows that he is not a hero because he was mean because when the crew members were yelling his name he never saved them all he did was watch them die. Third example is that when the nurce, Eurcilia bathed Odysseus when he was wearing a disguise, she found a scar on him that he got years ago. Then Odysseus threatened her. He told her not to tell anyone who he really is. Homer said, “ But Odysseus shot his right hand out, clutching the nurses throat”. (19.542-43). This shows that he is selfish because he doesn't care about the nurse. He would have killed her thinking she would spoil his plan. Also this shows that he is mean because he yelled at the nurse to not tell anyone who he really is. These details show that Odysseus is not a hero because of his selfishness because in every one of these evidences he only thinks about himself.

A hero is someone who puts others before themselves. In the epic poem “The Odyssey” by Homer, Odysseus is knows how to trick anyone into anything, is helpful to his crew, and tries to learn from his mistakes. Therefore Odysseus is motivational, has leadership and has courage to do whatever he desires If Odysseus didn’t motivate his crew they probably wouldn’t have been alive for most of the story. “I drove my big hand spike deep in my embers charring it again and cheered my men with battle talk to keep their courage up” (Homer, 323).

Odysseus does not fit the mold of a true hero because he is not perfectly of good character and also, like all human beings, possesses some less than favorable qualities. What I mean by less than favorable is that the qualities are not neccessarily those that you would associate with the "perfectly good" being. For example, you probably do not associate the characteristics merciless, reckless, or cruel with your favorite fictional hero.Those are characteristics of the classic villain, aren't they? My point is, each of those

Everybody has their flaws but we all admit to them at one point, even if it takes someone getting hurt for us to admit them. Nobody wants to be flawed, but we all are. Odysseus, on the other hand is so ignorant that even when someone gets hurt because of him, he still believes he has no flaws. One of the things defines a hero is that they save the day, which Odysseus did but not before being the reason for deaths. He saves the day without apologizing for upsetting the Poseidon, not trusting his crew, and being the reason for some of his men’s deaths. Odysseus is not a hero due to his lack of a good heart.

Miguel Marte Mr.Barry 5-11-15 Period 3 “A hero of distinguished by their courage or ability to be able to lead others, admired for his brave deeds and noble qualities. A person who, in the opinion of others, has heroic qualities or has performed a heroic act and is regarded as a model or ideal: He was a local hero when he saved the drowning child” ( dictionary.reference.com/browse/hero) This is what a hero is and by just reading this you can tell that Odysseus fits in all of these places. Odysseus shows courage and he is able to lead others his crew admired him for his brave deeds if this is not a hero then what is. One moment where Odysseus shows a lot of courage was when Odysseus and his crew were in the cyclops cave

Odysseus is a truly a hero he saves his crew in more than one case and tries to save them by giving advice. He also completes many challenges and emerges victorious. Odysseus on the surface is selfish and injures a cyclops after he invaded its home as well as kill many suitors that did the same thing he did to the cyclops, but when

Odysseus: Is He Really a Hero? Philip Zimbardo, a psychologist said, “I'm saying to be a hero it means you step across the line and are willing to make a sacrifice, so heroes always are making a sacrifice.” In The Odyssey, an epic poem written around 700 B.C. by Homer, a main character named Odysseus attempts to reach hero status. Odysseus does not have the heroic qualities that Zimbardo believes make a great hero. However, Odysseus is close to reaching hero status through his strong instincts, but his selfish and disloyal behavior prevents him from becoming a true hero.

Odysseus from the Odyssey is a controversial figure because it can sometimes be unclear if he is supposed to be a hero or not. However, It is actually very clear. Odysseus is most definitely a hero because of all of the things that he did to help his men survive as long as possible. By no means was Odysseus a perfect leader but he learned from his mistakes and he was an effective leader.

According to the article “What Really Is A Hery, Anyway”, Arhur Ashe stated, “Heroes are people who transform compassion into heroic actions.” Heroes can be an ordinary person who helps you throughout life and can lead you on the best path of life. They can also be a special person who is there for you in the time of need. Odysseus is king of Ithaca and a man of honor to the Ithaca people . Odysseus goes on an journey but on his journey he tries to get back home , but on his journey home he cheated on his wife and didn’t care about any of his crew members that came with him. In result of the things Odysseus does he is not a modern day hero.

A hero is someone with respect, valor, and loyalty. With his greedy ways and his lack of loyalty, Odysseus is rightfully stripped of his title as a hero.

Odysseus has been heroic in many ways, when his men were stuck and didn’t want to leave the island of the lotus eaters he made them. He could’ve left them on the island and returned home himself, but instead he wanted them with him. He still might have forced them to leave he has saved him men in many ways. He might have lied to them but if they would've stayed there they could've got killed. He has also helped them escape the cyclop,