Odysseus Is Not A Heroic Figure In Homer's Odyssey

In the book The Odyssey, a general from Ithaca, named Odysseus, has gone through a long journey to get home from the war in Troy. He and his crew have faced many rigorous unexpected challenges on their way home. On this journey, Odysseus has tried to be the hero and have everyone come out alive, but he was not successful. The actions of Odysseus, during his journey, does not qualify him as a hero. He is dishonest to his crew and friends and he takes them for granted.

This is evident by the statement, “Captain, shake off this trance, and think of home-... that made me feel a pang, and I agreed” (Homer 517). This clearly indicates that Odysseus is a hero, because even though he has not seen his home for 10 years of war, he still harbors a deep longing for it. Under the influence of Circe, a powerful goddess, Odysseus

In The Odyssey, Odysseus decides that him and his crew should stay and see who owns the cave. As Odysseus says, “I wanted to see the owner himself.”(p.77). If Odysseus would have just left none of his men would have been killed. This shows Odysseus is not a hero because he let his pride get the better of him and stayed in the cave. Also in the Odyssey, Odysseus expects food and gifts from almost everyone he meets. This is one of the reasons Polyphemus gets upset with Odysseus.

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.

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.

In homer's Odyssey the main character Odysseus is a person who only tries to help himself. Although he earns the trust of his men while in Troy, he loses it on his perilous journey home. Many times in the epic he manipulates others, commits foolish acts and is full of hubris. He tries to take shortcuts and as a result of this is men are killed and his boats destroyed. He plays with the lives of his men and he is punished for it. Odysseus is not a hero because, he is foolish, lacks faithfulness and is consumed by his Hubris and selfishness.

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.

Most people’s favorite Marvel hero is Spider-Man. To people spiderman is brave, He takes on hard battles and fights crime. But everyone always thinks about today's heroes, What about the Heroes that aren't alive anymore? Do you ever think about them? Odysseus was a brave hero in 1200 BC. Odysseus took a journey due to the Trojan war and fought numerous people and monsters to stay alive. Odysseus went through hard times and battles just as Spider-Man does. Odysseus loses many crew members on his journey back home. In Homers Odyssey, Odysseus proves to be an epic hero due to his bravery, knowledge, dedication.

Is Odysseus a hero? Well Odysseus can be a hero in some aspects but is not. Here are some reasons why the great Odysseus is not a hero. A hero does the best for all his people, when he did not thank the Greek God Poseidon. That was not a heroic, he should of thought of his crew and said thank you, even though the crew did not say thank you. His cockiness led to several deaths. If Odysseus would have been a real hero he would have put aside his cockiness and said thank you to the Greek God. A hero also never leaves anyone behind. Odysseus left his soldiers to die and fend for themselves in some situations he put himself first when he should of put his crew before himself.

In The Odyssey by Homer is the story of Odysseus and his struggles to get back to Ithaca after fighting the great battle in Troy. This book takes place in Ancient Greece, where the gods of Olympus were worshiped. Odysseus is a great warrior who fought great battles on his journey home. However he doesn't make the greatest of choices and while others will say he’s a great man whom the gods favor the most, I say Odysseus is not a great hero of Troy and here’s why.

One example of this poor heroism is shown through Odysseus and his propensity to make unreasonable, rash decisions. For example, when traveling home from Troy, his own curiosity makes him and his crew visit the island of the Cyclops named Polyphemus, which is a gamble that can be completely avoided. This unnecessary, senseless action ends up not only suspending their voyage even longer but also claiming the lives of six innocent men, all on Odysseus’ behalf. Another one of Odysseus’ excessive and insensitive actions is shown when he brutally kills all 100 of Penelope’s unarmed suitors. This slaughtering is completely unfair to the suitors considering they have no weapons to defend themselves with, making Odysseus a full-blown murderer and a lame excuse for a leader. Together, these actions display the truly dishonorable and inconsiderate behavior of Odysseus, a supposed “Greek hero.” In the same way, Odysseus shows his poor leadership skills through his constant arrogant and narcissistic behavior, further proving that the Odyssey is feeble epic. To begin, Odysseus demonstrates this by

Homer’s The Odyssey follows the Greek, prized fighter, Odysseus on his lengthy journey home to Ithika, from the battle fields of the Trojan War. On this journey he encounters ghouls, monsters, and challenges only the best can accomplish. Many people whom read The Odyssey consider the epic’s main character, Odysseus, a hero. However odysseus is a hubristic, unfaithful and dishonest man. A modern hero is defined as some one who is who is admired or “put on a pedestal” for courage, superior achievements, and/or noble qualities. But, unlike the modern hero, Odysseus makes unfaithful, hubristic and dishonest decisions on his venture home to Ithika.

The best members of our society are unfaithful, murderous, egotistical rapists. This may seem outrageous now, but in ancient Greece, Odysseus was said to be the greatest of all time for these traits. His status as an epic hero is cemented because of the atrocities and his mistakes he committed. However, in the Odyssey, Homer defines him by how Odysseus responds to his mistakes.. In the Odyssey, Homer proves that Odysseus is an epic hero who stands the test of time by emphasizing his hubris, ate, and flawed judgement, which proves that mistakes bring out the best in ourselves.

First, Odysseus’ journey starts off in the Trojan War. The Trojan war is a war between the Greeks and the people of Troy. The Greeks won the war from Odysseus’ conception and creation of the Trojan Horse. As of that, he can be a proclaimed hero for his actions in the war. Then, Odysseus tried to protect his troops on the route home from monsters and starvation. Since it is a long journey from Troy to Ithaca and they have gotten into a mess from mythical beast and gods. Finally, when Odysseus got home, he saved his kingdom and family from his wife’s suitors. Since the suitors were very rude to Odysseus’ family. His actions fit the role of an epic hero since he saved his people and kingdom in Homer’s definition. But not all his motives are good deeds.

Homer wrote one of the first adventure stories known as The Odyssey. The story is written in the form of an epic poem and has over 12,000 lines. It was written around 2,000 years ago, but there is only speculation on when the actual story takes place. These are well known facts, but most readers do not notice how the work exemplifies epic heroes, the use of language, or the use of foreshadowing.