The Odyssey: Is Odysseus Really a Hero?

The mighty Odysseus is many, many things but he is no hero in my eyes. To homer and the other people of early Greece he probably was a hero. All the little kids probably looked up to him but now kids don't even know his name. A hero to me is supposed to save lives. The only life Odysseus saved was his own. In addition to saving lives a hero should be humble, Odysseus does not fit that description, his hubris is as big as the moon. Also if you ask me, yes a hero can commit crimes. Although they shouldn't commit them often only when it is absolutely necessary. Odysseus has stolen from people, raped women, and murdered people when it all could have been avoided. Then to top it all off Odysseus if unfaithful, untrustworthy, disrespectful, and greedy.

To them, the ability to defend oneself is highly valued, even if violence is necessary to do so. In the poem, when Odysseus sheds his disguise and confronts the suitors, he condemns them to death by saying,

Throughout history, poets, authors, and directors have created characters labeled as “heroes”. These figures can be brave and kind; they can be strong and intelligent, but regardless of the attributes these “heroes” possess, they reflect those valued and admired by the people of that time and culture. Homer, the author of book nine of The Odyssey, “In the One-Eyed Giant’s Cave,” used the character Odysseus to appear heroic by showcasing the traits readers would find most desirable in a person. Homer showed such characteristics in Odysseus when he wrote him to be brave when confronted with danger, intelligent in problem-solving, and extremely loyal to his homeland.

One can be judged by their actions, but what truly shapes a person is their personality. Odysseus is an over-confident and ill-tempered man. On the cyclops's island, Odysseus's boasting nearly proves costly. A modest and heroic person would have had his men in mind, rather than himself, and left the island. Also, Odysseus revealing his true identity to the cyclops could very well have resulted in the death of his men. After Odysseus's boasting, Polyphemus prays to his father, "Let him lose all companions, and return / under strange sail to bitter days at home" (Homer 9. (537-8). This prophecy, of course, becomes a reality. Another sign of Odysseus's over-confidence shows while he is explaining himself to King Alcinous. In some of his first words to the king, Odysseus again boasts of his accomplishments. "Men hold me / formidable for guile in peace and war: / this fame has gone abroad to the sky's rim" (Homer 9. (127-8). Another very important fact is Odysseus's position on monogamy. Odysseus believes he's above monogamy, as he stays with many goddesses during his journeys while Penelope stays faithful at home. A hero is not a boasting, over-confident person, but someone who does their actions for no reward.

Odysseus is not a hero because he cheats on his wife multiple times throughout the book. In The Odyssey, Odysseus and his crew travel to Ismarus and harass and take the women there. As Odysseus said, “I then looted the town and attacked the people. We then took their wives and much booty.”(p.75). This shows that Odysseus is not a hero because he is disrespectful to women. Also in The Odyssey, Odysseus cheats on Penelope with Circe. Although it was under certain circumstances Odysseus still could have found a

' (Homer, 87) My heart aches for my bride and son. My son whom I never talked to is now a man." As he spoke, the sun set and the moon rose. I knew this was one of our last nights together. I will surely cherish these final moments. We both grew tired. Our eyes became heavy. My Odysseus and I retired to my chamber. We rested softly, side by side. Goodnight, my Odysseus; sweet dreams.

What makes someone a hero? Is it the adventures they go on, the traits they possess, or how popular they are? In The Odyssey, Odysseus embarks on one huge adventure to save his people, but barely gets back home. The struggles on this journey have proved whether Odysseus is in fact a hero, or just a fool who got lucky. Although literary scholars of The Odyssey have argued that he is not a hero, closer examination shows that he is a hero because he met the ultimate goal of defeating Troy, bravely led and sacrificed for his men, and escaped multiple enemies.

Odysseus is also disloyal to his wife who stayed faithful to him despite the circumstances. During his journey back home to Ithaca, Odysseus commited adultery twice. When he landed on the island of Aiaia, he sleeps with Kirke. He has been cheating on his wife by sleeping with another woman. Odysseus doesn’t do this only once through his journey back, he does it again with Kalypso for seven years and by will: “He lay with her each night, for she compelled him.” (V, 163). Odysseus doesn’t resist Kalypso’s charm and cheats on his wife Penelope. Despite all of the suitors, Penelope stays loyal to Odysseus. Even when Odysseus was thought to be dead, she still puts up with the suitors’ behavior and refuses to remarry. She came up with a ruse so she could stall having to remarry: Ruses served my turn…with honor. (XIX, lines 163-190) Penelope is experiencing so much pressure from the suitors and her family, but she still refuses to succumb and does not cheat on

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.

The hero of Homer’s Odyssey is Odysseus—the glistening, golden-skinned, muscular, clever hero that every audience aspires to be…right? Homer’s idea of Odysseus being the ideal man at the beginning of the Odyssey is repeatedly proven to be wrong. On more than one occasion, Odysseus displays definitively unheroic behavior that conflicts with his descriptions as a paragon of honor and virtue. His beautiful exterior conceals his true interior: that of a hypocritical antagonist who flouts the same rules he claims to uphold.

A major part of being a hero is trying to protect the ones you love from any harm, hurt, and danger. Odysseus, however, does not protect his family from harm because he leaves Ithaca for so long. In particular, Odysseus does not protect his wife from hurt when he cheats on her. Every minute of each day that Odysseus was gone, Penelope was mourning the absence of her husband, not knowing that he was deceiving her. Odysseus not only cheats on Penelope once, but twice. First, Odysseus is held sex captive by Calypso, a nymph goddess, on her island for many years. This means that at some point Odysseus had fallen for temptation. Odysseus then cheats on his wife yet again with another goddess named Circe. Although this affair does not last as long, Odysseus still sets

Quotation: “ bed of embers to keep a spark alive for the next day; so in the leaves Odysseus his himself, while over him Athena showered sleep that his distress should end”

The Odyssey by Homer, is a epic based off the actions, travels, adventures, and heroic episodes of a greek by the name of Odysseus. Throughout the story, Odysseus’ travels take him to new places on new adventures with no insight on what could happen next. Odysseus refers to himself, and is referred to a number of times, as a hero. Throughout the time of book 9 to book 12, there are many scenes throughout the story that portray the qualities Odysseus possesses that lead him to be given the heroic title. On the contrary, there are numerous occasions where Odysseus does things that might not be expected of someone seen as heroic. One of the first things that stood out to me starting in book 9, was Odysseus’ pride for his native land and where he comes from. Here, Odysseus states, “Nothing is sweeter than your own country” (Book 9, Line 37). This quotes shows how Odysseus is prideful of his home, Ithaca, and believes it to be the “sweetest sight” (Book 9, Line 31). Another scene that represents Odysseus’ heroic qualities is when Odysseus and his crew were being held by the cyclops, Polyphemus, and he comes up with an escape plan. During this, Odysseus states, “And I bade my comrades cast lots among them, which of them should have the hardihood with me to lift the stake and grind it into his eye when sweetsleep should come upon him.” (Book 9, Lines 328-329). To me, this portrays Odysseus as a quick thinker and a problem solver. In this situation, the problem was that him and

Homer uses the character of Elpenor, one of his soldier, as a voice of the present. Elpenor tells Odysseus that he died while drunk on Kirke's roof. This is not only significant but also ironic: Odysseus is on a ship with his men and yet does not know that one of his own men is dead. This shows Odysseus may be a good warrior but not a good leader. The only thing that Elpenor asks for from Odysseus is to bury him because he is in "limbo" and needs to move on. Odysseus replies, saying, "Unhappy spirit, I promise you the barrow and the burial" (187).

Odysseus’s strong desire to return to his family inspires foreign rulers to assist Odysseus in returning home. Odysseus states, “Nevertheless I long—I pine, all my days— / to travel home and see the dawn of my return” to Calypso (5.242-234). Odysseus stayed with the goddess Calypso as her “unwilling lover” until he leaves on a raft (5.172; 179-187). Calypso grants Odysseus leave from her island because he is in grieving over being separated from his family. Odysseus lands in Phaeacia after leaving Calypso’s island. While begging for passage home, Odysseus says, “How far away I’ve been / from all my loved ones—how long I have suffered” (7.180-181). King Alcinous