First off, Odysseus really did try his best to keep his crew alive. Even though his men did not make it back to Ithaca, he did save them many times. For example, he did waste a year of his life sleeping with Circe just to save his men from being pigs the rest of their lives. Also he had the brilliant idea of the Trojan Horse. He made it possible for his men to defeat Troy in the Trojan War. Another time he saved his men was when he stabbed the Cyclops in the eye with a knife to keep his men safe from it.
Second reason why he is a hero, is because he always