Justifying The Punishment In Odysseus In Homer's Odyssey

When Odysseus finally arrived back from his travels he found out about the wooers, otherwise known as suitors, harassing Penelope. These men could care less about having Penelope’s hand in marriage, all they wanted was to take Odysseus' place. Odysseus was very angry and severely punished the wooers. Not only did he punish the wooers, but he also punished people who did not need to be punished. He saw a problem and had every right to take care of it. Odysseus did justify his actions but the punishment seemed to be a little harsh.

Some of Odysseus' actions seemed to be a little over the top. The mighty man murdered hundreds of men who were just being stupid and not thinking. From chopping heads off, to slicing throats, to throwing arrows into the back of heads, Odysseus annihilated each and every suitor in the room. The minute that Odysseus told Telemachus to hide all of the suitors weapons, that inferred that Odysseus was ready to kill. He could have made the punishment less violent that he did.
His killing of the men has to do with the disrespectful way that they have been treating his wife, home, and personal belongings while he was away. The suitors had brought a large amount of dishonor to Odysseus’ house and he wanted to re-gain that honor. Odysseus had spoken to the suitors when he returned and said, "...because of that you despoiled my household, and forcibly took my serving women to sleep beside you, and sought to win my wife while I was still alive,... Now upon you all the terms of destruction are fastened (book 22)." Penelope had challenged the hundreds of men to a task that she knew only Odysseus could complete. The task was to shoot an arrow through twelve axe heads. Many men tried but did not succeed. Only Odysseus completed the task. Penelope then knew it was her beloved and that’s when Odysseus rightfully took his place back on his