King Odysseus Arete In Homer's Odyssey

The impact of literary narratives on cultural norms such as social practices, beliefs, language, customs, community values, rules, cannot be understated; the arts do influence culture in both positive and negative ways. The cultural pathos and ethos of a culture are often seen reflected in literary narratives as expressions of the sentiment of approval or disapproval. This is not a new phenomenon and can be observed in cultures throughout human history. For example, in Homer’s Odyssey, there are certain characters within the narrative that portray what is known as “arete,” which is the display of perseverance, quick-wittedness, prowess, valor, etc. The term arete was very prominent and influential in early Greek culture and philosophy and was known to be very instrumental in shaping many of its particularly military leaders, i.e., Alexander the Great. Thus, the literary narratives such
as the Odyssey and the Iliad paint a portrait of what it meant to be a great leader with arete.
However, the nature of this paper is to offer a counter-perspective of the assertion that King Odysseus was a great leader. The fact that he displays a certain level of arete and virtue in the Odyssey is unquestionable. However, the portrait of Odysseus as a good leader is questionable and there is ample evidence within the narrative that is illustrative of his humanness but more accurately his poor leadership. Prior to detailing a case against Odysseus, it is necessary to have a clear understanding and meaning of the word arete.
The word arete gets its meaning from the root word aristos. The philosopher Aristotle used the word virtue in his description of arete, and it was Plato who made the distinction between the arete of animals compared to arete of human beings. Arete has a broad scope a but can be observed in these three areas of life: achieving one’s full potential, effort-striving to be the best person one can be, and being the best possible person over the course of one’s life. The English word virtue in
the Latin is virtus which is a derivation of the word vir; the masculine for “man.” The idea or summation of human virtue includes descriptive terms such as courage, wisdom, prowess, bravery, vigor, mental acumen, piety, goodness, etc. Thus, the Latin word virtue and the Greek word arete in their earliest forms embodied the notion of excellence, the fulfillment of one’s purpose, function, or the act of living to one's full potential. Thus, the definitions of arete and virtue were basically interchangeable. However, the contemporary definition of the word virtue has changed to mean chasteness in women. There are some who would assert that Homer’s depiction of arete was his greatest contribution to the cultures of the Western world. In the historical Greek culture in which the Odyssey was written, arete was simply defined as one’s superlative ability and superiority in strength, prowess, cunningness, wit, etc. However, in Homer’s Odyssey, there is a slight deviation from the cultural norm of his time with regards to the use of arete in that there are occasions where the term is used in a gender-neutral sense. This slight shift in arete from military prowess to the ability of mental acumen, cunningness, and the ability effectively to achieve their intended goals is noticeable in both Penelope and Odysseus. Penelope demonstrates arete in her cunningness and wit as she keeps the suitors pursuing her for twenty years while she awaits the return of Odysseus and Odysseus using his wit to outsmart the cyclops in his den.