Odysseus: A Hero In Homer's The Odyssey
What makes a hero? A hero has to be someone who has done something to go above or beyond the normal range of achievement. In the book, The Odyssey, written by Homer, the main character, Odysseus, had won the Trojan war and had a long journey back home. In the beginning of the journey, he has a few ships and a bunch of crew members with him. His goal was to make it back to his homeland of Ithaca to see his wife and son again. However, this journey took much longer than expected because of Odysseus’ choices. His choices proved to show that he is very selfish. To add on, Odysseus took advantage of his crew members throughout the book many times. And he also, surprisingly, almost didn't make it back home to Ithaca. Because of these reasons, and
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according to the definition, Odysseus, himself, is definitely not a hero.
The first reason why Odysseus is not a hero is that he took advantage of his men. These men were helpful to Odysseus and respected him. But, Odysseus did end up getting a few them killed. In book nine, the crew stopped at an island of cyclops and they then ventured into the cave of Polyphemus (Homer, 218). The cyclops imprisons a bunch of crew members and ate two of them (Homer, 220). If it was not for Odysseus’ choice to stay in the cave or leave to head on their journey, this would not have happened to these innocent men. In the following book, Odysseus and his crew stop at Aeaea, the island of the goddess, Circe. In the beginning, Odysseus sends some of his men to see who lives at this island and what the situation is like. Homer wrote, “.. but soon enough this seemed the better plan: I’d go back to shore and the swift ship first, feed the men, then send them out for scouting” (Homer, 235). Odysseus could have joined the men on the scouting but he chose to stay behind. The men ended up getting transformed into animals from Circe’s magical powers (Homer, 238). Equally as important, more of the Achaeans were in trouble when them and Odysseus rowed to Laestrygonians, the land of powerful giants. The book mentioned, “Straightaway she summoned royal Antiphates from assembly her husband, who prepared my crew a barbarous welcome. Snatching two of my men, he tore him up for dinner - the other two sprang free and reached the ships” (Homer, 234). Odysseus, again, sent more men to discover what was happening on this island of giants. However, they ended up in conflict with the king giant, Antiphates; one man died and the other ran away in horror (Homer, 234). As shown here, Odysseus ended up getting many of his men killed, consequently, because of the choices he made. Because of this, Odysseus is clearly not a real mythological hero.
The second reason why Odysseus is not a hero is that he almost did not make it back home to Ithaca. Again, in book nine, he went to the island of the cyclops. He ended up harming the cyclops that was the god of Poseidon (Homer, 224). When Odysseus was about to sail away, he yelled his name out to the cyclops without thinking of the possible consequences (Homer, 227). This lead to the cyclops telling his father, who is the god of the sea, to get revenge on the crew (Homer, 228). About four chapters later, Poseidon ended up placing a huge mountain between the island and the ship (Homer, 291). As the book read, Odysseus does make it home, but, he does not recognize where he was (Homer, 292). Furthermore, when the crew was on the island of Aeaea, Odysseus ended up going there to get help from whoever was inhabiting the island. But, he actually stayed there for a year which delayed the plans of coming home. The men said to Odysseus, “‘Captain, this is madness! High time you thought of your own home at last, if it really is your fate to make it back alive and reach your well-built house and native land’” (Homer, 245). If his men had not reminded him of his goal to make it home, he probably would not have left. A hero is someone who never gives up on a goal but, Odysseus almost did not succeed on his ultimate goal. This is showing that he is definitely not a hero.
The third reason why Odysseus is not a hero is that he is very selfish.
A hero is normally someone who helps others; not just worries about themselves. In that chapter when they are on the island of Circe, Odysseus had no intention of leaving anytime soon because he was gifted with shelter and food. The book said, “So all that day till the sun went down we sat and feasted on sides of meat and heady wine. Then when the sun had set and night cmaae on the men lay down to sleep in the shadowed halls but I went up to that luxurious bed of Circe’s” (Homer, 245). Moreover, there was also another instance where Odysseus killed a suitor who had begged for mercy. “‘ I hug your knees Odysseus - mercy! spare my life! Never, i swear did I harass any woman in your house - never a word, a gesture - nothing, no, I tried to restrain the suitors,whoever did such things’”(Homer, 449).Odysseus was taking his anger out by killing this man instead of thinking how other people felt first. As stated before, a true hero would never put himself first. However, this is exactly how he acted. Conjointly, in book ten, a king gives Odysseus a bag of wind to help guide them home. He did not mention this to the Achaeans so once they found the bag, they were curious to what was inside it. Homer wrote, “They loosed the sack and all the winds burst out and a sudden squall struck and swept us back to sea” (Homer, 232). If Odysseus thought of others before himself, he would tell the crew that he had this with him. If the crew knew what was inside, they most likely would not have opened
it.
Others may say that Odysseus truly is a hero because he won the Trojan war. However just because he won, does not mean he is a hero. On the journey home, it seems that the power had gotten to his head. A hero is definitely not someone who takes advantage of that power. They only use their advantages to help others. In the book, Odysseus thinks of himself more than others. This is showing that he is the opposite of a hero because he is not thinking of how other people feel.
In conclusion, a hero is someone who has gone above and beyond to help others and is someone who was willing to risk their life for something that means a lot to them. In the book, The Odyssey, Odysseus is a character who has not showed many characteristics of actually being a true hero. He ended up sparing the lives of others to make sure he would be safe and alive. He also almost did not complete his ultimate task of making it back to him homeland in Greece. Lastly, he was very selfish and a person who had no will to believe in thinking of other people first. Because of these reasons, Odysseus, is not a hero throughout his journey in the book The Odyssey.
according to the definition, Odysseus, himself, is definitely not a hero.
The first reason why Odysseus is not a hero is that he took advantage of his men. These men were helpful to Odysseus and respected him. But, Odysseus did end up getting a few them killed. In book nine, the crew stopped at an island of cyclops and they then ventured into the cave of Polyphemus (Homer, 218). The cyclops imprisons a bunch of crew members and ate two of them (Homer, 220). If it was not for Odysseus’ choice to stay in the cave or leave to head on their journey, this would not have happened to these innocent men. In the following book, Odysseus and his crew stop at Aeaea, the island of the goddess, Circe. In the beginning, Odysseus sends some of his men to see who lives at this island and what the situation is like. Homer wrote, “.. but soon enough this seemed the better plan: I’d go back to shore and the swift ship first, feed the men, then send them out for scouting” (Homer, 235). Odysseus could have joined the men on the scouting but he chose to stay behind. The men ended up getting transformed into animals from Circe’s magical powers (Homer, 238). Equally as important, more of the Achaeans were in trouble when them and Odysseus rowed to Laestrygonians, the land of powerful giants. The book mentioned, “Straightaway she summoned royal Antiphates from assembly her husband, who prepared my crew a barbarous welcome. Snatching two of my men, he tore him up for dinner - the other two sprang free and reached the ships” (Homer, 234). Odysseus, again, sent more men to discover what was happening on this island of giants. However, they ended up in conflict with the king giant, Antiphates; one man died and the other ran away in horror (Homer, 234). As shown here, Odysseus ended up getting many of his men killed, consequently, because of the choices he made. Because of this, Odysseus is clearly not a real mythological hero.
The second reason why Odysseus is not a hero is that he almost did not make it back home to Ithaca. Again, in book nine, he went to the island of the cyclops. He ended up harming the cyclops that was the god of Poseidon (Homer, 224). When Odysseus was about to sail away, he yelled his name out to the cyclops without thinking of the possible consequences (Homer, 227). This lead to the cyclops telling his father, who is the god of the sea, to get revenge on the crew (Homer, 228). About four chapters later, Poseidon ended up placing a huge mountain between the island and the ship (Homer, 291). As the book read, Odysseus does make it home, but, he does not recognize where he was (Homer, 292). Furthermore, when the crew was on the island of Aeaea, Odysseus ended up going there to get help from whoever was inhabiting the island. But, he actually stayed there for a year which delayed the plans of coming home. The men said to Odysseus, “‘Captain, this is madness! High time you thought of your own home at last, if it really is your fate to make it back alive and reach your well-built house and native land’” (Homer, 245). If his men had not reminded him of his goal to make it home, he probably would not have left. A hero is someone who never gives up on a goal but, Odysseus almost did not succeed on his ultimate goal. This is showing that he is definitely not a hero.
The third reason why Odysseus is not a hero is that he is very selfish.
A hero is normally someone who helps others; not just worries about themselves. In that chapter when they are on the island of Circe, Odysseus had no intention of leaving anytime soon because he was gifted with shelter and food. The book said, “So all that day till the sun went down we sat and feasted on sides of meat and heady wine. Then when the sun had set and night cmaae on the men lay down to sleep in the shadowed halls but I went up to that luxurious bed of Circe’s” (Homer, 245). Moreover, there was also another instance where Odysseus killed a suitor who had begged for mercy. “‘ I hug your knees Odysseus - mercy! spare my life! Never, i swear did I harass any woman in your house - never a word, a gesture - nothing, no, I tried to restrain the suitors,whoever did such things’”(Homer, 449).Odysseus was taking his anger out by killing this man instead of thinking how other people felt first. As stated before, a true hero would never put himself first. However, this is exactly how he acted. Conjointly, in book ten, a king gives Odysseus a bag of wind to help guide them home. He did not mention this to the Achaeans so once they found the bag, they were curious to what was inside it. Homer wrote, “They loosed the sack and all the winds burst out and a sudden squall struck and swept us back to sea” (Homer, 232). If Odysseus thought of others before himself, he would tell the crew that he had this with him. If the crew knew what was inside, they most likely would not have opened
it.
Others may say that Odysseus truly is a hero because he won the Trojan war. However just because he won, does not mean he is a hero. On the journey home, it seems that the power had gotten to his head. A hero is definitely not someone who takes advantage of that power. They only use their advantages to help others. In the book, Odysseus thinks of himself more than others. This is showing that he is the opposite of a hero because he is not thinking of how other people feel.
In conclusion, a hero is someone who has gone above and beyond to help others and is someone who was willing to risk their life for something that means a lot to them. In the book, The Odyssey, Odysseus is a character who has not showed many characteristics of actually being a true hero. He ended up sparing the lives of others to make sure he would be safe and alive. He also almost did not complete his ultimate task of making it back to him homeland in Greece. Lastly, he was very selfish and a person who had no will to believe in thinking of other people first. Because of these reasons, Odysseus, is not a hero throughout his journey in the book The Odyssey.