Odysseus: A Hero Or Hero?

Is Odysseus, the man that survived 20 years away from home and at sea, battling many monsters along the way, a hero? Is the man that displeased some gods, and killed others, a hero? According to the Greeks, he certainly is. According to the Highly Gifted Magnet, probably not. While to the Greeks he possessed all of the heroic qualities, such as cunningness, loyalty, hospitality and physical strength, to the Highly Gifted Magnet community, he meets all most all of our standards, which include intelligence, popularity, omnicompetent, and selfless. Odysseus was lost at sea, on Calypso’s island. Years before, he had left his home in Ithaca to fight in the Trojan War. 10 years later, with the help of Athena, he planned to give the Trojans a “gift,”
While he possesses most of the needed qualities, such as intelligence, popularity and being omnicompetent, he does not possesses selflessness. He uses intelligence to outwit 2 sea monsters on his way back to Ithaca. When given the choice to lose his entire crew and himself to a whirlpool, or to lose 6 men to a 6 headed monster, he used logic to choose the lesser of the two evils. He chose to only lose 6 men, instead of everyone. He certainly has popularity, because everyone knows his name. Anyone who went to battle with him, told stories to their family about this great man named Odysseus, and everyone remembers a tale of a nearly immortal man. Popularity also comes in handy when you need a favor, such as getting home to Ithaca and finding your only son. People help him, because they have heard amazing tales of how he has the gods on his side and how incredible he is. Odysseus is omnicompetent, because he tries to do his best in everything, therefore bestowing calm over him as he focuses. For example, when King Alcinous hosts a party with sporting events, Odysseus does well in a few events, though it has been a long time since he last did. He gave it his all and even conquered many men younger and more able that he. Selflessness, Odysseus does not possess. When he saves his men many times, he did think about his men’s lives and how important they were. However, his priorities say that he saved those men because they were important, for him to get home. He wanted to go home. If he was the last person alive to go home, so be it, as long as he makes it. Those men were not the King of Ithaca. They were common. He could find more just like them. That is not being selfless. Being selfless, is to think about others, and not about the benefits or consequences you will receive from an action. That is all Odysseus thought about. Consequences, were fatal for him, and he minded very much so. He cannot be deemed a