Odysseus Epic Hero

The Epic Hero That Was Not

The general populous has hailed Odysseus as the epitome of the epic hero for several centuries, but to the modern reader, he comes off as anything but. While he was extremely driven by one goal, getting back home to his family, he performed some not-so heroic deeds on his quest and once he arrived back in Ithaca. Odysseus had many affairs and was disloyal to his wife, slaughtered hundreds of people in the name of righteousness, and above all, exemplifies hubris, or arrogant pride. These traits and behaviors are not acceptable for anyone, especially a person considered to be and hailed as a hero. Odysseus is not the epitome of an epic hero.
Despite all of the good deeds Odysseus performed, the fact that he needlessly killed hundreds of people is hard to overlook. Upon returning home to Ithaca, he slaughtered all of Penelope’s suitors and disloyal maids who had affairs with some of the suitors. As the CliffsNotes article on Odysseus’ character mentions, “Odysseus can be merciful, as
when he spares the bard Phemius, or brutal, as he seems when dealing with the dozen disloyal maidservants” (Character Analysis Odysseus). However, his merciful qualities don’t show nearly as much as his brutal tendencies. These behaviors are shown the best through Odysseus’ speech before he begins killing the suitors in the great hall. He declares, “Contempt was all you had for the gods who rule wide heaven, / contempt for what men say of you hereafter. / Your last hour has come. You die in blood” (Homer 22.38-40). Even though these men were vying for the throne of Ithaca while Odysseus was still alive, they did not deserve to be killed simply because of his rage. These murderous behaviors are not qualities that should be reflected in our heroes of today. While Odysseus was driven by the goal to get home to his family, he did not remain loyal to his wife while she fended off a hundred suitors for twenty years. He had many affairs throughout his journey, most notably with Calypso, the immortal daughter of the god Atlas. Teacher Emily Howell says in her report that students were appalled by Odysseus’ behavior, especially how “Odysseus had spent seven years with Calypso “withdrawing into the cavern’s deep recesses, long in each other’s arms . . . [losing themselves] in love” (V.250–251)” (Howell, Odysseus Deconstructed). However, it is fair to mention that “if you start hating Odysseus for cheating on his wife left and right while she slept alone for two decades, just remember that we're working with a serious double standard” (--,--). Even with the fact that it was a different time when Homer penned The Odyssey, it still does not reflect well on Odysseus’ character that he could not remain loyal to his only objective.
Odysseus’ main flaw is his hubris, or his pride.
This is close to his only concrete character flaw, yet it easily overshadows any of his other traits. As CliffsNotes says, “He is confident that he represents virtue even when a modern audience might not be so sure” (Character Analysis Odysseus). His prideful arrogance follows him throughout the entire epic, yet it is most blatantly exhibited after he and his men’s escape from the Cyclopes’ cave. As if Odysseus simply can’t resist taking credit for his defeat of the monster, he declares, “Odysseus, raider of cities, took your eye; / Laertes’ son, whose home’s on Ithaca!” (Homer 9.18-19). This was a rather unintelligent move, as he able to escape by cleverly tricking the Cyclops by saying his name was Nohbdy, and he only threw his disguise away because he wanted to be famed and known for defeating the monster. Odysseus’ pride is one of his most noticeable shortcomings, and similarly, one of his most
condemning. Odysseus could be considered many things, however, a hero is not one of them in this day and age. With the combined elements of brutality, disloyalty, and hubris, he can not be considered among the ranks of epic heroes. Homer may have created a hero for his time, but Odysseus’ character simply doesn’t hold up.