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Odysseus As A Hero In The Odyssey, By Homer

Decent Essays

The Odyssey, by Homer, tells the tale of the Grecian general, Odysseus, and his return voyage to his home Ithaka. Odysseus fights in the Trojan War, and during the war and his return journey, he faces many dangers and overcomes them. Because of his wit, cunning, and bravery, Odysseus is often viewed as a great hero. Although literary scholars of The Odyssey have argued that Odysseus is a hero because of his bravery and cunning, closer examination shows that Odysseus is not a hero based on his rash and foolish decisions, his skewed logic, and the end result of his journey.
In The Odyssey, Odysseus boasts of his skill often, a foolish decision that often gets him into trouble. He angers the god of the sea, Poseidon, when he claims that he won …show more content…

Nothing about their deceitful actions is “heroic.” In The Odyssey, Odysseus is unfaithful to his wife and sleeps with two goddesses, Calypso and Circe. Though it may be argued that Odysseus cheats to save his men from Circe’s spell, that argument is weakened by the fact that when Odysseus returns home to his wife, he is furious with her when he wrongly suspects that she has been unfaithful to him. He yells, “Who dared to move our bed?” and “There is our pact and pledge, our secret sign, built into that bed.” ( The Odyssey, Chapter 23, Lines 391, 396-397) Odysseus has a double standard in his mind that his cheating is allowed, but he could berate his wife if he suspects any suspicious behavior. That skewed logic would certainly not fly in the modern day, and surely would not be …show more content…

You would expect a triumphant return, with parades and euphoric celebration. But with Odysseus’ return, there is mourning. Not mourning for him, as he has returned safely. But mourning for the rest of his men who have all died on the journey. Not one of Odysseus’ men have returned, which is irreparable damage. Though heroes can do great feats or win battles, most heroes have some sacrifice they make. Odysseus does not sacrifice something to save his men. Through his journey, his main concern is getting himself home. During his journey, he makes decisions that put his men in jeopardy, but is always able to wiggle his way out of danger with quick thinking, which some may call heroic, but he often leaves a risky situation with much fewer men than before. When Odysseus and his men pass between Scylla and Charybdis, the sea monsters, Odysseus says, “I told them nothing, as they could do nothing.” (The Odyssey, Chapter 12, Lines 161-162) Odysseus chooses not to make his men aware of the coming danger, giving them no chance to protect

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