Odysseus - Far From a Hero Essay

Many think being a hero is having super powers, but on the contrary it's more than that. A hero is one who is distinguished for their courage and bravery, and looked upon for their great deeds. A hero like this is not just found in modern society today, but in mythology as well. In the epic poem The Odyssey by Homer, Odysseus earns the title of a true hero by conveying many qualities such as: determination, courage and leadership.

Odysseus’s actions may seem selfless and/or heroic however they are actually being mistaken for acts of selfishness. “They tied me up, then, plumb amidships, back to the mast, lashed to the mast and took themselves again to rowing” (Homer 1134). Homer is describing the crew lashing Odysseus to the mast so that he may hear the sirens sing. Odysseus thinks he is being heroic and manly, but he is actually placing his life and that of the crews in danger all because he wants to hear the song of the sirens. Odysseus knows how loyal his crew is to him so, if one of them was to untie him they could have all ended up dead. Odysseus might think he was performing a heroic action but in actuality he was performing an act of selfishness. When Circe captured Odysseus’s men he was advised not to save them by his best man, Eurylochus, however “Against this advice, Odysseus rushes to save his men from the enchantress” (Homer 1125). Odysseus appears to be heroic but looking closer this rash decision was selfish. He rushed to save his men for honor. He cares more about honor than the safety of his crew. The rest of his crew that wasn’t under Circes spell would have been lost if Odysseus died because they rely so heavily on him. When a leader mistakes his selfish decisions as heroic it can place him and the people around him in danger. Odysseus’s inability to think through his rash decisions and recognize the right choice over the honorable and selfish one makes him unfit to be a

Many would argue that Odysseus is more of a villain nowadays, for every instance of his wiliness or feats of strength there are several of venality, vice, cruelty, or selfishness. The episode of the Sirens,(Book 12), is one example. The only reason Odysseus ties himself up to the mast, when instead he could have simply plugged his ears with wax like the rest of his crew, is that he chooses the jeopardous choice, wanting to "go down in the books" by being the first man to ever listen to the Sirens song and live. In consequence he possibly endangers the rest of his crew from safely reaching home by endangering himself. While Odysseus’ many adventures are very exciting, he spends a considerable amount of time cheating on his wife (with

sword from my hip I went along his flank to stab him where the midriff

On the other hand, Odysseus is not the perfect hero he may seem to be. He can be extremely selfish, and has a sense of hubris that causes many problems for him and his crew. To start off, Odysseus' selfishness has been very easy to recognize these last few books. For example, when he informs his crew that they will be staying at Kirke's palace for some time, Eurylokhos objects. Odyseuss describes, "they turned back, as commanded, to this work; / only one lagged, and tried to hold the others" (10.475-76).

Odysseus, the main character of Homer’s The Odyssey, is not a hero. Because, although he may fight for the good at times, he displays more hypocritical, irrational, and selfish actions than he does heroic actions.

The mighty Odysseus is many, many things but he is no hero in my eyes. To homer and the other people of early Greece he probably was a hero. All the little kids probably looked up to him but now kids don't even know his name. A hero to me is supposed to save lives. The only life Odysseus saved was his own. In addition to saving lives a hero should be humble, Odysseus does not fit that description, his hubris is as big as the moon. Also if you ask me, yes a hero can commit crimes. Although they shouldn't commit them often only when it is absolutely necessary. Odysseus has stolen from people, raped women, and murdered people when it all could have been avoided. Then to top it all off Odysseus if unfaithful, untrustworthy, disrespectful, and greedy.

In the Epic Poem The Odyssey the reader is taken through the epic journey of Odysseus and his men. The epic hero Odysseus explored the wild sea with the help of gods and goddesses. Although an epic hero with bravery and wisdom, Odysseus did show himself as a average man with common mistakes.

Odysseus is Not a Hero Based on the Webster dictionary a hero is a man of distinguished courage or ability, admired for his brave deeds and noble qualities. Odysseus, the protagonist of the epic poem The Odyssey by Homer, does not portray the correct qualities of being a hero. Most people would think Odysseus is a hero based on his adventures in Troy, his clever ideas, and bravery, but even though these characteristics are correct they do not define a true hero. When visiting the island of Polyphemus he did not value the lives of his crew members, but only his own.

In “The Odyssey “ by Homer, Odysseus takes a very long physical and mental journey. Odysseus, king of Ithaca, encounters many different kinds of people and magical beings. In the essay “The Hero’s Journey” by Joseph Campbell, represents the overall journey that a hero takes, weather it be physical, mental, or spiritual in a book . Odysseus takes part in many of these steps. The story does not follow all the steps of “The Hero’s Journey,” but it does follow most of them. Odysseus’ journey follows “The Hero’s Journey” because he goes through Supernatural Aid, Tests and Supreme Ordeals, and a reward and journey home. Odysseus takes a journey that lasted twenty years .It is filled with

“Hard times don't create heroes. It is during the hard times when the 'hero' within us is revealed.” -Bob Riley. During Odysseus’s travels, his heroic actions also lead way to questionable acts that makes us ask if Odysseus is really a hero. Well he is; no normal man could survive the journey that he took, as shown by his entire crew who died along the way back home. However, through these hard times, the true ‘hero’ inside of Odysseus is shown. In “The Odyssey”, Odysseus is a flawed hero that shows heroic actions and deeds do not always represent a good and righteous character.

Odysseus has many epic hero traits such as loyalty to his men, his family, and his kingdom. He is a great leader. For example, he “drove them, all three wailing, to the ships, tied them down…”(211-212). In this situation, Odysseus forced his men to leave the island of the Lotus Eaters when they ate the lotus plant they forgot about home and did not want to leave. A good leader would never leave a man behind and he forced them to go back home when he tied them down. Odysseus is also loyal to his family, and kingdom and desperately longs to be home after 20 years away and an opportunity to become immortal. When we first meet Odysseus he is crying for home. In this section, Hermes is looking for him “But he saw nothing of the great Odysseus, who sat apart … with eyes wet scanning the bare bottom of the sea…” He denies immortality to go home to his family.

To begin, there are gray areas when considering whether Odysseus is a hero or not. There is contemplation about Odysseus's true colors because he exhibits both the evil and virtuous in himself. One affair where Odysseus’s lack of moral is when Odysseus spent seasons, even years with two beings that he had intimate affairs with even though he claimed that he was always striving to return to Ithaca, his home, when he reunites with Penelope, his wife. Odysseus is not a hero because he spends six years with Calypso, chooses to steer his sheep towards Scylla knowing that six of his men would die, and allows the maids to be killed after they clean up the massacre of the suitors.

When you think of the word hero, a lot comes to mind. There are still heroes present in today’s modern world just as there was a long time ago. A hero is someone who is described as having some key traits such as respect, bravery, and faith. Nelson Mandela is viewed as a hero for the way he used these traits during a time of unrest in South Africa. In the book A Long Walk To Freedom, an autobiography by Nelson Mandela, he tells of the multiple years he spent in an African prison for what he believed in, the abolition of apartheid.

It goes without saying that Odysseus’ quick thinking saved he and his crew’s lives more than a few times. on the island of the Cyclopes, Odysseus and his men were trapped inside a cave with a huge one-eyed beast named Polyphemus. Our hero came up with a plan to escape unscathed, save for 4 of his men who were eaten, and even had an uncanny foresight to avoid getting trapped inside the cave. Another example is when he was faced with the evil witch Circe, who had turned his men into pigs. With a little divine help, he managed to avoid being turned into one himself and even save his men. Another instance of this trait is when Odysseus finally returned home after 20 years to his homeland. Instead of rushing back into his home, full of suitors who would likely chop him in half, he waits and devises a plan, with Athena’s help.