Odysseus: A Hero In Homer's The Odyssey

The Odyssey is one of the most read pieces of literature. But the novel often brings several conflicts over if Odysseus deserves the title hero. Odysseus is not a hero for the simple fact that he had no problem killing others to make his way home. Reading the novel thoroughly, it clearly states he is the King of Ithaca, but being a King does not mean you are worth the title or honor of a hero. At first Odysseus is labeled a hero mainly for his brilliant idea of the Trojan horse. But he had more faults than anything. Odysseus made careless decisions that angered many people, including Gods and ordinary citizens. When Odysseus stabbed Cyclops with the wooden beam, he knew what he was getting himself into. ¨Then, in one great thrust, we shoved the sharp end of the beam into the monster's only eye,¨ wrote Homer. Cyclops is one of the many sons of Poseidon. Odysseus distinctly could have waited until Cyclops went on his next outing, for him to escape. He had no right to blind him, it could have easily been avoided. Another way Odysseus harmed others was when he did not go home after the victory in Troy. He made the decision to stay away …show more content…
In the Odyssey it says, “Dogs, did you think that i should not come back from Troy? You have forced yourself upon this house, and have wooed my wife while i was still living. You have feared neither god nor man, and now you shall die.” Odysseus should not have killed those men. The fact that over hundred-fourteen men came in unexpectedly and took control of his house is completely preposterous, but they did not have to die. If he would have just shown himself right away the suitors they would have been shaken to their core and ran off. Also it was not Odysseus idea to kill all of the suitors. Athena plain and simple told Odysseus to remove the suitors by killing them. Odysseus had a choice. But instead he took an injustice approach to this, almost as if he was