The justice system in today’s society can be pretty controversial. Judges and juries have to look at the facts of a case and based on their unbiased opinion, determine whether a person is guilty or not, and then determine the severity of a punishment. Because of society’s differing views, there will always be disagreements on an appropriate penalty. This concept directly relates to the punishment that was issued in Homer’s, The Odyssey. The fate of a pack of wooers who have taken over his kingdom lies in the hands of Odysseus. He decides to kill them all. Weighing the crime, and Odysseus’s behavior, it seems as if the punishment is justified.
The first issue that needs to be evaluated is whether or not the punishment fit the crime, whether or not the wooers should have been killed rather …show more content…
Should all have the wooers been killed? The story points out that there were a few honest men amongst the pack. For instance, one of the wooers, Amphinomus, was constantly noted as having wisdom, and for sticking up for Odysseus. Homer writes, “more than all the rest his words were pleasing to Penelope, for he was of an understanding mind.” Out of all the wooers he was the one that Penelope cared for the most. So this poses an ethical dilemma. Should Amphinomus be subject to the same penalty as the other men? The moral answer is no. It is unfair for him to have to die. Yet there is still another piece to the puzzle. In Book 18, Odysseus recognizes that Amphinomus is a decent man, and pulls him aside. Disguised as a beggar, he tells Amphinomus that he knows Odysseus is near and to flee the kingdom because, “for not without blood, as I deem, will they be sundered, the wooers and Odysseus, when once he shall have come beneath his own roof.” Odysseus sees that Amphinomus does not deserve to die, so he warns him. This detail changes everything. It shows that Odysseus acknowledges that it is unfair to persecute the men who were faithful to
The first issue that needs to be evaluated is whether or not the punishment fit the crime, whether or not the wooers should have been killed rather …show more content…
Should all have the wooers been killed? The story points out that there were a few honest men amongst the pack. For instance, one of the wooers, Amphinomus, was constantly noted as having wisdom, and for sticking up for Odysseus. Homer writes, “more than all the rest his words were pleasing to Penelope, for he was of an understanding mind.” Out of all the wooers he was the one that Penelope cared for the most. So this poses an ethical dilemma. Should Amphinomus be subject to the same penalty as the other men? The moral answer is no. It is unfair for him to have to die. Yet there is still another piece to the puzzle. In Book 18, Odysseus recognizes that Amphinomus is a decent man, and pulls him aside. Disguised as a beggar, he tells Amphinomus that he knows Odysseus is near and to flee the kingdom because, “for not without blood, as I deem, will they be sundered, the wooers and Odysseus, when once he shall have come beneath his own roof.” Odysseus sees that Amphinomus does not deserve to die, so he warns him. This detail changes everything. It shows that Odysseus acknowledges that it is unfair to persecute the men who were faithful to