The Tragic Hero Of Odysseus In Homer's Odyssey

Superior Essays
“…A hero is any person really intent on making this a better place for all people” (Maya Angelou; American author, poet, and civil rights activist). The world is filled with many epic characters, movie stars, and other people that are considered to be heroes: one of them is Odysseus. However, many of Odysseus’ actions brought forth the fact that he was not heroic. A hero is selfless, humble, and a good leader that has many admirable values and. While Odysseus, did not have those qualities. Therefore, He should not be emulated and celebrated and placed upon a pedestal that people admire and choose to follow. Heroes are kind, filled with integrity, and have many admirable values and morals. In contrast, Odysseus did not have these characteristics. He had no concern for the well fare of others. …show more content…
“Odysseus and his crew raid the Cicones. Robbing and killing them…” (The Odyssey; pg. 1212). While some might say that there was nothing wrong in what Odysseus did, nonetheless, his actions held utterly no morals. Furthermore, Odysseus cheated on his wife, but was afraid that she would not stay true to him. While in one situation Odysseus had to betray his wife to save his men when a witch named Circe turned the men into pigs. Yet, even after she turns back the men into humans “they stay for one more year” (The Odyssey; pg. 1225). If Odysseus followed the code of ethics he would have left Circe as soon as she turned the men back into people, but Odysseus stayed a whole year with her. If he was a hero, he would have had commendable values, yet he did not, as is clearly shown when he cheats on his wife. Hence Odysseus was not a true hero for he was cruel and did not have honorable morals.
A true hero has the rare quality of a great leader. Moreover, heroes care about their crew and while they give might give out orders or commands they do not place themselves at a superior level trying to show that they have the right to rule over everyone. Odysseus did not have that quality. “True heroism…is not the urge to surpass all others…but the urge to serve others…” (Arthur Ashe; American professional tennis player). Instead Odysseus held himself at a high level and tried to seem greater instead of acting as a team with his crew. He thought that as a leader he could give commands with no explanation and the crew had no right to question them. In fact Odysseus acted like that when King Aeolus gave him a bag full of unfavorable, stormy winds. Rather than explaining to the crew why the bag should not be opened, Odysseus kept the information to himself just ordering the rest of the crew not to touch the bag. This led to trouble as when Odysseus fell asleep “the men open the bag, thinking it contains gold and silver” (The Odyssey; pg.1224). Whereas, if Odysseus did not try to place himself higher than the crew and shared the contents of the bag with the rest of the men the trouble would have not reached them and they would have been home many years earlier. Not only did Odysseus not treat his fleet as a team, he also led them into much danger, whereas a real hero has to protect his crew. When Odysseus and the men came into the Cyclops cave his men begged to take the chesses and then “…make a run for it/…” (The Odyssey; 9. 127). Yet Odysseus refused because he “…wished/ to see the caveman, what he had to offer…” (The odyssey; 9. 130-131). Due to this some of the men were eaten by the Cyclops and the rest were in immense danger. Odysseus did not have the vital characteristic that a hero must have: the skill of leadership. Odysseus put his men through lots of danger and did not share the information his crew had a right to know. “True heroism is remarkably sober, very undramatic…” (Arthur Ashe; American professional tennis player). While heroes might be better than others at many different things a real hero does not brag about talents. A heroic person is

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