Odysseus Epic Hero
The Epic Hero That Was Not
The general populous has hailed Odysseus as the epitome of the epic hero for several centuries, but to the modern reader, he comes off as anything but. While he was extremely driven by one goal, getting back home to his family, he performed some not-so heroic deeds on his quest and once he arrived back in Ithaca. Odysseus had many affairs and was disloyal to his wife, slaughtered hundreds of people in the name of righteousness, and above all, exemplifies hubris, or arrogant pride. These traits and behaviors are not acceptable for anyone, especially a person considered to be and hailed as a hero. Odysseus is not the epitome of an epic hero.
Despite all of the good deeds Odysseus performed, the fact that he needlessly killed hundreds of people is hard to overlook. Upon returning home to Ithaca, he slaughtered all of Penelope’s suitors and disloyal maids who had affairs with some of the suitors. As the CliffsNotes article on Odysseus’ character mentions, “Odysseus can be merciful, as …show more content…
This is close to his only concrete character flaw, yet it easily overshadows any of his other traits. As CliffsNotes says, “He is confident that he represents virtue even when a modern audience might not be so sure” (Character Analysis Odysseus). His prideful arrogance follows him throughout the entire epic, yet it is most blatantly exhibited after he and his men’s escape from the Cyclopes’ cave. As if Odysseus simply can’t resist taking credit for his defeat of the monster, he declares, “Odysseus, raider of cities, took your eye; / Laertes’ son, whose home’s on Ithaca!” (Homer 9.18-19). This was a rather unintelligent move, as he able to escape by cleverly tricking the Cyclops by saying his name was Nohbdy, and he only threw his disguise away because he wanted to be famed and known for defeating the monster. Odysseus’ pride is one of his most noticeable shortcomings, and similarly, one of his most
The general populous has hailed Odysseus as the epitome of the epic hero for several centuries, but to the modern reader, he comes off as anything but. While he was extremely driven by one goal, getting back home to his family, he performed some not-so heroic deeds on his quest and once he arrived back in Ithaca. Odysseus had many affairs and was disloyal to his wife, slaughtered hundreds of people in the name of righteousness, and above all, exemplifies hubris, or arrogant pride. These traits and behaviors are not acceptable for anyone, especially a person considered to be and hailed as a hero. Odysseus is not the epitome of an epic hero.
Despite all of the good deeds Odysseus performed, the fact that he needlessly killed hundreds of people is hard to overlook. Upon returning home to Ithaca, he slaughtered all of Penelope’s suitors and disloyal maids who had affairs with some of the suitors. As the CliffsNotes article on Odysseus’ character mentions, “Odysseus can be merciful, as …show more content…
This is close to his only concrete character flaw, yet it easily overshadows any of his other traits. As CliffsNotes says, “He is confident that he represents virtue even when a modern audience might not be so sure” (Character Analysis Odysseus). His prideful arrogance follows him throughout the entire epic, yet it is most blatantly exhibited after he and his men’s escape from the Cyclopes’ cave. As if Odysseus simply can’t resist taking credit for his defeat of the monster, he declares, “Odysseus, raider of cities, took your eye; / Laertes’ son, whose home’s on Ithaca!” (Homer 9.18-19). This was a rather unintelligent move, as he able to escape by cleverly tricking the Cyclops by saying his name was Nohbdy, and he only threw his disguise away because he wanted to be famed and known for defeating the monster. Odysseus’ pride is one of his most noticeable shortcomings, and similarly, one of his most