Odysseus: A Hero In Homer's The Odyssey

Over the time humans have always had heroes. Whether they be fictional heroes or human heroes. Some of these traits a hero has, Odysseus simply doesn’t have. In The Odyssey there are a lot of moments when Odysseus has a chance to show his true character traits. In most of these moments, Odysseus tries to get himself out first, then the rest of his crew. In The Odyssey, written by Homer, Odysseus should not be considered a hero. This should be the case because on numerous occasions he gets his men killed due to his pride in himself or his concern for his own safety over his men’s.
Odysseus pride gets his crew killed multiple times throughout The Odyssey. A prime example of this is when Odysseus and his crew could escape the cyclops without …show more content…
Too many times throughout the story Odysseus sends his men ahead to scout out the island while he hangs back at the ship in safety. An example of this is when they arrive on Circe’s island and Odysseus sends half of his men ahead to scout out the island. “The lot of brave Eurylochus leapt out first. So he moved out with his two and twenty comrades,” (Homer 236. 226-227). This is showing Odysseus is just throwing his men out there for his own personal safety. When only one of the crew comes back with danger as the only report, Odysseus is still alive and half of his crew is gone. Another example is when they come to the land of the Lotus Eaters and Odysseus does not know what is on the island. So instead of him going himself to scout out the land, he sends two scouts ahead instead to see what’s on the island. Odysseus says “I sent a detail ahead, two picked men and a third, a runner to scout out who might live there,” (Homer 214. 99-101). Again Odysseus is safe and out of the way while his men are out in the unknown risking their lives. In both of these examples anyone could see whose life comes first in Odysseus’s life and that is his

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