To What Extent Is Odysseus A Hero

Is Odysseus a Hero?

Think of someone in your life who is a hero to you. What traits do they possess? Is it the adventures they go on that makes them a martyr, their characteristics, or how popular they are? In The Odyssey, the main character, Odysseus, embarks on one huge adventure to save his people, but barely gets back home. The struggles of this journey have proved whether Odysseus is in fact a hero, or just a fool who got lucky. Although literary scholars of The Odyssey have argued that he is not a hero, closer examination shows that he is a hero because he met the ultimate goal of defeating Troy, bravely led and sacrificed for his men, and escaped multiple enemies.

In The Odyssey, Odysseus sails from his home island of Ithaca, Greece,

He sacrifices for his men, refuses to yield, and gives his army spirit. In book 11, Odysseys says, “Diomedes, what's the matter with us? Have we forgotten how to fight? Take a stand here with me. There'll be hell to pay if Hector takes the ship's.” (Homer11) Who would’ve stopped Hector if Odysseus didn't step up and lead his men? Ultimately, he set an example of perseverance, and refused to give up without a fight.

Not only did he lead his men, he also sacrificed his life for them. On the way back from the victory against Troy, Odysseus and his men land on the island of Circe. Circe drugs his men and turns them to pigs. “Divining the cause, she waved her wand once more and restored my shipmates to human form. She even sent me to summon the men from the ship, who never thought they'd see me again alive..” (Homer10) Still, Odysseus had the choice to leave his men and sail away for Ithaka, however, he climbs to Circe's palace alone, to turn his men back to humans. Anybody can care for someone, but it takes a real hero to put others before himself. In addition of his leadership, another example is his trip to the underworld. When his ship arrives in the world of Hades, he tells his men that he shall go alone. Then, he bravely talks to Tiresias to learn how to get his men safely home. Overall, he saved his men's lives by risking his own and leading them to victory. If he wasn’t

A hero can not endure the pain a 10 year war brings, nor fight for his and his men’s lives on the way back home. Odysseus leads his men through all the islands of minor God’s and Goddesses, and many monsters. At the island of the Lotus Eaters, he tied his men to the ship and plugged their ears so they would not hear the enticing music. As a result, he escaped this threat without even coming close to the enemy, and he never gave up. If he was not a hero, he would have killed his men and himself on the way back.“Thence we sailed on, grieved at heart, glad to have escaped death, though we had lost our dear comrades.” (Homer9) Why would Homer let Odysseus get home after setting him up for disaster if he did not intend to prove that he was a hero? Someone could argue that he allowed all of his men to die on the journey. However, we must remember that Odysseus is only a human, and some of his enemies include the Gods and Goddesses themselves. The God’s have control of the environment, the atmosphere, and everything around this journey. We should not blame Odysseus for the deities intent to punish some of his men. Even though his men died and he was the only one to return home, he attempted, and did everything in his power to remain loyal to his crew, and lead them all the way back to