Odysseus: Hero or Villain? An In-depth Analysis

Odysseus: The Mislabeled Legend
The Greek epics have always been known for their heroes. In Homer’s The Odyssey a man named Odysseus, often labeled as the ideal Greek for displaying both physical and mental arête, journeys back home after the Trojan War. The contemporary poem "Sea Grapes" by David Walcott describes Odysseus's flaws that are revealed in this ten year span. Odysseus's infidelity and violent nature described in The Odyssey and "Sea Grapes" demonstrate his utter lack of heroism.
By partaking in adultery, Odysseus proves himself to be a dishonorable man. Odysseus’s first known mistress is a sorceress named Kirke, who turns his crewmates into pigs. After discovering what she did, Odysseus tries to kill her. In an attempt to save herself, Kirke offers “to

He is rather willingly “detained long by Kalypso, / loveliest among goddesses”, spending most of that time being held “in her smooth caves” (Homer 9.30-31, 32). He is kept a prisoner on her island for seven years, until Zeus orders Kalypso to release him. On his way back to Ithaka from Ogýgia, Odysseus is shipwrecked and found by the princess Nausikaa, a young girl “so fine / in mould and feature that she seemed a goddess” (Homer 6.20-21). She offers him shelter and mentions she would like a husband similar to Odysseus. Her father agrees and suggests to Odysseus that “my daughter should be yours / and you my son-in-law” (Homer 8.335-36). Though it is not stated in The Odyssey, Odysseus potentially harbors deeper feelings for Nausikaa, hearing her “name / in every gull’s outcry” while travelling to Ithaka (Walcott 8-9). Odysseus’s “longing” for Nausikaa compels him to keep her a secret from Penélopê when he finally returns home (Walcott 7). All of these women—Kirke, Calypso and Nausikaa—are Odysseus’s “obsession” because he can’t seem to leave them behind entirely, while Penélopê is the “responsibility” getting in the way of his fun (Walcott 11). He