The Arrogance Of Odysseus In Homer's Odyssey

Odysseus is a great hero, he is smart, brave and has strong power, he made his way back home while conquering a bunch of dangerous. But he get a lot of his crew killed by getting the cyclop mad while he was trying to get his crew and himself off cyclop’s island. And he killed all the suitors who were messing with his wife and his son. Odysseus’ arrogance and merciless behavior make him a flawed hero. Arrogant indeed, there are way too many spots that show how arrogant Odysseus is in The Odyssey. But the best to show the arrogance of Odysseus should be how he want to glorify himself in front of the cyclop. When he and his crew escape the cyclop successfully, he yelled at the cyclop: “ Cyclops, if ever mortal man inquire how you were put to shame and blinded, tell him Odysseus, raider of cities, took your eye: Laertes’ son, whose home’s on Ithaca” (Homer 1122). This mean that he is so arrogant that he does not want the name “Nobody” to take Odysseus’ glory of defeating the cyclop, even that will risk all of his crew and his own life, what a selfish and arrogant hero.

It is merciless because that one of the suitor have tried to make a good deal that all the suitors will pay Odysseus back what they have eaten and drunk in the past 10 years, but Odysseus still killed them inhumanly. In Odysseus’ house, he announced to the suitors: “There will be killing till the score is paid. You forced yourselves upon this house. Fight your way out, or run for it, if you think you’ll escape death. I doubt one man of you skins by” (Homer 1159). This shows that years of wars have changed Odysseus, became something else, violent, bloodthirsty, he kill people even when they do not deserve to die, he killed the suitors not to protect his family, he killed them to release the rage and anger in his heart that the his journey brought