Odysseus's Non-Heroic Adventure

Not every person in the universe contains unshaken courage, or compassion, or diligence—but a hero does. He possesses the whole hearted allegiance and sacrifice that any average-day man could never acquire, along with the selfless devotion and fortitude that comes along. Those who encompass these reputable traits are to be deemed heroes, yet those who lack these should not. Likewise, in the epic poem The Odyssey written by Homer, the Greek leader Odysseus fails to meet the standards of a hero by not being able to comprise of the proper qualities. Odysseus’s traits of lacking leadership, hubris, and disloyalty solidifies him in not deserving the title of a hero.

Causing the many failures he has in his journey, Odysseus’s ineffectual leadership proves he is not worthy of being a hero. His lack of control is evident in several instances, one being when his men devour and slaughter the cattle on Thrinakia. Although Zeus chastises the crew and Odysseus for their unlawful deed, it is essentially Odysseus’s blunder that allows these happenings to occur. Odysseus contains the understanding that his crew does not chiefly consist of the most loyal and faithful men, and judging by their actions before, are not always known to abide by their leader’s commands. By knowing this, Odysseus should have expressed concern and initiative to ensure that his companions do, do as he advises, and doing a pleasurably activity like sleeping does not portray any of this. Based on reasonable, past occurrences, a true hero would be mapping out the possibilities of what can occur in the future and remain awake, willingly looking after his men to prevent such events from occurring. Not only does this display inadequate leadership, but a critical failure i...

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...ro. Yet again, Odysseus fails to reach the expectations of a hero with his infidelity toward Penelope and his frequent affairs with other women.

In summation, through Odysseus’s non-heroic like behavior of acting unfaithful, portraying excessive pride, and failing in competent leadership, he cannot be seen as a hero. From not being able to restrain his vengeance to “killing” his entire crew, his average man persona is clearly visible from start to finish. The incompetent leadership he portrays, and the adultery he commits cannot be disregarded in evaluating him as a hero. By far, to be considered a hero is not a simple task to achieve, but there are heroes out there who justly deserve this title. In closing, whether a person’s desire is to become a hero or whether he already has the title, both ways, serves one main purpose—to change the world for the better.