Is Odysseus A Hero

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In the epic poem The Odyssey by Homer Odysseus is on a voyage back to his native land ithaca; on his adventure Odysseus and his crew experiences many challenges and hardships. Odysseus and others go to many places like the island of the cyclopes or the palace of circe the nymph and the city of the cyclones. In all of these places though Odysseus happens to always put his men in harm's way before himself. Odysseus is a villain in the odyssey due to the loss of men to the lotus eaters, massacre on the island of the cyclones, and in the Cyclopes cave. To start, Odysseus went to the island of the cyclones where they killed men and stole women and riches not caring about the after effects or cruelty of these events. “There I sacked the city,/ killed the men, but as for the wives and plunder,/ that rich haul we dragged away from the place”. Odysseus after entering the city and killing men, taking the women as slaves, and stealing the city's loot the cyclones came back to attack Odysseus men were 7 of his ships full of men died. This shows how Odysseus doesn’t care about other people and that he is not a hero. I say this because he slaughtered innocents and took their wifes and friends as prisoners and sex slaves. In addition, he didn’t care either of his men where he stayed on the …show more content…
This is supported by Odysseus showing disrespect towards his crew and others such as the cyclones. This is important because a hero is a person that helps people and puts others before himself. Although Odysseus send his crew into battle before him, always goes by his word not listening to the ideas of his fellow men, and raids, plunders, and rapes women of places where he had no right to do so. This just all shows how Odysseus is no where close to being a true hero but more of a villain in regards to the average