The Odyssey: Is Odysseus a True Hero?

The Odyssey by Homer is one of the most famous books in Western history. I remember learning about the story when I was seven years old. Even at that young age, I marveled at the strength and bravery of the mortal hero Odysseus, who against all odds, was able to return to his homeland after twenty long years. The stories of sirens, Cyclops, and monsters enchanted me and I loved hearing about how the crafty, clever Odysseus overcame all those challenges. In my mind, he was a perfect hero: a moral, ordinary man who used his wits and courage to return to his family and home.

However, after reading The Odyssey carefully in the last few weeks, my perspective on Odysseus has altered. I still see him as a strong, determined man that strove to return to his wife and son but now I see his more negative traits. The arrogance, the cheating, and the brashness. For all his calmness and cleverness, Odysseus is really quite a hothead. We mentioned this in class but the whole thing with Polyphemus that prolonged the journey home by another additional ten years was very much Odysseus' fault. If he hadn't blurted his name to the Cyclops, Polyphemus would have never been able to identify him and subsequently, Poseidon wouldn't know who blinded his son. So, because of his own brashness and arrogance, Odysseus endangered his own crew and himself. 

This arrogance appears throughout the book regularly. When Odysseus is rallying his men to go past Scylla and Charybdis, he says "But even from there my courage, my presence of mind and tactics saved us all." Even in the midst of incoming death, he's going to brag about his tactical skills? This was one instance that caused me to slightly dislike Odysseus. 

There is also the cheating. This is the one thing that I didn't realize as a kid. In my mind, Odysseus was forever faithful to Penelope. I remember watching one film adaptation of The Odyssey in which a tree grows from Odysseus and Penelope's bed. That tree symbolizes their eternal love and faith in one another. In that film, Odysseus was not a questionable hero at all. He didn't cheat on Penelope at all throughout the long journey and when finally reuniting, was overjoyed to see his faithful wife. 

The book itself definitely hints if not outright states Odysseus' many affairs with other women. There is Calypso with whom Odysseus stays with for seven years. Right before he leaves the island, right before announcing his love for Penelope, Odysseus and Calypso "now, withdrawing into the cavern’s deep recesses, long in each other’s arms they lost themselves in love". Although Homer makes it clear throughout the book that everything extramarital that happened on the island is Calypso's fault--she is always called "the lustrous goddess" and is accused of "holding him [Odysseus] there by force"--the language of that sentence makes it ambiguous. Is Odysseus being enchanted by Calypso? Or is it mutual attraction? 

It isn't just Calypso Odysseus has a "spark" with. He stays with Circe for a year, completely forgetting about the journey home. Like we said in class, it is his own crew that has to remind our hero that he has a home to get back to. These little but important interactions alienated me from Odysseus. Homer's inclination to raise Odysseus on a pedestal and to blame those around him--his crew, Calypso, etc--when things go wrong further alienated me from the heroic aspects of Odysseus. 

I don't think that I'll see Odysseus the same way again. When I was little, I painted him as a legend, a mortal god. However, the actual book makes Odysseus seem much more human and flawed. When he isn't clever and shrewd, he can be stupid and foolhardy. His fate is also nearly controlled by the gods and makes me wonder how much agency Odysseus actually has. He's almost a puppet, a plaything that the gods use when they are amused or bored. With not a lot of free will, a few key flaws, is Odysseus a true hero? 

I don't think so. Despite the fact that Homer wants to place him in that heroic role, I don't think that Odysseus is truly heroic. There's just too much he does wrong, too much that he isn't held accountable for. Of course, other people may think differently.