Odysseus: A Tragic Hero

For millennia Odysseus has widely been regarded as a hero, but when a closer look is taken at the Odyssey it can be seen that Odysseus possess many traits generally held by villain. Odysseus is unnecessarily cruel, is extensively selfish and lacks the leadership qualities. Odysseus seems to be more morally related to Jason of Argonauts, a man regarded as an anti hero, than the great hero Achilles whom he is often compared to.

Throughout the epic poem, Odysseus is unnecessarily cruel and violent, a trait that is generally possessed by a villain. Early in the attack Odysseus leads to take his home back he tells Eumaeus and Philoetius to “wrench Melanthius’ arms and legs behind him”, then “hoist him up a column” and “let him dangle in agony,

still alive, for a good long time”(22.181-186). Torture is a an act of cruelty below the morals of a traditional hero. Leodes, the last suitor to die, begs for the mercy of Odysseus saying “Never, I swear, did I haras any woman in you house-never a word, a gesture-nothing, no, I tried to restrain the suitors”(22.328-330). A hero would have granted Leodes the mercy he claimed to deserve, however Odysseus murder Leodes anyway, a strangely unheroic act for the hero of the poem. After the bloodbath Odysseus orders Telemachus to “march the women out of the great hall...and hack them with our swords slash out all their lives blot out their minds” and Telemachus feels this death is to clan and instead hangs the unfaithful servants in a brutal fashion. On some level the murder of most of the suitors was justified but murdering the girls whose only crime was sleeping with suitors is an act of cruelty
not seen before in the poem. Odysseus demonstrates in the epic poem that his character contains more cruelty than compassion and mercy.

Heroes are selfless servants of the greater good but Odysseus demonstrates that he is a servant only to himself and his pride. When Odysseus and his men explore the cave of Polyphemus his men beg him to just steal some cheese and leave but Odysseus refused to listen telling the Phaeacians that he “would not give way- and how much better it would have been-not till I saw him, saw what gifts he’d give”(9.256-258). His selfish refusal causes the death of man members of his crew, a choice no traditional hero would have made. While Odysseus and his crew flee from the island Odysseus foolishly tells Polyphemus “If any man on the face of the earth should ask you who blinded you...say Odysseus….gouged out your eye, Laertes’ son who makes his home in Ithaca!”(9.559-562). While a true hero would act as a servant to his crew and put them first, Odysseus acts as a blind servant to his pride puting only his arrogance above his own self preservation. Odysseus stays on the island of Aeaea with Circe “day in, day out, till a year had run its course”(10.515). Throughout the epic poem Odysseus claims that he desires to return home but after he saves his men he stays on the island with circe, keeping his men away from home, keeping his son without a father, keeping his wife without a husband. Odysseus lets pleasure keep him away from his family, he falls victim to his own selfish desires, something a true hero would never do. Odysseus acts only as a servant to pride, pleasure, and himself not the greater good like any true hero would be.

Odysseus lacks the leadership qualities of a hero and ends up getting the men he was supposed to lead and protect killed.

When Odysseus and his crew were attacked by the Cicones he blames his crew saying “Then I urged them to cut and run, set sail, but would they listen? Not those Mutinous fools”(9.51-51). A good leader should be able to control his men, lead them and inspire them to follow but Odysseus does not do this instead he blames them for not following him when told. When Aeolus gave Odysseus the bags of wind his crew believed he had “Heaps of lovely plunder he hauls home from Troy” instead, so the stole bag and opened sending the ship miles off course and miles away from Ithaca. Odysseus does not have a trusting relationship with his crew, otherwise they never would have opened the bag in the first place, showing that once again Odysseus’ mission is thwarted by his inability to lead. When Odysseus and his crew becomes prisoners to the storm on the island of Thrinacia, Odysseus goes “up the island, there to pray to the gods”(12.359), the crew, in response to the abandonment of their leader, proceed to eat the forbidden cattle dooming themselves and Odysseus. A good leader is responsible for his crew and should never abandon them, especially in a time of need, and yet Odysseus does abandon his crew, leading them to fend for themselves with no leader. It is almost understandable that his crew fell victim to temptation, as if Odysseus was there they most certainly

would not have. Throughout the epic poem, Odysseus demonstrates his complete lack of good leadership and complete lack of compassion for his crew, trait a true hero possesses.