Not an Epic Hero free essay sample

Not an Epic Hero The Odyssey is one of the most famous ancient Greek epic poems written by Homer. It tells an adventure and struggle of the main character, Odysseus, trying to get back home to Ithaca from Troy. In this epic, Homer portrays Odysseus as a hero. However, in my opinion, he is not a hero because he received too much help from the Gods, did not protect his men, and was selfish at times. Heroes should be helped but there is a limit to it. Throughout the poem, that limit was crossed for Odysseus. Help of the Gods was always available for him whenever he was in a difficult situation. For example Odysseus had left Calypsos’ Island and he was in the middle of the sea when storm came and broke his raft. Help was accessible when White Goddess, Ino, offered him her immortally charmed veil that kept Odysseus safe and took him to shore (V, 348). We will write a custom essay sample on Not an Epic Hero or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page If Ino had not been there to help Odysseus he would never have reached shore. The pattern of goddess coming to Odysseus’ rescue is seen throughout the whole poem. Because of this, I did not really saw him as heroic a he had been portrayed. A good captain or a hero according to me is someone who puts others before himself in challenging situations. Not who shies away from them. Though Odysseus was faced with many hardships in his twenty years away from home, he just about killed his entire crew. When Odysseus and his crew had to deal with Scylla and Charybdis he practically fed half of his crew to lengthen his own life. Odysseus should have been brave and revealed the whole details of the dangers ahead when he said, â€Å"Friends, it is not right that one or two alone should know what the goddess Circe foretold† (X11, 161). Instead he kept the most important detail of the conversation to himself. At the island of the Lotus-Eaters, Odysseus men were having a great time, without a care in the world, but then Odysseus forced them to leave the island. If Odysseus had not done that his crew would be alive. In the time in which this epic poem is written, it seemed men were allowed all kinds of freedom without anyone questioning them. One of those freedoms was married men allowed to have relationships with other women. It was very selfish of Odysseus to show his lust for other women to be more overpowering than going home. Odysseus would have been home sooner if he had not wasted valuable time with Circe. He only thought about himself throughout the whole journey, never about those whom he had left behind home especially Penelope. Because of Odysseus’ selfishness Penelope suffered not knowing where or how her husband was during the twenty years he was gone. She also had to put up with rude and obnoxious comments from the suitors. Odysseus is not an epic hero because of the help he received from the goddesses which allowed him to survive. Ability to protect is an epic hero trait that was missing in Odysseus and that is shown when Scylla ate his six crewmen. Odysseus moved at his own pace without giving thoughts to others. Staying with Circe was an example of that.