Leo Tolstoy, author of Anna Karenina, once said that if you look for perfection, you will never be content. While this statement may seem like a put-me down, it is as true a statement as gravity is a constant. When we first read The Odyssey, we were all expecting a perfect human being to be the hero. Instead, we got Odysseus, a human who makes mistakes and is cocky, but is still the hero. Some people say that he isn’t a hero because he isn’t perfect. If you look up the definition of hero on google, it defines a hero as “a person, typically a man, who is admired or idealized for courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities.” Nowhere in that definition does it say that the hero needs to be perfect. People call Odysseus out and say he is not a hero because they are not content with a hero being imperfect, as Leo Tolstoy wisely said. Odysseus may be one of the smartest heroes out there. He is a hero, even if that comes with strings attached, like arrogance and cockiness. Odysseus is a hero, because of the fact that he is imperfect.
Odysseus is the perfect hero because he is imperfect. In The Odyssey, as Odysseus and his men are leaving the island of the now blind, mad Cyclops, he says this: “O Cyclops! Would you feast on my companions? Puny, am I, in a Caveman’s hands? How do you like the beating that we gave you, you damned cannibal? Eater of guests under your roof! Zeus and the gods have paid you! (9.390-395)” To the average intellectual, this looks like Odysseus is mad with power and is trying to destroy his crew. But when analyzed more carefully, this actually shows that Odysseus is a hero, in the context of the story. It proves that first and foremost, Odysseus is imperfect. As seen in the quote, he is cocky and arrogant. But, the definition of a hero says that they must have courage. This man is filled with courage. He fought a 10 year war, then got stuck on an island with a monster that eats men, yet he still can bully the monster, after blinding him. That is courage. Odysseus is not a hero to be reckoned with. But he isn’t perfect. He isn’t the perfection we look for in a hero. But he, as the hero, doesn’t need that perfection that we look for.
Some believe that Odysseus isn’t a hero. Those who do not believe that Odysseus is a hero say that he is a war mongerer, killer, and psychopath. The disbelievers have evidence that he isn’t a hero. In this quote from The Odyssey, Odysseus has arrived back in Ithaca and sees many suitors eating his meat, drinking his wine, bedding the maids, and, most importantly, courting his wife. He shows them that he is indeed Odysseus, and goes into a blind rage: “You yellow dogs, you thought I’d never make it home from the land of Troy. You took my house to plunder, twisted my maids to serve your beds. You dared bid for my wife while I was still alive. Contempt was all you had for the gods who rule wide heaven, contempt for what men say of you hereafter. Your last hour has come. You die in blood. (22.34-40)” Again, to the average intellectual, this looks like Odysseus is a psychopathic murderer. But when analyzed in the context of the story, it turns out differently. First, this quote proves that Odysseus is prone to mistakes, which in turn proves that he is imperfect. Second, he is human. Even with the mistakes he made (killing the suitors) he still did it in the context of a hero. This again proves my imperfection thesis. Third, place yourself in Odysseus’ shoes. You have just gotten home after 20 years of being forcefully kept away from home. You try to enter you home but you see young men trying to court your wife. He reacted the only way he knew how. He killed them. He killed them because he was mad. And that madness is understandable. A hero should be characterized by his achievements rather than his mistakes. Odysseus is a hero because of his actions. Sometimes he makes mistakes, as all heroes do. Even though Odysseus made mistakes, however, he did them as a hero. That is the true reason he is a hero.
Odysseus is a hero because of his imperfection. His cockiness, his arrogance, and his small temper aren’t good traits, but he still is intelligent, clever, cunning, and willing to do the right thing whether it means that he will or will not survive. That alone takes courage. That alone is a noble quality.
Programming, Ascended 