Odysseus as a Modern Antihero

Odysseus: The Greek conception of heroism vs. our own The ancient Greek poet Homer's Iliad and Odyssey were considered to be two of the most important works of literature for ancient Greeks to study, particularly during the classical era of Greek civilization. However, for many modern readers, the values embodied by Odysseus are surprisingly self-interested.

In modern culture, the conventional conception of a hero is someone like Superman or Luke Skywalker: he is naive, trusting, good, puts the common welfare above his own needs, and is willing to listen to those older and wiser than himself. Odysseus is none of these things. He is clever, full of guile, perfectly willing to lie and trick people to get his way, and full of a quality even the Greeks considered dangerous, that of hubris or a willingness to defy the gods.

But the Greek still considered Odysseus a noble and admirable hero, within their own value system. Odysseus' hubris is evident early on in the Odyssey, when he wrestles with and bests the man-eating cyclops Polyphemus by blinding him. Odysseus boastfully tells the cyclops who he is while leaving the island and Polyphemus uses his influence with his father Poseidon to ensure that Odysseus will not have an easy return trip home. Odysseus spends the next ten years wandering the seas because of his foolish mistake.

Still, there is no question that, despite this error, he is the most noble and heroic character of the tale. Odysseus is capable of making mistakes, unlike the stereotypical action hero, but he is still able to secure a worthy end for himself. Although he was a great warrior and fought in the Trojan War, it is worth noting that Odysseus never sought out armed combat and glory like some warriors like Achilles.

Legend suggests that he pretended to be mad to avoid fulfilling the promise he made years ago to defend Helen if she was abducted. Only after his trick was revealed (he was pretending sow his fields with salt but someone threw his young son in his path and he veered to avoiding hitting him) did Odysseus grudgingly go. Odysseus is also credited with being the man responsible for the Greek victory, but once again this is not because of his Herculean brawn and desire to seek out combat.

It is Odysseus who derived the scheme of the Trojan horse, enabling the Greeks to penetrate the walls of Troy in the 'gift' horse. Once again, Odysseus' ability to engage in deceit and even dishonesty is portrayed as an admirable component of his character, not something to be despised. And although the god Poseidon hated Odysseus because of what he did to his son, Odysseus was beloved of the goddess of wisdom Athena.

Being what we would consider 'immoral' in today's moral vocabulary did not mean one was despised by the gods in the mythological beliefs of ancient Greece. It should also be noted that the happy ending of the Odyssey is secured by Odysseus often acting in a vengeful and bloody way. The most obvious example of this is the wholesale slaughter of all of the suitors vying for the hand of his wife Penelope.

And throughout his wanderings, Odysseus continues to act arrogantly, even though not all of his defiance ends as badly as the incident with the cyclops. For example, so he can hear the famed song of the Sirens, who use their beautiful voices to lure men to their grave, he has his men bind him to the mast of his ship so he cannot move, while they continue to row with their ears plugged.

Odysseus wants to be the only living man to have heard the Sirens' song and said to have survived. Odysseus is also unfaithful to his wife on numerous occasions, including his dalliance with the nymph Calypso. In contrast, Penelope is completely faithful to her husband. From a logical perspective, she has no reason to believe that her husband is still alive for twenty years, yet she is held to the highest standards of fidelity, based upon the narrative logic of the epic poem.

Odysseus, in contrast, although he clearly wants to return home to his family, has a number of relationships with women, including Circe the sorceress, which would be considered immodest if the roles were reversed and Penelope was the main protagonist of the narrative. Of course, Odysseus does act nobly on a number of occasions, in contrast to his men, who are depicted as cowardly, lazy, and easily deceived.

He compassionately advises one of the suitors to leave after the man treats him kindly when Odysseus is disguised as a beggar, even though the man does not listen to him. He tries to save his men after they are turned into swine by Circe. He genuinely loves his wife and child and.