Mrs F's first,and hopefully last, question on the Odyssey

2. Is Odysseus a hero of modern times?
His lies, pride and murderous ways can be considered metaphors for larger, universal truths. Or perhaps in these modern times we need to redefine what we want in our heroes.

A hero is not necessarily one who is remembered specifically or one who receives praise for his/her works. A hero is someone who does what is right even if it means putting themselves in danger. In this case Odysseus can be recognized as a hero who puts himself at risk to save others, his companions on his journey, or his family. However, a hero also does not lie and receive personal gain through deceit. A hero in today's society is someone who does what he can to try and preserve life and peace in the world. Odysseus is a lying, and deceitful individual who also shows kindness and mercy when the time calls for it. So Odysseus is a hero by his era's standards, however in modern times, although he may be able to slaughter many, many of the firefighters, who rescued individuals from the wreckage caused by 9/11 and are therefore considered to be heroes, but that would not make him a hero, it would simply make him a jerk that who be universally disliked.
Odysseus is a hero by the standards shown in The Odyssey. He always remained true to his cause and never permanently fell into the lap of any of his distractions. In Homer’s time period a hero was someone who could manipulate their way through any obstacle and cut down any individual in his (or her) path. This is exactly where Odysseus’ brains and brawn came into play. He used trickery to force Circe to release him, and he used his brawn to conquer the suitors in the final battle. When Odysseus came to the Circe’s island, he and his men were famished. They ate and slept for two days straight. On the third day, Circe welcomed them in and after they had all ate their fill; she turned them all into pigs. Odysseus felt guilty and he knew he needed to get his friends back. So, he devised a plan, with the help of Hermes and his magic herb that repelled Circe’s magic. When Hermes gives Odysseus the herb, Homer says, “With that the giant-killer handed over the magic herb…and Hermes showed me [Odysseus] all its name and nature.” When Circe attempted to charm Odysseus, Odysseus tells his listeners, “But I, I drew my sharp sword sheathed at my hip and rushed her fast as if to run her through—She screamed…” (239-40). Odysseus shows his side of heroism here with one, his compassion, and two, his trickery and deceit. He feels very upset and as though he needs to get his shipmates back. So, Odysseus does have a soft side as well as his sly, tricky, and clever side.
This side is shown when he uses trickery, the herb that he received from Hermes, to overcome Circe’s will. Hermes and Odysseus devised a plan to allow Odysseus to defeat Circe, and have his comrades returned to human form. His comrades do die, however, during one of the many obstacles they still had to face. However, Odysseus was to fight the final obstacle on his own. Odysseus uses his “brawn” side to fight the suitors. When he was fighting the final battle in the halls of his house, Odysseus commands, “Friends! Now it is for us to hurl at them [the suitors], I say, into this ruck of suitors! Topping all their crimes they’re mad to strip the armor off our bodies!” (447). And Homer tells us, after the slaughter of the suitors, “Odysseus scanned his house to see if any man still skulked alive, still hoped to avoid black death” (451). Odysseus shows courage when he calls for himself, Telemachus, the cowherd and the swineherd, to attack some of the finest men in all of Ithaca. He also shows how he isn’t a hero when he scours his whole house, just to see if someone is trying to escape him. He could have just dealt with not killing 1 or 2 of the suitors. Also, heroes don’t go around killing people, even if those people are threatening their family. They get rid of them, instead of killing them. So, although Odysseus may be a hero by the standards shown in his era, the heroes that we want today are not ones who simply kill or trick people in their way.
Odysseus is shown as a strong, independent character and those are some qualities that we want in our present-day heroes. However, Odysseus also lies and does not trust anyone. These are traits that are not shown in our present-day heroes. Heroes these days are just expected to be some of the nicest people you have ever met. They should always tell the truth and trust everyone they meet. This just goes to show that Odysseus is not, and cannot be, a hero by our standards. When Odysseus is living on Calypso’s island and Zeus makes her give up Odysseus, she tells Odysseus,
“ ‘No need, my unlucky one, to grieve here any longer…now I am willing, heart and soul, to send you off at last…And I myself will stock her [the raft that was to be built] with food and water…’ …Odysseus shuddered at that and broke out in a sharp flight of protest. ‘Passage home? Never. Surely you’re plotting something else, goddess, urging me—in a raft—to cross the ocean’s mighty gulfs’ ” (157-8).
Calypso is finally offering Odysseus what he has been longing for the whole time he’s been on the island. She is willing to help him get off her island, and immediately he becomes skeptical. If a modern hero was trapped on an island in the middle of nowhere and was offered a way to leave, he would thank his hostess and kindly accept the offer, instead of questioning the hostess and being hostile to someone who is offering their help. So, Odysseus is a questioning individual who doesn’t trust anyone, least of all someone who as kept him captive.
Earlier during his journey, Odysseus was held captive by another magical creature, Polyphemus the Cyclops. Odysseus lies to the giant one-eyed monster and although it may have worked and he did escape his pride, which is not a trait that is shown in many modern heroes, gets in the way. As he is escaping on his ships, he yells back to Polyphemus, “Cyclops—if any man on the face of the earth should ask you who blinded you, shamed you so—say Odysseus, raider of cities, he gouged out your eye, Laertes’ son who makes his home in Ithaca” (227). In response, Polyphemus prayed to his father, Poseidon, saying, “…grant that Odysseus…never reaches home. Or if he’s fated to see his people once again and reach his well-built house and his own native country, let him come home late and come a broken man—all shipmates lost, along in a stranger’s ship—and let him find a world of pain at home!” (228). Odysseus’ pride leads him to taunt Polyphemus, and in the end, the Cyclops’ prayer makes him lose all his possessions, his shipmates; his ship and almost lose his life many times. This pride is not a welcome attribute to many common heroes of today. Pride makes one unhealthy and makes them think that they are better than everyone, which was Odysseus’ thought when he yelled to the Cyclops.
Finally, present day heroes are not deceitful, they may fight battles, but they don’t massacre every last enemy soldier. They are trusting and they are not laden with pride. So, do we need to change our thoughts on what a hero is? NO!!!!! Our heroes may get massacred by Odysseus’ kind, but in today’s society, a kind, caring, trustworthy and modest hero is the kind that would be accepted versus one who is deceitful, massacring, prideful.