In the 21st century, I would consider a hero to be a person who commits acts of courage and kindness. Many people would recognize this individual as a true hero if he performed these acts to help others. After fighting in the Trojan War, Odysseus returns to his home town of Ithica. Throughout his adventure, he really shows his arrogance, ruthlessness and ignorance. After deeply examining his adventures and actions, Odysseus is not the "hero" he may appear to be. Odysseus may give the impression of being a hero, but many of his actions of "courage or kindness" in places like the island of the Cyclops, the Sirens, and Ithica are just ways to gain kleos or honor. As I noted before, Odysseus has the false pretense of helping others. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay To begin, Odysseus' actions on the island of the Cyclops were ignorant of him and dangerous to his crew. In Book If anyone ever asks you who turned off your ugly, tell him that your blinder was Ulysses, the conqueror of Troy, son of Laertes, whose domicile is in Ithaca.” These quotes reassure Odysseus' ignorance, as he had many intelligent men advising him, but he himself only listened to one person. This ignorance subsequently led to the deaths of other men. Even after Odysseus was done distracting the Cyclops, he had to make sure he got his "honor" by telling Polyphemus that he was the one who pierced his eye. This was a reckless act on his part as he wasted precious time in escaping and led to him being further cursed by Poseidon. This is best said by author Lloyd Alexander: "Every man is a hero if he does more for others than for himself." After Odysseus' statements and actions, he almost shows off to Scylla and Charybdis shows his arrogance and ego. In Book XII, they state this: “Suppose I slip away from Charybdis and show battle when the other attacks my men”… “She immediately replied: 'Hothead! Fighting and asking for trouble is all you care about.” These quotes reassure Odysseus' arrogance, as Odysseus believes he is strong enough to fight an immortal being and would risk more men dying rather than rely on a wise nymph. He tries to boost his ego by trying to show his strength, but does not consider that his actions would affect the way his men. Odysseus wanted others to know his "strength" by being recognized as the man who "defeated" Charybdis without considering all factors. Last but not least, Odysseus' actions on Ithica against his handmaidens showed his ruthlessness. In Book XXII it says: “Drive out the women between the domed house and the courtyard wall and pierce them with your sword; kill them all and teach them to forget their secret meetings and cuddles with these gigantic gallants.” This quote personifies the ruthlessness and coldness of Odysseus. Odysseus didn't need to kill all those women just to prove his "loyalty" to his people. He didn't even think that they treated the maids like slaves. With his reasoning, he shows his unfair reasoning and his hypocrisy as he has slept with other women like Calypso. Odysseus just wanted to look like a hero in his native home, but he doesn't care about the morals of getting the title. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay To conclude, Odysseus may seem like a hero, but in retrospect he is not. It's one.