HERO presents 7 heroic virtues, achieving all of them makes a hero.

• Xenos • Faith in prophecy and gods • Loyalty to goals • Leadership/bravery • Cunning not power • Love of home • Fight temptations/ maintain self-control Is a Is Odysseus a good Guest? good host? He comes to the land of He comes back the , home, guests are “There I sacked the city, there! killed the men, but as He kills them all. for the wives and plunder, that rich haul we dragged away from the place…” Where he kills and rapes them. Does Odysseus have faith in the gods?

Let’s see how much they help him on his voyage: • Cicones- No (Not a success) • - No • - No (Not a success) • Laestragonians- No (Not a success) • - Yes • Land of the dead-Yes • Scylla- No (Not a success) • Cattle of the sun- No (Not a success) • ’s island- Yes • Phaeacia- Yes • Ithaca- Yes He ought to be, and he is. But does a real hero need so much help a he does? Odysseus’ foremost goal: to get home. He spends a whole year with Circe, violating his marriage when he could have left at any time. Is Odysseus a good Is Odysseus Leader? brave? His crew doesn’t respect He only faces his enemies or trust him enough to while either disguised not eat the cattle of the (the Trojan horse, the old sun while he tried to save man, etc.) them. With key information (Circe) With good reason; he Or while they’re in a bad lied to them about Scylla, state () why should they trust him now? It’s true, Odysseus using his cunning quite a bit.

He saved his crew from a Cyclops by lying to it and by making it drunk.

He gave the Trojans a nice gift, then he killed them all.

He’s definitely cunning. But does he use his cunning for good? When Odysseus gets home to his wife, it’s like the perfect love story. How sweet!

Too bad he spent 8 or 9 years “losing himself in love” with other women.

And then he kills his housewives for doing the exact same thing.

“…the tears for his foiled journey home, since the (Calypso) no longer pleased.”

He only wanted to leave because he didn’t care for calypso any more. Does Odysseus resist Does Odysseus maintain temptation? self-control? Did Odysseus resist the “Melanthius? They hauled him out temptation of Calypso? through the doorway, into the court, lopped of his nose and ears Did he resist the temptation to with a ruthless knife, tore out his stay with Circe? genitals for the dogs to eat raw, and in manic fury hacked off hands and feet.”

Does that sound composed to you? Odysseus' Heroism Xenos Leadership/bravery Loyalty to goals Love of home Resist Temptations Non- heroic traits Heroic traits Cunning not power Faith in gods