A tall man stands his sword at his side. A fork of lightning reflects in his breastplate. His boots are sinking in the wet mud. He raises his sword, screams the battle cry of his people, and charges the tall walls of the castle. Is this what you expect a hero to be? What is a hero? The story of the Odyssey describes a hero as a person of which no bad or darkness dwells within (Homer 739). Odysseus may or may not fit this mold depending on standards. By our standards he would not be considered a hero, for the following reasons. Odysseus had affairs during his journey. Yes, Mr. hero did not stay true to his wife; actually this thought of cheating never even occurred to him as being wrong. He also possessed bad traits such as haughtiness and secretiveness. The worst of all is that he lacked a large part of what a hero needs to be; he did not have a sense of forgiveness or justice.
             Odysseus had numerous affairs during his quest. The first of these is with the goddess Circe. (Homer 758) She had turned his men into animals and when he stayed human after taking her transforming potion she told him that he could not refuse her. She was right, Odysseus' thoughts do not even dwell on his wife and he stays with Circe for two years. Two whole years wasted on that island. The second offense is not a physical intrusion but rather a fault in speech. It came when Odysseus said to Princess Nausicaa that she was the most beautiful human being he had ever seen. (Homer 739) What about his poor wife back at home waiting for him? Had she slipped his mind completely? Odysseus had his largest problem with the beautiful nymph goddess Calypso. (Homer 732) He could leave that island if he used all the means necessary but instead is drawn to stay with Calypso for a number of additional years.
             This so called hero also showed many bad traits throughout the story. He tells the god of the sea, Poseidon, that he alone defeated the great city of Troy. H...