A great pro football player who gets a d.u.i. is still a great football player. This is much the same with Odysseus. Even though he slaughtered many and cheated on his wife he is still remembered for being a hero of Troy. When Odysseus' son travels to speak to Menelaus about the whearabouts of his father. Menelaus speaks of Odysseus' great glory in the field. News has not spread about what Odysseus has been doing since the war ended, but much has been told of his great accomplishments in battle. Odysseus murdered a fraction of an army of suitors mercilously, but he isn't remembered for that as much as his heroism in Troy. By using his head to hatch a plan that would ultamitely end a ten year long war that has ruined both sides, he ensured he would be remembered for thousands of years. No minor event of killing suitors stacks up to this. When we think of Odysseus in modern day, what do we think? Suitor killer? No we think of the god-like tactician who planned the Trojan horse. Heroism overshadows other bad things.
Odysseus had the traits of a hero, not of a murderer. Odysseus had the courage to face a witch trick a massive cyclops and face a witch called Polyphemus. The cyclops had eaten two of his men whole, and could do a lot worse. So Odysseus tricked Polyphemus heroicly and escaped. Odysseus tricking the Cyclops is one of his greatest feats and lives on today, unlike other things that may bring down his heroism. When he murdered the suitors to get his life back even after they offered to leave. The murder of Anticholus started it he slaughtered wave upon wave of suitors. Even attempting this took a lot of courage which makes a hero. The point is, if one does enough to achieve hero status, all else he did that would taint that is all but forgotten. In history, we tend to focus on the good, and Odysseus is no exception. He is a hero in modern day because that is what he is remembered for. Heroics at Troy and overcoming other obstacles on his way home.
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Quinn, I agree with what you said since throughout the book, it is shown that Odysseus an be heroic and brave, however he is also shown to be a cunning liar. His name is only known to be a hero of great tactics and cunning since it was his idea that brought on Troy's doom. Also, the book is based on him and his journey home so it is shown that he is a hero that is why there's a book on him. Back in ancient times, it must have been that heroes will always stay heroes. However, I believe in the modern world today, hero or not, once you make a bad decision, your name will be passed down as someone who did something bad.
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