Odysseus made costly mistakes, but saying he’s the reason his men died ignores what actually happens in the myth.
His crew repeatedly disobeyed direct orders:
They opened Aeolus’ bag of winds out of greed, blowing themselves away from Ithaca.
They slaughtered Helios’ sacred cattle after Odysseus explicitly warned them not to, bringing Zeus’ punishment upon themselves.
Several rushed into danger despite Odysseus’ caution.
Yes, Odysseus’ pride after blinding Polyphemus was a major mistake, it earned Poseidon’s wrath and prolonged the journey. But Greek mythology never portrays him as flawless. His defining trait is his intelligence, paired with very human flaws.
The Odyssey isn’t the story of a perfect hero. It’s the story of an imperfect man who endures impossible trials, learns from his failures, and ultimately makes it home.
If anything, the myth argues that a hero doesn’t have to be blameless to be heroic.
One thing I loved about the third act of The Odyssey was the reveal that the “people of the sea” everyone feared and kept talking about were actually Odysseus and his crew all along.
They’d been going from island to island, causing chaos and breaking Zeus’s laws the entire time. 😭
Nolan dropped an almost billion dollar R-rated 3 hour biopic bomber and then followed it up with a 3 hour billion dollar R-rated greek epic. And the craziest part is, both movies are carried by his name first and foremost. God levels of motion dawg.