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Justified In Odysseus In Homer's Odyssey

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After Odysseus reveals his identity, he finally takes revenge on the wooers who has taken over his home. When the battle is over, anyone who was involved with the wooers’ ploy is severely punished. Do you think Odysseus was justified in his actions? Did anyone receive punishment that did not deserve it? Was the punishment issued too severe? Explain your position by listing examples from the story, which support your belief of whether or not justice was served.

The killing of 108 wooers and several hand maidens was the punishment that Odysseus dealt out when he returned and revealed his true identity. The wooers were all killed by Odysseus and Telemachus. The hand maidens that betrayed Penelope were all hanged. They all deserved …show more content…

The wooers were also plotting to kill his son, Telemachus. So taking their life wasn’t too harsh considering all the things they were doing wrong. Ergo, he was just protecting his son, his wife, his home and all his other possessions.

To continue, most of the wooers killed deserved what they got. The hand maiden’s punishment of hanging might have been a little less deserved. They were guilty of not respecting Penelope, Telemachus or Euryclea. They had not been the ones plotting to kill Telemachus but in betraying Penelope by not following her orders, only the orders of the wooers. But Odysseus needed to show that any misbehavior needed to be dealt with. Hence, they did deserve it when you look at what the wooers did and that the hand maidens supported their bad decisions.

Furthermore, the punishment was not too severe because Odysseus was basically saving a life for a life. They were going to kill Telemachus so Odysseus killed them instead. So the punishment of death was not too severe on the wooers. Though it may have been a little harsh for the hand maidens that went along with the

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