in defense of eurylochus
Many people are hating on Eurylochus because of his actions, but if you do, you probably havenât got a good analysis on his character and/or you just want to hop on the hate train because you have nothing else to do. There are characters who have done much worse than him. (ie. Calypso, a literal abuser)
First of all, I do NOT get Eurylochus hate. It just doesnât make sense to hate him. Sure he made mistakes, but so did Odysseus. Have I seen any hate to Odysseus? No, I havenât. Not understanding Eurylochus is absolutely not a reason to hate him.
In âLuck Runs Outâ, we see how Eurylochus is feeling about the events happening currently/what could happen/what happened already. We can see that he is kind of nervous. The crew just lost Polites + a few others. Everyone is still shook up from the cyclops. Polites was not just Odysseusâ best friend, he was probably very friendly with the crew, so when he died, Eurylochus + the crew were probably upset. Eurylochus doesnât want any more lives to end and that they shouldnât take risks. The crew always agrees with Eurylochus, Odysseus tells him to not disagree and always be devout.
Next, the wind bag thing. This is why many people hate Eurylochus and it doesnât make sense. âo-o-oh but he killed many people when he opened it!â Well, sorry to tell you this, but since Odysseus blinded Polyphemus, Poseidon was definitely going to attack the ships anyway. In âRuthlessnessâ, does Poseidon mention ANYTHING about opening the wind bag? No! Heâs only attacking because Odysseus had blinded his son, which is valid. So, technically, it was not Eurylochusâ fault. In âKeep Your Friends Closeâ who are the first members of the crew to hear about the wind bag? Perimedes and Elpenor. Not Eurylochus. When Eurylochus opened the bag, do you think he knew what was inside? Probably not! In Puppeteer, Eurylochus wanted to tell Odysseus about the wind bag as soon as he could, but Odysseus waved him off, saying that it could wait. In Scylla, Eurylochus obviously feels guilty that he opened the bag, as he did apologize.
The crew-turned-into-pigs-thing. Eurylochus knew Circe was a clever witch, he SAW her turn the men to pigs. He knew she was powerful and didnât want to take risks around her. Eurylochus wanted to leave because he didnât want Odysseus to die. Beating Circe was difficult and Eury didnât want his brother in law to turn into bacon. Eurylochus was being realistic and didnât want to take risks, letâs be honest.
Letâs talk about the mutiny. The crew was tired of Odysseus being captain and all of his decisions. Since Eurylochus was the voice of the crew, they were going to listen to him. They were starving and tired. If you were on the water for 12 years with almost zero food, youâd be starving too. Put yourself in the shoes of Eurylochus and the crew. You would want to find the first island with food, right? Even when Perimedes stabbed Odysseus, the crew let Ody live and Eurylochus was nice enough, even after getting mad at Odysseus, to stay by his side while unconscious.Â
Now hereâs the other big part. The cows. They were starving and they knew they werenât going to make it home. No, itâs not Eurylochusâ fault the whole crew is dead, and itâs not Odysseusâ either. The crew basically just gave up and they knew that the cows belonged to Helios, as Odysseus said. The act was super suicidal and it basically showed how the crew gave up from going home. ââbut weâll dieâ oh and whose fault is that?â Iâm TIRED of people saying something like that. THE CREW KNEW THE CATTLE WERE IMMORTALâźď¸ and if you were on the sea for 12 years, I donât think that youâd be able to go that long without food. If you can, cool. Good for you. Anyways, they also spent years running away from the wrath of Poseidon, so itâs understandable why they gave up. They are humans, not gods, after all.
In conclusion, Eurylochus and the crew donât deserve the hate they get. If you say âIâd rather forgive Calypso or Antinous rather than forgive Eurylochus and the crewâ, are you serious? Youâd rather forgive an abuser and a whatever youâd classify Antinous as than a starving man?? Some people like that are kind of stupid. (no offense to anyone, just had to rage a bit) EURYLOCHUS, THEY WILL NEVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER MAKE ME HATE YOU!!
Have a nice day and thanks for reading this rant!