SOURCE: "The Untypical Hero," in The Ulysses Theme: A Study in the Adaptability of a Traditional Hero, second edition, Basil Blackwell, 1963, pp. 66-80.

Stanford was a writer on Greek literature, politics, and ecclesiastical affairs. In this essay, first published in 1954, he explores Odysseus's unconventionality as a hero, noting that Homer "skilfully succeeded in distinguishing Odysseus by slight deviations from the norm in almost every heroic feature."

There is nothing freakish about Odysseus's personality in the Homeric poems. In the Iliad Homer endows him with the normal qualities of an Achaean hero—princely birth, good physique, strength, skill in athletics and battle, courage, energy, and eloquence. But in most of these Odysseus is surpassed or equalled by some of his colleagues at Troy. The Atreidae and Aeacids are of more illustrious lineage. Agamemnon and Menelaus are of more impressive stature. Achilles and Ajax surpass him in strength and force...