Every flat map is distorted in some way because

If a map preserves area, then the size of a feature on a map is the same relative to its size on the earth.

Explanation:

To look at it another way, a coin moved to different spots on the map represents the same amount of actual ground no matter where you put it. In an equal-area map, the shapes of most features are distorted.

in my opinion i think it was not excessive at all. the maids turned against the queen in his absence, how could he ever trust them again? if he let them go they would surely spread the news of the suitor's deaths, which is much too risky. as for the suitors, they were selfish, rude, and greedy. the god's had apparently marked them for death, meaning odysseus made their death come faster.