A Comparison of Oedipus and Odysseus Essay

When people think of a hero, they think of a tall, handsome, loyal, brave, and a type of man that could do no wrong. The “hero” that is portrayed in the Odyssey is a man named Odysseus. This “hero” may be tall and handsome, but he is often arrogant, disrespectful, conceited, and rude. Odysseus consists of positive and negative characteristics that is shown in the text by Homer. These characteristics impact the characters day to day, or in the book’s case, the quests. In the Odyssey, Homer values the characteristics hospitality and cunning, but he objects bad leadership.

A hero accepts who he is as an individual, but strives to change himself for the better. In the epic poem, The Odyssey, by Homer, the main character Odysseus is a valiant king who embarks on a life-changing voyage. While traveling from Troy back to his home in Ithaka, King Odysseus overcomes daunting obstacles, and in doing so discovers his place in the world. Odysseus is truly a heroic figure because he demonstrates courage, improves his character, and wins the support of the gods.

In homer's Odyssey the main character Odysseus is a person who only tries to help himself. Although he earns the trust of his men while in Troy, he loses it on his perilous journey home. Many times in the epic he manipulates others, commits foolish acts and is full of hubris. He tries to take shortcuts and as a result of this is men are killed and his boats destroyed. He plays with the lives of his men and he is punished for it. Odysseus is not a hero because, he is foolish, lacks faithfulness and is consumed by his Hubris and selfishness.

One of the major themes of Homer’s Odyssey is the importance of cunning over strength. This also happens to be the case with Odysseus and his long ten year journey home from fighting in Troy. Odysseus uses his intelligence over strength to ‘fight’ through tough times and bring himself home to Ithaca. Odysseus uses his intelligence when he has his men tie him down while passing the Sirens, so he himself will be able to hear their beautiful song, but not be entranced by their singing. He also uses cunning to escape from the Cyclops’ cave without being harmed. He then uses his cunning by storing away all of the armory, shields, and knives from the suitors so he is able to kill them easily.

"Oedipus" made by Sophocles and "Odysseus" formed by Homer both are Greek authors. The two stories share comparable points in ways where both of the epic holy people continue on through a conflict. The characters in these plays are attributed certain qualities by the maker. The characteristics prescribed by the makers are normal for the social event of individuals. They both have a whole and subjective understanding of work. Their qualities are appeared through the characters exercises, what the creator says with respect to them, and what they delineate on themselves. This will be the centralization of the article. Both Oedipus and Odysseus, talked by others, they depict character properties.

Another trait Oedipus and Odysseus have in common is their relentless persistence. Persistence is the key for both characters to find out imperative information from other characters. For example, Oedipus questions Teiresias about his knowledge of the late King Laius's murder. Fearing that the information he possesses will upset the new king, Teiresias refuses to say what he knows. Teiresias also recognizes that even if he does give Oedipus the information that he longs to hear it will not change the final result. Teiresias says, "The future will come of itself though I shroud it in silence," (Homer 120). Oedipus persists by saying, "Then seeing that it must come, you on your part tell me of it, " (Homer 120). Teiresias finally gives in and says, "Your are the accursed defiler of this land…I say you are the slayer of the man whose slayer you seek,"

Considered one of the greatest dramas of all time, Sophocles’ play Oedipus the King follows the tragic life of Oedipus, king of Thebes. Considered a Satyr play, the Oedipus trilogy is perhaps the most famous of Sophocles’ plays. Oedipus the King, is an Athenian tragedy that was first performed somewhere around 429 BC in Athens, Greece. Originally, the Greeks referred to the play as simply “Oedipus,” as that was what Aristotle referred to it as in the Poetics. Perhaps what makes this play so memorable, is Sophocles’ uses of the tragic hero as the main theme. Sophocles uses characterization and conflict to portray Oedipus as an Aristotelian tragic hero.

“Oedipus” written by Sophocles and “Odysseus” written by Homer both are Greek poets. Both stories share the same themes in ways where both of the epic heroes endure a conflict. The characters in these plays are attributed certain characteristics by the author. The characteristics suggested by the authors are intrinsic to the audience. They both have a complete and subjective understanding of work. Their characteristics are displayed through the characters actions, what the writer says about them, and what they portray on themselves. This will be the focus of the essay. Both Oedipus and Odysseus, spoken by others, they describe character traits.

In Poetics' by Aristotle, the author talks about what he feels are the conventions of any successful tragic play. With that in mind perhaps the greatest tragedy from his time period if not ever is Oedipus the King by Sophocles. It fits almost perfectly the majority of the criteria Aristotle sets and so has been considered by some scholars as the perfect tragedy.

Odysseus is the main character in an epic poem called the Odyssey. In the poem Odysseus has had some bad luck getting home, with some of the gods helping him and some hindering him; his journey towards home is a constant struggle. In this poem we see a man being broke and rebuilt, through constant irony his faith was damaged and without the help of Athena he probably would have given up on his journey. Through his hard work and wise spirit he finally does achieve his goal.

Oedipus and Pentheus are both tragic Greek characters who help create their own endings. Through their character's flaws and blindness to what is going on around each of them, the story develops. The only consistent character in both plays who is able to understand past and present dangers is Teiresias, the blind prophet.

In Homer's Odyssey, he uses the stories of Calypso and Circe to give a reader a glimpse at Greek values. Odysseus is a "perfectly" moral man by Greek standards. In the Calypso episode, Odysseus demonstrates the value of faithfulness, and in the Circe episode, he illustrates Greek values in general. While both goddesses seek Odysseus to be their husband, Odysseus responds as a perfect Greek hero. During the Calypso episode, Homer teachers that one must remain faithful in their hearts. The Circe episode shows the loyalty between a commander and his troops, burial rights, hospitality, and the relationship between host and guest. The Calypso episode explains how a man must be faithful to his wife in his heart.

Both Odysseus and Oedipus portrayed hubris, however, their intentions while doing so and the outcomes of their actions were very different. When displaying selfish pride, Odysseus wanted glory credit for his achievements. For instance, when the epic hero and his men were escaping the cyclops’ island, Odysseus cried out,“Cyclops- if any man on the face of the earth should ask you who blinded you, shamed you so- say Odysseus. . .” (Homer 227) The use of the phrase “any man on the face of the earth” exhibits how Odysseus wanted everyone to know what he accomplished, regardless of the consequences. Later in the story, after Polyphemus learned his name, he called upon his father, Poseidon, to ensure that his journey would be long and difficult.

This story revolves around the theme of incest with Myrrha being the blame for her unacceptable lust. After reading this story, it gave me a wider range of how “acceptable” is incest is among men vs. women and mortals vs. immortals. Zeus and Oedipus both committed incest and while Oedipus he blinded himself because he cannot live up to what he did, Zeus continued to expand his family tree. Incest between the immortals is more common than with the mortals. Oedipus was sure haunted by his actions, but no one was after him to take his life. Oedipus’ siblings/ children and mom/wife simply had to deal with the fact that incest has been done and nothing can change it. Myrrha desires her father and tricked him to sleep with her for multiple nights.

Oedipus the King is an excellent example of Aristotle's theory of tragedy. The play has the perfect Aristotelian tragic plot consisting of paripeteia, anagnorisis and catastrophe; it has the perfect tragic character that suffers from happiness to misery due to hamartia (tragic flaw) and the play evokes pity and fear that produces the tragic effect, catharsis (a purging of emotion).