Compare And Contrast Odysseus And Beowulf

Odysseus, King of Ithaca, and the main character in homer’s The Odyssey, was gone for twenty years before finally returning to his family and his homeland. He struggled through many hardships and lost many loyal companions. The King of Ithaca would not have made it home without the assistance of the Greek gods. Despite all of the help and advice that Odysseus receives from the gods, he is a very brave man because his courage and daring in the cave of the Cyclops, his inability to give up and abandon his men on Circe’s island, and his flawless following of the gods instructions are acts of bravery that is uncommon in most men.

The Odyssey by Homer, is a epic based off the actions, travels, adventures, and heroic episodes of a greek by the name of Odysseus. Throughout the story, Odysseus’ travels take him to new places on new adventures with no insight on what could happen next. Odysseus refers to himself, and is referred to a number of times, as a hero. Throughout the time of book 9 to book 12, there are many scenes throughout the story that portray the qualities Odysseus possesses that lead him to be given the heroic title. On the contrary, there are numerous occasions where Odysseus does things that might not be expected of someone seen as heroic. One of the first things that stood out to me starting in book 9, was Odysseus’ pride for his native land and where he comes from. Here, Odysseus states, “Nothing is sweeter than your own country” (Book 9, Line 37). This quotes shows how Odysseus is prideful of his home, Ithaca, and believes it to be the “sweetest sight” (Book 9, Line 31). Another scene that represents Odysseus’ heroic qualities is when Odysseus and his crew were being held by the cyclops, Polyphemus, and he comes up with an escape plan. During this, Odysseus states, “And I bade my comrades cast lots among them, which of them should have the hardihood with me to lift the stake and grind it into his eye when sweetsleep should come upon him.” (Book 9, Lines 328-329). To me, this portrays Odysseus as a quick thinker and a problem solver. In this situation, the problem was that him and

Ancient Greece was full of mystery. They told of mystical, almost supernatural, heroes and monsters. One such story was told of a warrior named Odysseus. A king who ruled over the kingdom of Ithaca, but sadly left for war, leaving both his family, and his kingdom. Fighting for almost a decade, Odysseus set off on a long journey towards home. Through thick and thin, and through all of the bloodshed and fighting, he finally has a happy ending at home. At what cost though? His men, his ship, himself? Odysseus was put into the category of a hero, one of the many archetypes modern readers use to identify main characters and all other concepts in literature.   All heroes experience the fright and thrill of adventure in

     Odysseus: a hero in every way. He is a real man, skilled in the sports, handy with a sword and spear, and a master of war strategy. Most of the challenges and adventures in his return voyage from Troy show us this even if we had no idea of his great heroic stature and accomplishments in the Trojan war. I found in my reading of the Odyssey that most of the trials the gods place upon him are readily faced with heroic means. These challenges are not

Odysseus is classified as an epic hero in the “ Odyssey.” In the story Odysseus wanders around the ocean and islands in search for his solution to get back home safely. Although he wanders for twenty years without his family, just crew members, he possess characteristics of being a brave warrior, a loyal husband, and a creative mind tricking person.

The ancient hero Odysseus of the epic The Odyssey possesses numerous notable heroic traits, many of which have influenced the modern perspective of a hero in literature, real life, or otherwise. For instance, he demonstrates paragon amounts of loyalty throughout his return voyage to Ithaca, along with leadership, courage, and persistence. As Odysseus is primarily an archetype in addition to his heroic characteristics, his influences have endured the odyssey of time, and have become comparable in themselves to their prior forms present in the adventurous hero Odysseus. Although the modifications in the perceptions of Odysseus (or, generally, similar heroes of his time) and modern heroes do not differ in extremely significant or outstanding

I have recently read the Odyssey by Homer. It follows the ten year journey of Odysseus getting home to Ithaca from Troy. Odysseus is the king of Ithaca, and a war leader. Many would say that Odysseus is a good, even great leader, but i disagree. I think that Odysseus was good military general and a mighty warrior, but I think That the ability to lead men home was terrible. Odysseus was not lacking chances, he was just lacking common sense. He had three main faults that caused him to take ten years. These detrimental mistakes are: Not going north and continuing west, Being too proud to leave the island of cyclops quietly, being lustful with Circe and spending a year doing it. Now i will get in more detail to verify my points.

The epic poem The Odyssey, written by Homer, centers around the main protagonist Odysseus and his long journey back home. Odysseus, the king of Ithaca, returns home after defeating the Trojans in a ten year war. On his way back, he angers Poseidon, god of the sea, by blinding his son, Polyphemus the Cyclops. Due to Odysseus’ actions, Poseidon refuses to let Odysseus reach home, and Odysseus and his crew are forced to go through a series of obstacles throughout the epic. Through this adversity, Odysseus must show his heroic attributions in order to survive. Homer portrays Odysseus as a hero by giving him characteristics such as: craftiness, loyalty, and bravery.

The men return all of this compassion and loyalty with matched or greater loyalty and affection for Odysseus. For when they are rescued they are tearful with joy and gratitude for his returning to save them. Their loyalty is unbroken by Eurylochus’ attempts to undermine Odysseus and cause his men to question him. When Odysseus considers striking down Eurylochus they hold him back with assurances that they are loyal to him and will follow him wherever he may take them “If you-one sprung from Zeus-prefer it so he can stay here and watch the ship. We’ll go with you, lead us to Circe’s sacred house”. It’s defining moments like these that separate Odysseus’ men from Beowulf’s; where Beowulf’s men clearly

There are many characteristics such as strength, glory, and quests to be a hero. But to be a great hero, you must show perseverance in some of the most impossible tasks. Both Odysseus and Beowulf did just that in their many fights to prove their worth and to achieve their goal. Both of these epic heroes deserve the recognition they received for their astronomical strength and individual power to overcome the difficult tasks they

“I will not carry my noble sword into battle, but fight with my bare hands, fiercely and fearlessly…” (Ringler, Canto 6). This shows a glimpse of how great of a King Beowulf is and how strong he is portrayed in the written version of Beowulf. Beowulf is a story written about a great Kind named Beowulf . The story shows the mighty battles that Beowulf accomplished and how noble of a King he was.

were both heroes fighting for what they believed was right. In the story Beowulf it was

One of the most common aspects of any type of story is a hero. A hero is characterized as a person, typically a man, who is admired or idealized for courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities. Hero’s are in most cases faced with a conflict. However, no matter how difficult it may be or how many obstacles he/she may face along the road, the hero will always (almost always) rise to the occasion and come out victorious.

The Odyssey is an epic poem that showcases the heroic actions contrasted with the grave disasters of Odysseus, a tragic hero on his way home from the war in Troy. The author, Homer, shows through Odysseus’ actions that even a hero such as he, has flaws. Flaws that if not acknowledged and learnt from, can spell grave disaster in the journey yet to come. Many Greeks recognize Odysseus as the most renowned hero of the Trojan war, thanks to his own accounts of his years away from Ithaca. Following the Greek beliefs, many believe that Odysseus couldn’t have kept himself away for so long, for only the gods can do something like this, and Odysseus can’t be the cause of the crew’s deaths, only the gods could be so cruel. While

Odysseus left Calypso’s Island and began his journey back home. His odyssey might be described as one’s own life struggles. There are ups and downs to every situation, and through reading The Odyssey, readers can connect parallels between Odysseus’ experiences and lessons learned in their own life. Human weaknesses can still prevail through even the strongest men you may think of; examples of this are shown in this epic. Even though there is a large gap in space between Odysseus’ travels and the present, human nature and weakness still share the same obstacles.