Comparison Of Mythology By Edith Hamilton And The Iliad By Homer

How was Achilles known as the epic hero? (Doc. B) One epic hero trait Achilles possesses is that he is flawed with anger. (Doc. B) “No truce till one or the other falls

However, his comrades are all relying on this great hero to win the war for them and he does eventually return to the battle field so he can be remembered and obtain glory as does any epic hero secretly wants. The author John Keats agrees with me when he states in his article, “And he peoples it with towering heroes who thirst for honor and fight shattering wars.” (Keats, John). Another reason that qualifies Achilles as an epic hero is the fact that the Gods favor him throughout the poem because of his close relationship with them, but they usually do what is best for their hero; even if it means doing absolutely nothing, which they eventually do. Achilles is an epic hero that goes on a journey, and although he might not be the greatest hero, he is considered an epic hero.

One epic hero characteristic that he possesses is that he receives help from the gods and supernatural beings (Document B). in book 22 of Iliad, it states “Athena snatched it up and passes it back to Achilles,” “Athena lured him,” and “So Athena commanded and he obeyed, rejoicing at heart – Achilles stopped.” All of these quotes show that Athena, a god, helped him. Therefore, Achilles is an epic hero since he possesses this characteristic. Document B claims that an epic hero is usually part god or born under unusual circumstances, and Achilles is part god.

After reading the stories of Gilgamesh and Achilles, I was better able to understand what an epic hero truly was. An epic hero is someone who is strong, courageous, successful in battle, values honor and glory, faces hardships, fights off those hardships, accepts challenges and achieves his goal. Gilgamesh and Achilles both display all of the above

Hercules, Perseus, Theseus, and Achilles are all known as epic or homeristic heroes. They have all had their legendary battles and journeys that have classified them as an epic hero. Epic heroes all have good and bad qualities, for example Hercules is known as the strongest man in the world, but he is not that smart. Odysseus is a great example of an epic hero. He is smart, strong, and protected by gods and goddesses, but he does have faults in his actions considering he is only just a mortal. In Homer’s book, The Odyssey, Homer shows how Odysseus is truly an epic hero, by showing his journey back home to Ithaca.

“The Aeneid” and “The Iliad” are relatively two different epics that were written decades apart. However, they have their similarities. These are two epics with the fate of two heroes. In the epic “The Aeneid,” the readers follow the journey of a man named Aeneas who is a Trojan refugee who journeys from his homeland of Troy to find Rome for the generations of the future. “The Iliad” is a story of the Trojan War and the hero of the story Achilles. Achilles was one of the bravest soldiers of the Greek army, but he was just as vain as he was brave. Both heroes showed a great amount of heroic actions throughout their perspective epics. Aeneas kills the Latin warrior Turnus and ventures away from his burning Troy to find Rome and prepare it for the future generations to come. Achilles fights for the Greeks which eventually results in him dying a hero’s death.

As soon as we are exposed to Achilles in battle, it is obvious why he is the hero of the Achaeans. He is very devoted, and even the heat of battle does not faze him, as he mows down rows and rows of his opponents. His devotion in battle is suitably shown when he is talking of battle:

Humanity has always strived for greatness, and is destined to continue this attempt till the world stops spinning. Through the art of storytelling, and literature, we have weaved images of what the ideal human should be. Countless works of literature depict such humans as “heroes”, due to the inspiration they stir within our imperfect souls. Truly epic heroes shape future stories, and remain influential despite the weathering of time. Two heroes of epic proportions can be found in Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey, through the grand tales of Achilles and Odysseus. How are these two men heroes? Better yet, what makes each unique in their

All of these facts add up to Achilles having a clear-cut advantage over the opposition. Another smaller reason for Achilles heroism is his sense of responsibility. A prime example of that is when Patroclus dies. He takes immediate responsibility for Patroclus’ death, and instantly vows to take revenge on Hector for it. When you put all these details together it adds up to the heroism of Achilles throughout the entire epic.

Achilles can be described as a Tragic Hero in many ways. He was brave and had great strength but, he was also prideful and lacked control with his emotions, and in all the label of a tragic hero fits him. A Tragic hero is “a literary character who makes an error of judgment or has a fatal flaw that, combined with fate and external forces, brings on a tragedy” (“Tragic Hero”). To many men Achilles was god-like, and immortal, the epitome of a hero to the Greeks, he was strong, brave in the face of war, and of noble birth because he was the son of a goddess. In the Iliad, Achilles, driven by anger seeks revenge on Hector for killing his “dearest comrade” (“The Heroic Age”), Patroclus, whom he claims to have valued more than his own life. He

A comparison of Homer’s Achilles and Virgil’s Aeneas brings up the question concerning what makes someone an epic hero. Although each poet lived in a dramatically different time period, with different literary integrity, Homer and Virgil each portray an epic hero using different development of the characters, but similar themes and influences. Achilles and Aeneas demonstrate that an epic hero will do whatever it takes to fulfill their duties while simultaneously displaying the difference between Greek and Roman Society. The question will be answered by first, analyzing the individual characteristics of Achilles, a merciless warrior, and Aeneas, a civilized leader, then

A key element of the heroic ideal in a society is attitude and mentality. In The Iliad, Achilles is widely known for his brute force and rash actions. Homer establishes the importance of this trait to Achilles’ character by opening the epic with a description of Achilles’ anger: “Achilles’ rage, / Black and murderous, that cost the Greeks / Incalculable pain…” (The Iliad I.1-3). The heroic ideal exhibited in The Odyssey is different because of Odysseus’ deviation from the use of brute force. The epic opens the same way as The Iliad, with a description of its hero: “Speak Memory—Of the cunning hero… After he plundered Troy’s sacred heights” (The Odyssey I.1, I.3). While Achilles key traits are his rage and violent tendencies, Odysseus’ most significant characteristic his mind and his ability to think his way out of a

Additionally, Achilles was the only hero who fought solely for his own heroics, and he was the only one who had a real love for battle and the glory of winning in war. Achilles’ love of war was on par with the love that many other Greeks expressed for their wives and

Achilles and Odysseus are both epic heroes because they face their external conflicts or struggles with the world and fight as strong warriors. First, Achilles stabbed Hektor in the neck and then “…had in mind for Hektor’s body outrage and shame. Behind both feet he pierced the tendons, heel to ankle. Rawhide cords he drew through both and lashed them to his

To be crowned as an epic hero, one must first be a great warrior, and Achilles more than fits this role. From the