Electra Protects Her Brother Orestes

Promoting Greek unity gave the Greeks greater strength in numbers during the wars. Plutarch states “The greatest of all his achievements was to put an ending to all the fighting within Greece, to reconcile the various cities with one another and persuade them to lay aside their differences because of the war with Persia”. Themistocles’ relationship with naval commander Eurybiades also was very important. With Themistocles’ great foresight and decision making, the value of this working relationship with Eurybiades was the ability of Eurybiades to trust in Themistocles and his opinions. This proved very effective in the battles of Artemisium and Salamis. Thucydides praises this: “This man was supreme at doing precisely the right thing at precisely the right moment.” All of these pre-war efforts are contributions to which Themistocles played a great role in Greek victory.

Odysseus, the hero in The Odyssey, and Aeneas, the hero in The Aeneid, fought in opposing sides in the Trojan war. Odysseus was the king of Ithaca and was arguably the smartest king and warrior in all of Greece, whereas Aeneas was a warrior from Troy whose destiny was to found the Roman race in Italy. While both men were highly acclaimed by their respective countrymen as heroes, they shared many similarities in respect to their background, their virtue and their struggles. However, amidst these similarities Odysseus and Aeneas were very different in their social status, their innate disposition and in the defining characteristics of their quest.

In one of his temper tantrums, Poseidon realized he was not happy with his ocean domain, and wanted to try and overthrow his brother, Zeus, and become king of the gods himself. Poseidon asked for help from Apollo, the god of light and music. Together, they bound Zeus with chains. Zeus had too much strength and power and freed himself very quickly. Zeus was furious with Apollo and Poseidon. As punishment, he sent them to work as laborers for Laomedon, the king of Troy, a city in what is now considered Turkey. Laomedon promised a very big reward if they could build a wall around the city of Troy. However, after they built the wall, Laomedon refused to honor his agreement and did not pay them for their work. In turn, Poseidon and Apollo sent a plague and a sea monster to destroy the city of Troy. (Gall.)

Both the Odyssey and the Aeneid describe the journeys of the two Greek heroes –Odysseus and Aeneas, as they struggle towards their goal through the crises and deadly situations caused by the wrath of the gods upon them. In the Odyssey, we see that Poseidon (god of the sea/earth shaker) has a grudge against Odysseus while Athena, god of wisdom, aids him throughout his journey. Similarly in the Aeneid, we see that goddess Juno dislikes Aeneas as he is destined to destroy the city of Carthage loved by Juno during his mission to find a new land- Rome, whereas Aeneas’ mother Venus aids him.

Themistocles was responsible for the Greek victory in the Persian wars to a considerable extent. The key to Athens' strength in the 5th Century BC was in this general and statesman and therefore, as Greek victory relied so heavily on Athens, Themistocles vitally contributed to the outcome of the Persian king’s invasion of 480-479 BC. His early life reflects the character and skills developed that were responsible for these contributions. Five pivotal roles he undertook were of varying degrees responsible for Greece’s success against Xerxes. Themistocles possessed an incredible foresight

The Macedonians, who had won so many battles in Europe and set off to invade Asia ... got encouragement from him - he reminded them of their permanent values. They were the world's liberators and one day they would pass the frontiers set by Hercules and Father Liber. They would subdue all races on Earth. Bactria and India would become Macedonian provinces. Getting closer to the Greeks, he reminded them that those were the people (the Persians on the other side) who provoked war with Greece, ... those were the people that burned their temples and cities ... As the Illyrians and Thracians lived mainly from plunder, he told them to look at the enemy line glittering in gold ..." (Q. Curtius Rufus 3.10.4-10)

The Persian Wars (499-479 BC) put the Greeks in the difficult position of having to defend their country against a vast empire with an army that greatly outnumbered

King Darius and Persians wanted more land and to take over Greece as a whole. The Ionians rebelled against the Persians and the Greeks helped them do that.

After the Greek reached troy, and the war started. Odysseus played a particularly role as strategist and advisor, he managed to prevent Agamemnon from withdrawing the war. After the Trojan War, Odysseus made a ten year journey to reached his home, ‘Ithaca” Odysseus was a genius leader he managed to trick Polephemus and along with his companion, blinded the Cyclops, but he did the mistake revealing his identity to plyphemus.

The Iliad: Book I, is about the conflict between Achilles and Agamemnon in the beginning of the Trojan War. It shows how vigorous Achilles’ rage was and that he is no one to mess with. The book states “Peleus’ son Achilles, murderous, doomed”. This shows his fury in just a few words. Achilles was a Greek hero who was the son of a Goddess named Thetis. He was an incredible solder; brave, violent and godlike. However, Agamemnon was the commander of the Achaean Army. He was greedy, aggressive and selfish. He was described as “the most grasping man alive”. He absolutely hated Achilles. I feel that he was jealous of how respected Achilles was among the ranks in the army because of his superior skills in the field of battle. Agamemnon claimed Chryseis as his prize, after sacking a Trojan town. Chryseis was a daughter of a Priest of Apollo, Chryses. He offered an enormous ransom to get his daughter back. At first Agamemnon didn’t want it but the people round him persuaded him that it would be best to let her go so they could be released from the plague that Apollo put on them. Agamemnon then poised to Achilles that he is going to steal Achilles prize, Briseis. This is when Achilles’ rage shows at its best. He nearly draws his sword to kill Agamemnon but he is stopped by the goddess, Athena.

Homer and Virgil had used characters from the Trojan War as heroes. Homer used Odysseus as the protagonist, while Virgil chose Aeneas as his main character. Both these two were similar because they both symbolize a great hero for their nation. Odysseus was known as a heroic Greek king who helped defeat the Troy. His wooden horse idea was the only reason the Greeks overcame the favored Trojans. Aeneas was a hero as well, but was known more by the Romans. After Troy fell, Aeneas was looking for a new home and peace. He was a

First of all, Electra saves young Orestes from their mother Clytemnestra and her lover Aegisthus who have killed Agamemnon – Electra and Orestes's father. Paedagogus says: “I rescued you, entrusted by your sister's hand” (Sophocles, Electra 13). Electra herself stays in the father's palace, but she is no longer the lady there – “I labour in my father's house” (Sophocles, Electra 183). So she has to live with murderers and bear their treatment.

When it comes to fighting, Achilles is the best. No man can best him, and any army with him in their ranks has very good odds of winning. On the other hand, his sense of duty is overshadowed by his arrogance. He fights for the Greeks, but doesn’t obey King Agamemnon as a subject. When Agamemnon steals his prize, Briseis, he gets upset and doesn’t fight, causing a loss in the Greek army. Achilles declares, “What a worthless, burnt-out coward I'd be called if I would submit to you and all your orders, whatever you blurt out. Fling them at others, don’t give me commands!” (Homer, 104) Though Achilles is the mightiest warrior alive, he is unreliable, compulsive to every whim and feeling of discontent. Hector, on the contrary, is

Eventually, Achilles refused to fight in the Trojan War because of Agamemnon’s dishonor. He asked his mother to help him punish the Greek; he wanted to see the army to suffer; and he wanted the Greek to be killed. All of those happened just to protect his excessive pride. He was only concerned about his honor, but the Greek or the lives of others (Homer 240). His selfishness and egotism was illustrate best when the Greeks asked him to return to the army. After being defeated by the Trojan, King Agamemnon had to ask Achilles to go back and fight for the sake of the army. Achilles decided to reject the offer, and abandoned the need of the Greek. He reasoned how his pride was not honored; how many of the battles that he has won; and how good he

When the Greeks raze the city of Troy, Aeneas escorts his father, Achises and his son, Ascanius, as well as other citizens of Troy to find another foothold for settling. During the journey to Italy, Aeneas shows his ability of leadership and decisiveness. They sail around for seven years after they set off from Troy. On multiple occasions Aeneas is told where he needs to go, however he seems to ignore all the pointers he gets from everyone.