Julius Caesar and The Odyssey Comparative Essay

As the request is made of his own mother she simply abides to her son’s wishes, “She bathed now, put on some fresh clothes,” (Homer l 17.60). All throughout the Odyssey Penelope shows her strength to ward off suitors and she manages to live without her husband for years. Remaining faithful the entire time to her husband Odysseus she discloses to her maid, “Eurynome, don’t try to coax me, care for me as you do, to bathe myself, refresh my face with oils. Whatever glow I had died long ago… the gods of Olympus snuffed it out that day my husband sailed away in the hollow ships,” (Homer ll 18.201-206) presenting to the reader that she lost all desire for anyone else when Odysseus’ left for war. This further substantiates the Greek view of how women should remain loyal at all times forsaking others. Lastly Penelope is rewarded for her lasting devotion to her husband with his return. In these characters and their specific roles in the Odyssey the Greeks’ insisted upon their women to accept such roles in their culture of certain hypocrisy when compared to that of their female counterpart. Without Athena’s support Odysseus would have never reached Ithaca and Telemachus would not have been pushed into becoming a man. Without Penelope’s loyalty, devotion, and support Odysseus’ efforts in his journey home would have held little merit of reward. What is most important to note is the male character of Odysseus plays the most prominent role in the epic but

Homer's great literary classic, The Odyssey, represents and illustrates many emotional and mental values. All of these values can be classified under three different main themes that are constant throughout the epic tale. These themes are: A boy's struggle to be a man, a king's struggle to reclaim his kingdom, and a man's struggle to return home. As one reads this book it will become more and more evident to them that a man's struggle to get home is the most important theme throughout Homer's adventure.

Loyalty is heroic. Loyalty is defined as faithfulness or devotion to a person, cause, obligations, or duties. In Homer's Odyssey one can see loyalty in many forms. Odysseus is loyal to the gods whom he realized held his life in their hands. Penelope was loyal to Odysseus, while trying not to offend the rude suitors. Telemachus was loyal to a father whom he only knew from the stories he had been told. Time and time again we see loyalty in the strongest sense, complete fidelity in time of uncertainty.

Loyalty is defined in Webster’s dictionary as unswerving allegiance, faithfulness. With this definition it can be expressed that loyalty plays a big role in Homer’s epic ‘the Odyssey’. Homer has presented three main characters that have shown loyalty to Odysseus. Penelope, the faithful wife, Telemachus, the son who has never met his father and lastly Eumaeus, the servant who has remained loyal to his master even when he was gone.

In The Odyssey, the hero Odysseus shows many heroic traits, the one I think is most important is loyalty.

What are the main characteristics of a larger-than-life epic hero? An epic hero is a brave and powerful warrior who is motivated to fight both internal and external conflicts to achieve glory and ranks above a normal man. In Homer’s epic poems The Iliad and The Odyssey, Achilles and Odysseus are the well-known heroes. Achilles fights Hektor outside the walls of Troy because Hektor killed his best friend, Patroclus. After fighting in the Trojan War, Odysseus takes on a journey to return back to Ithaca to see his wife, Penelope, and his son, Telemachus. Through his use of tone, figurative language, mood, and imagery, Homer’s epic poems The Iliad and The Odyssey show how Achilles and

The Odyssey of Homer is filled with various adventures, sought-after revenge, and harmful temptations. The war hero, Odysseus, traveled for three years, always trying to achieve his homecoming. In Odysseus’ fourth year, Zeus destroyed his ship, as well as his companions, while they were out at sea. After these losses, Odysseus alone was washed up onto the island of a nymph, Kalypso. She took him into her palace and came to love him. After time, she desired to make Odysseus her husband, offering to make him immortal as well. Yet, Odysseus declines her offer of immortality. After years of fighting in battle, then years of suffering following the war, his noble rejection seems remarkable. Homer’s readers are forced to wonder, why does

Numerous mythologies we have read throughout this semester have had an underlying message. Those who are loyal to their beliefs, their spouses, and the gods are rewarded, but those who prove to be unfaithful are dealt with harshly. From the multitude of examples in mythology, I have chosen four to discuss: Cupid & Psyche, Odysseus & Penelope, Medea & Jason, and Antigone & Creon. Each of these characters and their stories exemplify either rewards or punishments for their actions from the gods and fates. First, we must discuss how to define loyalty in a way the Greek and Romans would agree with. Loyalty wasn’t just wives obeying husbands, or servants obeying masters, but also the people obeying the rules of the gods. Obedience is a key part of the ancient concept of loyalty, as you cannot be truly loyal to a person or to the gods without respecting their wishes and being obeying them.

Loyalty is a trait that can help guide you through many difficult situations. It is a quality that the Ancient Greeks were shown to value through their epics. Odysseus, hero of Homer’s epic poem, The Odyssey, is a character that reveals several values of Ancient Greek culture through his qualities of honesty, devotion, and support. One of the most prominent values portrayed throughout the story is loyalty.

Loyalty has always been seen as a commendable trait, not only in human beings but in any creature, all through history. Soldiers have admired their enemies for their loyalty to fallen comrades, thousands of stories have been written about the intense loyalty animals portray for their owners, and even companies in the workforce look for loyalty in potential employees. Loyalty has been seen as something that distinguishes the trustworthy from the untrustworthy, and something that sets the great apart from the good. The archetypal hero commonly has a cause, whether it be another person or personal beliefs, that they are loyal to, and this unwavering loyalty is what makes them appear so highly in the eyes of the reader. Loyalty can be found in practically any work of literature, but within The Torah, The Odyssey, and Inanna is the idea that true loyalty, although a rare attribute, is the key to a successful relationship.

Odysseus believed he was in the right when killing the suitors “You dogs! You never imagined I'd return from Troy- so cocksure that you bled my house to death, ravished my serving-women- wooed my wife behind my back while I was still alive!” (Homer 22: 37-40). Odysseus was dead set on killing the suitors since the beginning. He even told them “. . . all your necks are in the noose-your doom is sealed” (22: 43), illustrating how he would kill them as to avenge his wife and his honor. In doing so he was perceived as a hero by the most prevalent male figures in Ithaca, displaying an excellent example of Kleos, “fame through having great honor and virtue. Earned pride.”

In The Odyssey, the theme of loyalty relates to Odysseus’s physical journey back to Ithaca. Many characters in the epic are loyal and faithful, like Penelope, Telemachus, Eumaeus, and even Odysseus himself. Penelope remains loyal to her husband, by not choosing a suitor during the 20 years he’s gone. “And there she [Penelope] sat down with the case on her knees and burst into sobs as she drew out her husband’s bow,” (Homer 317). Just carrying out Odysseus’s bow with such sorrow shows how in love she was with Odysseus and how the thought of choosing a new husband moved her to tears. As Penelope remained loyal to Odysseus and

In the Tragedy of Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare, Calphurnia, Caesar's wife, tells Caesar that he should not go out today because it’s the Ides of March, but that she also had a dream. A dream that she saw a statue of Caesar that had blood running down it while Romans were washing their hands in the blood of Caesar with smiles on their faces. Eventually, Caesar does get murdered and there's a funeral held for him which Brutus and Marc Antony talk at. They Roman's follow both men, but can not decide who is more effective.

With Penelope, a faithful and loving wife to Odysseus, Homer reveals to us how the Greeks believed wives should act. She was loyal to Odysseus the entire time he was away on his journey, and even when it appeared as if he had passed on she still had faith that he would return. She resisted the suitors on the sole basis that she loved Odysseus and could not see herself with another man when he could still be alive. She was smart, and cunning. She shows us this in Book II when we

In Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, one must read the text closely to track the shifting motivations and loyalties of each character as the play progresses. An important factor that must be kept in mind while reading is the degree of loyalty, in other words, the degree to which characters act out of a motivation to help others. Throughout the play, each character's current degree of loyalty to others is clearly exhibited by words or behavior – this holds true for the characters of Brutus, Cassius, Antony, Portia, and Calpurnia. The focus on loyalty is critical because before the play ends an even-handed justice is meted out to a number of people who fail to live up to an expected standard of