What Characteristics of the Ideals of a Hero are Revealed in Homer's Iliad and Odyssey - Essay Example

? Iliad and The Odyssey: The Characteristics of Epics and their Heroes Your School Department, This paper is a partial fulfillment for the subject ________, under Professor ________. Iliad and The Odyssey: The Characteristics of Epics and their Heroes Epics are narrative poems. It is characteristically lengthy as it documents the heroes’ deeds and events that are significant to a nation. Epics are traditionally orally transmitted since people then were preliterate. However, we see that Homer’s epics are written, and many scholars think that his epics were transcribed and fused stories (folk stories) of Greece during the Bronze Age. As we can see, Homer’s epics are centered on the Trojan War. The Iliad and The Odyssey by Homer are two of the most famous Greek epics to have survived. Up to now, they are enjoyed by many, read by a wide range of audience. This is quite impressive, because the Greek mythology existed since it was first composed sometime between 9th and 6th BC. The epics are written in poetry form. They cover only a part of the Trojan War: The Iliad covers a small part (the middle and the end) of the War and The Odyssey follows Odysseus’ journey back to his hometown Ithaca after the Trojan War. It is similar in structure, even in plot, as it follows the adventures of two heroes and their adventures. As they are part of the Greek culture, they surely reflect on the importance of Greek Mythology, especially during their adventures. These epics verge on the fantastic (as epics should) as they enlist the help of the Gods and Goddesses through adversities. Even the characters are sometimes demigods themselves, as they are children of the Gods. These epics show that the people believe that mere mortals are like playthings to the Gods, as human behavior are always the product of the Gods’ and Goddesses’ decisions and reactions to human behavior. The Iliad starts nine years after the start of the Trojan War; towards the end of it. It starts with Chryseis being captured by Agamemnon and Briseis being captured by Achilles. Both Agamemnon and Achilleas are Achaeans (Greeks), and Chryseis and Briseis are Trojans. Chryseis’ father, Chryses, is a priest for Apollo. After his huge ransom for his daughter was rejected by Agamemnon, he called Apollo for help. Apollo then sends a plague to the Achaeans. Many Achaeans died, and when Agamemnon learned that his hostage was the cause, he immediately returned her but asked Achilles’ for Briseis as a replacement for his. Insulted, Achilles called to his mother (Thetis, a sea nymph) to ask the services of Zeus. He also refused to go to war anymore. Thus, the Trojans and the Acheans forge a cease fire but the Trojans break it, attacking the Acheans. Concerned for his comrades, but still too proud to help them, Achilles lends his armor to Patroclus. Hector slays Patroclus with the help of the God Apollo, and claims the armor; this angered Achilles and vowed to fight again, to avenge Patroclus. Now because Hector does not expect that Achilles will join the battle, he was caught off guard. Eventually, they had both dueled with each other and Hector was slain. As a winner, he lashes out Hector’s body and drags it across the Aechean camp. He did this for nine days. Then Gods decide that Hector’s body should be properly buried. So Zues sends Hermes to escort Hector’s father, King Priam, into the Aechean camp. King Priam pleads to Achilles to let him take home Hector’s body and invokes the memory of Peleus. With this, Achilles was deeply moved and relents. Hector’s body was given back to the Trojans and he was given a proper hero’s funeral as the city mourns for his death. In the end, both sides agree to a truce. The Iliad has Achilles as the main hero. Like all epic heroes, he is fantastic. In fact, he is a demigod. He is the son of the King Peleus and the sea nymph Thetis. He is often characterized as the handsomest hero in epics. He is also deemed invulnerable except for his heel; his mother had dipped him in the River Styx as a baby, except for his heel. In fact, he died because of the small wound that was inflicted on his heel. His name can be loosely translated as “grief of the people”. That is the central theme of Iliad. Achilles’ anger is actually the central theme of the epic, as well as pride. Achilles’ character in the epic is, ironically, quite vulnerable, at least emotionally. At the start of the epic, he was hurt (insulted) when Agamemnon had Briseis away from him. For his honor, he wished that the Trojans win over the Greeks, and he had not participated in battles. He knew he was a capable warrior but he refused to be one at the expense of many Greek soldiers, just because of his hurt ego. As the Trojans were gaining ground, he lent his armor to Patrolucus. Patroclus died in the hands of Hector and this angered Achilles. He became so angry that he had fought with the river god Scamander. Even Zeus tried to restrain Achilles’ anger. Anyway, he sought for a new armor (he had a new one, forged by Hephaestus) and fought Hector. He won the battle, largely because he was motivated by his will to avenge his friend Patroclus. As a hero, Achilles is totally vulnerable as he can be quite emotional. True, he is a skilled warrior, quite strong and brilliant planner, and physically invulnerable because of the exposure to River Styx, but he easily gets hurt emotionally. One can actually manipulate him by his emotions. His only advantage to most people is that he has connections with the Gods, as Thetis is his mother. With that, he can easily ask for favors and for supernatural abilities. However, as a hero, he is an ideal one precisely because of that vulnerability: he can feel. Unlike most heroes, Achilles shows that he is perfectly human: he can get hurt and that hurt might fuel his behavior. That hurt will motivate him to do greater things in his life (albeit dangerous). This makes him more accessible to the readers, but at the same time, someone to look up too, since a leader like he is supposed to feel for his people too. The Odyssey, on the other hand, happens ten years after the Trojan War. The epic features Odysseus, another hero of the Trojan War (who, unlike Achilles, does not die). Odysseus was stuck in an island together with his men, as his family was in Ithaca. His wife was still loyal to him, and his sons were grown men now, especially Telemachus – his first born. Penelope, his wife, had many suitors. Odysseus, on the other hand, had Calypso and could not escape her island as he had no boat. As the Gods and Goddesses were arguing about Odysseus’s fate, Athena decided to help Telemachus with his efforts to thwart his mothers’ suitors. So disguised as Laertes (Odysseus friend), she went to convince Telemachus to hold a meeting with his mothers’ suitors and he rejected them all. Then Laertes/Athena went to Menelaus and Nestor and informed them that Odysseus was alive. Back in Mt. Olympus, Zeus sent Hermes to go and rescue Odysseus – he convinced Calypso to build a boat for Odysseus. Odysseus left and found himself in the sea as Poseidon lashed out a storm to break his boat. This is because Poseidon wanted to avenge his son, Cyclops, as Odysseus blinded him before. Athena saved Odysseus. Nausicaa, the Scherian princess, was a warm host, and together with the King and Queen, they offered him a safe passage – with a condition – he would tell them his stories first. So he did tell stories. He told the events prior to his captivity in Calypso’s island: his trip to the Land of the Lotus Eaters, his battle with Poseidon’s son the Cyclops, his love affair with a goddess named Circe, his adventures with the Sirens, his journey to Hades, and his fight with the Scylla. Now, he was free to go back to Ithaca. Disguised as a beggar, he met his former swine herd. A faithful man, he nourished his master to health. Then Odysseus met his son and revealed him his true identity. As the suitors ambushed Ithaca, both father and son devised a plan to gain their power back. Now, Odysseus went back to his palace the next day and endured all the insults thrown at him by the suitors of his wife as he was still dressed as a beggar. Penelope took interest in him and suspected that he was Odysseus! Quite clever, she had proposed that whoever could string Odysseus bow and arrow, and fire through a row of twelve axes, would marry her – because she knew only Odysseus would be the only one who could do the feat. Will little effort, Odysseus did it and then, together with his son, they killed all the suitors. So Odysseus revealed his true identity to everyone and got reunited with his family. Everyone rejoiced. Then he went to his father’s house where he was followed by the vengeful families of the suitors that he had slain. As his father was energized by his presence, he killed them all. With his family intact and power in his hands, Odysseus grand adventures came to an end. The Odyssey is quite different to Iliad. The Odyssey tells about a leader who has survived a war – and through his adventures, we can see why he won the war, and why he survived. Unlike Achilles, Odysseus is a steady and patient man. He is rarely emotional. He does not act on his feelings, but rather plans for it. This is highly observable when he gets back to Ithaca with the plan to kill all Penelope’s suitors, as with his battle with the Cyclops. Unlike Achilles, Odysseus is a mortal man. He is comparatively more vulnerable to attacks, as he has no special powers or features given to him by the Gods. However, his wit compensates for it. Like Achilles, Odysseus is a very beautiful man. He is always favorable to the Gods. Unlike Achilles, he attracts women a lot! I guess it is safe to say the Odysseus is the ideal man. As a hero of an epic, as a representation of the local man, he is by far, the best. He wins the war, he wins all battles with monsters using his strength and wit, he gets kidnapped by beautiful women (by a Goddess, even) and his wife takes him back with all her heart. He is, in the basic sense of the word, fantastic. As heroes, Achilles and Odysseus are indeed quite ideal. They are very good leaders, especially in a war. They are strong and attractive. They are born to be adored. They are conscientious leaders and they always think of their people first. Although they commit mistakes too, they are still hero enough to change their wrong to a right, as they reflect that they are humans too, and they make mistakes. References: Homer (1951). The Iliad. Richmond Lattimore, translator. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Homer (2003). The Odyssey. Penguin Books: London. Fox, R. L. (2008). Travelling Heroes: Greeks and their myths in the epic age of Homer. Penguin Books: London. Read More