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Odysseus Vs Achilles Research Paper

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The two great poems of Greece sport heroic characters, both of which are claimed to be the greatest heroes of all time. Odysseus is famed for his arduous journey and his wit, while Achilles is best known for his invincibility and brute force. Neither would have survived in the other’s tale. Odysseus is far too much a man of thought, and would have spared Hector’s body from disgrace. Whereas Achilles, in Odysseus’ situation would have tried to kill all the beasts and monsters that were thrown at him. He would have died along with his men at the first fight. Odysseus and Achilles, from Fagles translation of Homer’s two epic poems can be compared and contrasted against eachother as epic heroes. After these two classic heroes, a template was constructed using the strengths and similarities that Odysseus and Achilles share. The first and foremost most visible similarity between these two is how their tales start. In both The Odyssey and The Iliad Homer (whoever Homer might be) calls out to the goddess Muse and requests that she permit Homer with the knowledge in which to tell …show more content…

It does not really matter how Odysseus and Achilles are similar or different, what really matters is how important and influential their archetypes are in Western culture and thus literature. Both heroes are needed, to balance out one another. A fantastic example for the differences between Odyssian characters and Achillian characters is J.K. Rowling’s wizarding houses Slytherin and Gryffindor. The Slytherins are sly and deceptive, the Odyssian types. While the Gryffindors are rough and tough and take challenges head on. And in this example, Gryffindors are usually the preferred House, they are seen as the “good guys”. This is true, in Western culture; lying heroes are thought to be all evil. When really that is not

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