Heroes & Odysseus Essay

This paper willing research turn out to explore the management in which Odysseus and Oedipus were created as heroes and how they either missed their mark or did therefrom become leg abateary. Throughout Homers chronicle, The Odyssey, are found the feats of cunning, strength, moral fiber and bravery attri buted to Odysseus. The narrative recounts the days after the fall of Troy, and the meandering journey which to a faultk Odysseus back to his homeland though never sincerely yours home.The Odyssey begins with Odysseus stranded on a small forest island trapped by the goddess Calypso while Oedipus begins with the illusionist of Delphi stating that Oedipus will live to kill his father and conjoin his mother and thereby wrecking his home. It is explained d wholeness(a) the textual matter that the gods, save for Neptune stand begun to pity Odysseus because of the great accepting he had endured. This suffering is explained to be of every contour of blandishment to make h im forget his home, so that he is tired of life. (Book I) Calypso is intent on forcing Odysseus to marry her, but he does not falter to her whim, but still longs for his wife and home. Oedipus on the other deal does fulfill the oracles prophesy and no god saves him or pities him his essential. This is brought to the attention of Jove, or Zeus, give-and-take of Saturn and most powerful of the gods. The goddess Minerva calls to Jove to end the suffering of Odysseus, to which Jove replies My child, what are you talking about? How scum bag I forget Ulysses than whom there is no more heart-to-heart man on earth, nor more liberal in his awayerings to the theology gods that live in heaven?(Book I) It is through the voice of Jove, the king of all the gods and goddesses that the reader is shown the esteem that Odysseus has gained. Jove calls Odysseus the most capable man on earth, which intends to illustrate the favor that he has earned from the gods. When it is decided by Minerva an d Jove that Odysseus will be allowed to return home, Minerva travels to Ithaca the home of Odysseus to tell his son to prepare for his fathers return. However the point on Ithaca has become troubled as many suitors are vying for the hand of the, presumed, widow of the king.During this debate, Telemachus, the son of Odysseus convened the council and utter of the trouble that had fallen on his house. My grieveance is purely personal, and turns on two great misfortunes which have fallen upon my house. The commencement exercise of these is the loss of my excellent father, who was chief among all you here present, and was like a father to every integrity of you . (Book II) Here, it is shown that not only was Odysseus capable of pleasing the gods, but also he was a great and evenhandedly leader.The council of Ithaca, though his subordinates, where treated as his own children rather than simply citizens subject to his rule. It is also during this discourse that Telemachus calls for an end of the forced courting of his mother by saying we have now no Ulysses to ward off harm from our doors, and I cannot hold my own against them. I shall never all my days be as ethical a man as he was (Book II) which then illustrated the strength and power that the presence of Odysseus commanded. Characters in plays are the designated interlopers between the subconscious of the audience or readers.These characters translate into reality and become a relatable down because the hero has one tragic fault that conquers them, ruins them, and brings them humility. This fallible nature is show the imperfections of humanity designed through sin sin is one of the many idiosyncrasies which mark us as human, that create specific characteristics and through confession or the confession of characters in a play, this nature becomes like a myth in the end there is death or forgiveness. Aristotles definition for a tragic hero is one who is not in control of his own lot, but instead is rule d by the gods in one fashion or another.The tragic hero for Aristotle is tragic because of their lack of control or will in the face of their predetermined future and downfall. A great tragic flaw (hamartia) is the heros taunt may care attitude at the beginning of each story, and then their despondency and stagnation of desire that meets them at the end of the play (Aristotle Ibid. , Book XIII, 1085b 35 & 1086a 1214, P. 909. In drama, ego is the flaw to which the hero knuckle unders. This is Oedipus great error. His ego is a compromise to his fortune. Even in the gods world he stands out as unique or special.Heroes begin their stories with aplomb of luck, or ego, or a rosy beguile of the world, and each play seems to end with destruction. Oedipus is cover at the beginning of the play and then becomes physically blind at the end of the play thus making the ethereal concrete. With Greek drama the tragedy of the unambiguous truth found in the characters own self-realization is th e typically denouement. The playwrights tragic heroes have survived in life under false pretences, thus they are doomed to suffer from their one flaw of ego.It is interesting that while ego is Oedipus downfall it is Odysseus strength for it is ego which allows him to continue nerve-wracking to find his home even after decades of looking. By the forth book of The Odyssey, Odysseus is still making his way home, and the tales of his exploits are recalled. As Helen, wife of Menelaus, and the cause of the Trojan war spoke of Odysseus, she recalled his cunning and forethought in his dealings with Troy. I cannot indeed name every single one of the exploits of Odysseus, Helen told the men, but I can say what he did when he was before Troy. (Book IV) Helen recounted Odysseus donning a disguise and entering the city dressed as a beggar. Though she saw through the disguise and recognized him, she was unable to question him because he was too cunning for me. (Book IV) It was the plan of Odysse us to gather information on the city, and kill some of the soldiers before returning his the States which, as Helen recalled, he did. This praise of Odysseus was echoed by her husband, Menelaus. After Helen had spoken, Menelaus said I have traveled much, and have had much to do with heroes, but I have never seen such another man as Odysseus.What endurance too, and what courage he displayed. (Book IV) The strength and bravery of Odysseus, as recounted by Menelaus, illustrated the degree to which Odysseus had gained favor among his cranny Grecian kings. In Oedipus there is another case of fate controlling the destiny of man. Due to fates interference in the lives of heroes, it must be pondered whether or not they are heroes because they are impeccant of choice and by definition a hero chooses their actions, but with fate, their actions are predestined.For Oedipus, his only link to valorousness is that in his redemptive attitude . His heroic stance in Greek culture is seen as a pr otagonist who felt guilt for what he had done and this translates to the audience that if a hero can succumb to evil then they themselves, as less than heroic, are more likely to fall in favor, in the eyes of the gods. Human nature is a nature of reason, not strictly adherent to passion or feelings, and in drama playwrights strive to be exact in their representation of reality. piety then, becomes the crux of Oedipus Rex. Morality is reason. This is not to say that Plato and other classic Greek writers were ascetic rather they placed passion, and feelings in their plays but the ethics of humanity are tied into the good of a person because reasonably, being virtuous, or good leads a character to happiness or release at the end of a modern play. The condition for this given by Plato is eudemonism, which means blissful. Throughout The Odyssey, many individuals recount the feats of Odysseus.His exploits had gained him favor from man and God similar something afforded to very few othe rs in history or mythology. It was the total of every aspect of Odysseus persona that he gained this favor. Throughout his life he had shown courage, fairness, loyalty, strength and cunning and it is because of these traits that Odysseus is remembered. As a Greek hero, Oedipus is controlled by fate His remittance of gouging his eyes shows that he is a strong hero because of his debt payment of sight. For Oedipus the flaw could be contained inside the word ego while Odysseus heroism is marked by it.Ego in answering the sphinx screen and unbeknownst to him killing his birth father, marrying his mother, having children ego accounts for all of Oedipuss actions, and it is fate which had designed ego and thus was the ultimate ruler of Oedipus and luck for Odysseus but both are considered heroes. Works Cited Aristotle. Sophocles. (1977). The Oedipus Cycle. Harcourt Inc. Florida. Homer. The Odyssey. trans. Samuel Butler. University of Oregon. Date of Access April 30 2009. URL http//darkw ing. uoregon. edu/joelja/odyssey. html