Comparring Odysseus of Homer's Odyssey and Moses of the Bible
Heroes and their stories have been at the center of almost every culture throughout history. There are vast differences among these legends since they have to serve each particular culture's needs. The events, settings and other characters may change dramatically, but the hero is basically the same for all. And the understanding that the use of violence is always justified in the name of the `Gods'.
The universal hero is initially one of questionable moral standing. This person doesn't decide to be a hero, which is much different then deciding to be a leader; rather he is chosen by a greater force or entity to become one, perhaps a god. He performs the same three tasks: to fulfill a destiny handed down by divine inspiration, undertake a journey where great sacrifices are made on his part to overcome difficult obstacles; like Odysseus traveling home after the Trojan War or Moses leading his people out of Egypt. Finally, the mission is not complete until the message learned throughout is shared for the greater good of the people whom the hero represents. Ultimately, the measure of the hero's success is whether the legend stands the test of time.
ODYSSEUS AND MOSES: IMPERFECT HEROES
While Greek culture differs from Hebrew traditions and their respective mythologies vary greatly, their heroes are one in the same. Odysseus and Moses, as well as Jacob, represent archetypal heroes that could appear in any culture at any point in time. Our universal hero is not a perfect one; he commits a crime, lies, or does something of questionable moral action, or is this merely using his metis. Though married to ...
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...he confronted the Pharaoh and commanded his Jews, he slowly gained confidence in himself and his ability. This transformation was carried through to the end. Moses went from being a meek citizen to an authoritative leader of a whole people, responsible for setting up the structure of their new society. Likewise, Odysseus changed from restless adventurer to dependable statesman. Both went on an epic journey that transformed them from within.
Because of all the parallels between Odysseus and Moses, it is perhaps of little surprise that, in the final analysis, they both learned the same lesson. Even though the messengers were different, be it Athena, Hermes or a burning bush the message is all the same: and that is to listen to and obey the words of ones Gods. This is the message they both brought back for their people to live by.
In the story The Odyssey, Odysseus showed many traits. I believe the most important trait he showed was loyalty. He showed it in multiple situations. Odysseus showed loyalty when dealing with the sirens, the louts eaters, and the cyclops.
Over their travels in the epic The Odyssey, both Odysseus’ and his son Telemachus’ adventures were parallel but at the same time different. These travels led them both to grow and change drastically, and both learned some very important life lessons over the course of this epic.
From sacrificing six of his own men to surrendering his self pride to the gods, Odysseus accepts the noble title and proves himself deserving of being a hero. He took on a journey in which he grew into himself and rid himself of the one thing that held him back all along: his hubris. At the end of the journey, Odysseus went from being a selfish, cocky leader to being a selfless, modest hero.
In Odyssey, Homer creates a parallel between Odysseus and Telemachos, father and son. The two are compared in the poem from every aspect. One parallel was the quest of Telemachos, in correlation with the journey of his father. In this, Odysseus is developed from a childish, passive, and untested boy, to a young man preparing to stand by his father's side. This is directly connected to the voyage of Odysseus, in that they both lead to the same finale, and are both stepping-stones towards wisdom, manhood, and scholarship.
In this long narrative poem, Odysseus changes from being disrespectful to the gods by explicitly saying that he doesn’t need them, to longing forgiveness later by stating that he is nothing without them. After the success with the Trojan Horse, Odysseus considered himself higher than the gods because he, a mortal, was able to accomplish something even the gods couldn’t. He boasted to Poseidon and the others about how he is overpowering, and how his power and abilities were far beyond their limits. His epic boasting to the gods had lead him to create his own obstacles as, he is one who essentially was the cause. This disrespectful attitude is the personality which shows how Odysseus behaved at the beginning of the story. It not only demonstrates what he was once like, but how his obstacles get much more precarious. As this is the attitude in the beginning, by the end of this epic, Odysseus understands the value of gods and their power, even if it’s for good or bad. At the end of book twenty-two, page 1160, on lines 107-109, Odysseus finally accepts the fact that he is not the biggest thing
Every culture has a hero. Every hero has a legend. Every legend meets that culture's particular needs. The events, settings, and other characters might be different, but the hero is basically the same for all. The universal hero is initially an immoral character, but after overcoming difficult obstacles, he/she eventually becomes a better person. Jacob and Odysseus are such heroes. Both share an obvious characteristic of deceitfulness, but both still have differences, although discreet. They become a hero because they've changed into a better human being.
In every journey the hero also has a mentor. In this story Athena, the gray-eyed goddess of wisdom, has taken on this role for both Odysseus and Telemachus. Athena was by Odysseus’ side as a guide for much of the beginning of his Journey. Athena also is a guide to Odysseus when he’s not even aware o...
With the Odyssey, Odysseus learned a big lesson in humility. The greatest example of this is in the last five books or so within the story. He has to dress, act, and live like a beggar in order to regain everything he had lost. While he was a beggar, the suitors treated him horribly. Antinous, leader of the suitors, was the worst of them all. He was the first to mistreat Odysseus and planned to kill Telemachus. He was also the one that would abuse him physically and verbally for some time to come. Also, if that weren’t enough, he planned a boxing match for Odysseus to be in to watch him get beat up. All this was happening and the other suitors were most likely following their leader in whatever he was doing. Odysseus had to control himself the whole time this was happening. If he had lost his temper, the suitors would have killed him, his son, and most likely taken over the kingdom. That didn’t happen though. Odysseus learned self-control and humility. He may not be perfect at it, but going through all the humility made him a better man. Along the same topic, he was a king going through this humility. It would be one thing for a peasant to go through it, but a king? This made it even harder for Odysseus. He had rank above all the suitors and could rightly kick them out of his kingdom. Instead he waits for the right time and kills them all. The “pre-journey” Odysseus would of thought of himself invincible and probably would have died trying to get his kingdom back.
From the analysis above, although he never fully matches Odysseus either in wisdom or courage, we cannot deny their highly resemblance in initiative, sensitivity and socialization. Influenced by his father not only by hearing the great deeds spread by people but also fight with him for vengeance, he follows his father’s step and comes to his manhood.
Just like Odysseus, Moses was a man of nobility. Moses did not know he was
As the play continues the supernatural is used more. Act 1 Scene 3 is Macbeth’s first meeting with the witches, and is also the first time the audience sees or experiences the witches’ supernatural abilities.
the very beginning of the play the three witches are talking and the first witch
From the beginning of time, mythology has appeared to be one key method of understanding life’s confusions and battles. Within these myths lies a hero. From myth to myth and story to story, heroes experience what may be called a struggle or a journey, which lays down their plot line. Bearing tremendous strength, talent, and significant admiration, a hero holds what is precious to their audience, heroism. Over time however, no matter the hero, the hero’s role remains indistinguishable and identical to the position of every other hero.
To the world today, a hero is someone distinguished by exceptional courage, nobility, or strength; but really, anyone can be a hero. A hero can vary from someone as well-known as George Washington to someone as unheard of as anyone’s very own mother. Someone who has done a good deed for someone else is hero. The biggest heroes are the ones in well-known books and plays, such as Odysseus from The Odyssey, or have made a huge difference in the history of this world, like Mahatma Gandhi. Siddhartha Gautama is a hero, but not in the same way Odysseus or Gandhi are. Although these three influential people went through different journeys in order to accomplish different things, they are all heroes in their own way and have been through the same cycle of the road of trials and crisis/salvation.
The book The Odyssey there are many lessons and challenges that Odysseus faces. The three main ones are The Cattle of the Sun God where he learns what goes around comes around, The Cyclops Polymorphus where he learns that he needs to be more humble his crew helped him fight the cyclops but because he screamed out that he Odysseus had defeated the cyclops Poseidon got him into a lot of trouble, and he learned that he should be careful of self serving kindness in the time he stayed with