Similarities Between The Odyssey And Oedipus

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Homer's Odyssey and Oedipus the King In Greek culture, there are many epic stories. Even though each story has different outcomes, every hero has certain features in common. Odysseus in The Odyssey and Oedipus in Oedipus the King are examples of epic heroes that are quite similar. Odysseus and Oedipus are alike in which they both are considered as godlike men. Furthermore, Odysseus and Oedipus also demonstrate their crude habits with their hubris behavior throughout their own prophecy. In addition to these similarities, the powerful gods also play an important role which drastically affects Odysseus and Oedipus’s fate. When we first encounter the poems, both epic poems are …show more content…

Odysseus, has defining characteristics traits of a “Homeric leader” developing power, bravery, dignity, a thirst for honor, and confidence in his authority. He is also so extremely intelligent. Odysseus's quick thinking helps him out of some very tough situations. Likewise, Oedipus is a man of swift action and great insight and therefore he was eventually crowned King. These characteristic traits make both King Oedipus and Odysseus well-respected leaders of their cities. This respect is evident in The Odyssey when Zeus orders his daughter Athena to inform Odysseus' family that he is alive. Similarly, Oedipus was highly regarded and respected by the citizens of Thebes, when he solved the riddle. Both characters also showed they're responsible and are fully aware of their duties. Odysseus went to fight in the Trojan war and King Oedipus took action in solving the city's plague by sending Creon to the Oracle of Apollo to seek answers. The two characters were both saviors because Odysseus helped to win the war against the city of Troy while Oedipus solve the riddle of the Sphinx and help save the city. Furthermore, the wives of both characters were strong because Penelope (Odysseus' wife) was faithful to her husband and did not remarry even though her husband's whereabouts were unknown and Jocasta (Oedipus' wife) tried to calm Oedipus down when he became angry from accusations of murder. These two characters were also similar in that they both ruled kingdoms in cities of

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