Leaders in the Iliad and Odyssey

Introduction

Homer is one of the well-known Greek poets. He is also known as a legendary epic poet. Traditionally, Homer is the author of the Iliad and the Odyssey. Both these are well-known epic poems. According to scholars, the Iliad and Odyssey were composed in the last years of the ninth century. Scholars also believe that Iliad was composed before Odyssey by a few decades. It is widely believed that the Iliad is one of the oldest pieces of western literature.

Scholars of the ancient times believed that both the Iliad and Odyssey were composed by one poet. The ancient scholars assumed Homer was the composer of these poems. However, after comparing these poems for a long time, scholars opposed this assumption. When comparing these poems, it was also found that the construction of Iliad is less complicated. The structure of this poem is inclined towards tragedy. On the other side, the structure of Odyssey is more complex. The structure of this poem is closer to comedy. Since Odyssey and Iliad have been compared for a long time, it is believed that this comparison has influenced Odyssey.

Both these poems are based on same realities. However, they have adopted a different approach.

Discussion

The main characters of the Iliad and the Odyssey include Achilles and Odysseus. Both Achilles and Odysseus are Greek warriors (Nagy, pp. 283). These warriors played a dominant role in the Trojan War. Achilles and Odysseus are revered as epics. There are some people who admire Achilles because of his attributes. On the other side, another group of people admire Odysseus. Both these heroes differ in terms of their individual attributes. The way they played their role in the Trojan War also differs. These heroes also differ on how they interacted with the Gods (McQuillan, pp.7).

Comparison of Odysseus and Achilles

In the Trojan War, Odysseus had a responsibility to return to Ithaca. He was supposed to return to his veteran soldiers. However, he ignored his responsibility several a times (King, pp. 39). Odysseus was confronting a conflict between his personal preferences and public responsibility. The evidence of this conflict lies in the after effects of his successes. His greatest successes were the break away from Cyclops Island and the releasing of imprisoned from Circe (Eder, pp. 13).

Odysseus displayed creativity when he escaped from Cyclops Polyphemus. The courage he displayed that time is breathtaking (Nagy, pp. 283).

Odysseus deserves praise for his conduct at the time when he escaped. At that time, instead of fleeing, he paused and taunted the blinded Polyphemus. The courage of Odysseus can be witnessed in these quotes. 'Cyclops-/if any man on the face of the earth should ask you/who blinded you, shamed you so-say Odysseus,/ …who makes his home in Ithaca!' (227).

Odysseus was least concerned about his public responsibility. He proved it several other times. For instance, when Odysseus returned to Circe's island, he did not display any concerns for his accountability as a leader (Nelson, pp.2).

In the Trojan War, Odysseus survives but Achilles secures ...