Comparison-Contrast Essay

Introduction

Throughout ancient history, mythological stories have acted as a form of rich culture to depict various characters and try to explain various occurrences such as Gilgamesh, Odyssey and Beowulf. Although these tales evolved from different civilizations, they exhibit a variety of fundamentals that make them similar to each other. Each of the heroes depicted in these tales embarks on different journeys with different aims of conquering what they set to achieve. One of the common aspects that emerge in their journeys is the bravery and prowess that each exhibits. It also becomes obvious in the story that even though the heroes had unusual gifts from other people, they still had their weaknesses, which they find, imperative to overcome in order to attain the missions they set out in their journeys. Therefore, all issues related to Epic of Gilgamesh to the Odyssey will be discussed in detail.

Discussion

The Epic of Gilgamesh centers on an, ancient young, king of Uruq, present day Iraq. Gilgamesh, its main character, have superhuman powers. According to the prologue, the gods created this young king as two thirds divine and one third human. Gilgamesh is a character endowed with immense strength, in addition to his dressy looks. As the king of Uruk, Gilgamesh is the ultimate protector of his subjects, but contrary to this responsibility, he uses his powers to accomplish his own vanities. Instead of serving his people, he oppresses them and engages in sexual promiscuity with women, such as raping without regard of whether they were wives or daughters of noble men or his warriors. This results in lamentation from his people to the gods to tame his wild spirit and ego. The gods in an attempt to tame him create Enkindu, a wild man who as equal as Gilgamesh. The two become close confidants but their actions annoy the immortals and they decide that Enkindu should die an action that leaves Gilgamesh distraught and he decides to seek eternity by searching for the only man who gained eternity (Barkan, 1995).

Odysseus, the hero in the Odyssey, remains one of the most celebrated epic heroes in Greek mythology. He is renowned for not only his prowess and bravery but also perceptive character. His powerful psychic is also one of the features that justify his depiction as an insuperable character in Greek myths. Odysseus is a character that first analyzes situations rather than acting unconsciously such ...