ipl-logo

Comparing Odyssey, Gilgamesh, And The Ramayana

592 Words3 Pages

Throughout history, stories and epics from long ago and even today have acted as a form of rich culture to depict various characters within each story and attempt to explain occurrences in history such as the Odyssey, Gilgamesh, and The Ramayana. Although each of the heroes depicted in these tales embark on different journeys with different aims at what they hope to achieve, they all display a variety of fundamentals that make them similar to one another. It also becomes transparent that throughout each journey these hero’s must take that each of them also embarks on a transformative journey that many people of today can relate to.
The Epic of Gilgamesh centers in on an ancient king of Uruk in present day Iraq. When we are first introduced to Gilgamesh, the king of Uruk, we see that he is a tyrant ruler that is one-third human, two-thirds divine and is endowed with immense strength. Instead of serving his people, he suppresses them and engages in immoral behaviors fit for a king. These behaviors result in lamentation from the citizens of Uruk and in order to tame Gilgamesh’s wild spirit the gods must create Enkidu, whose purpose in the epic is to help guide …show more content…

One of the key desires of Odysseus which he shares with most other heroes in mythology, is the desire to gain glory through his exploits and deeds. At various points through the text, we see the way in which Odysseus rather arrogantly ignores the advice of different characters or does what he thinks is best without thinking about the consequences of his actions and what might happen to both himself, and to his men, as a result. The best example of this is when, at the start of his wanderings, Odysseus was so focused on gaining glory that he deliberately revealed who he was to the Cyclops, and as a result brought down calamity on both himself and his men because of Poseidon's special relationship to the

Show More
Related

  • Examples Of Violence In The Odyssey

    1744 Words  | 7 Pages

    According to The Odyssey “Cyclops if any man on the face of the earth should ask you who blinded you, shamed you, say so–say Odysseus, raider of cities he gouged out your eye Laertes son who makes his home in Ithaca… Or if he’s fated to see his people once again and reach his well-built house… let him come home late and come a broken man-all shipmates lost”(Homer 227 228). Without fail Odysseus shows his prideful nature most likely as a cause of being praised and letting his fame make him over confident even when quarreling with a god's son. This would apparently prove to be a critical mistake as Poseidon decides to take revenge on Odysseus by making his life a

    Read More

  • The Greek Ideal Of Kleos In Homer's The Odyssey

    305 Words  | 2 Pages

    Odysseus’ need to be glorious in such a dangerous encounter demonstrates his engrossment in kleos, while he risks the safety of both him and his men. Odysseus “commands [his] men” very often, as they follow his instruction and are subconsciously being sacrificed for Odysseus’ own prestige. Odysseus is considered a hero, abounding with bravery and glory from the Trojan War. Odysseus still remains unsatisfied, keeping determined and set on achieving the greek ideal of kleos and being regarded as illustrious. Odysseus uses his men to fulfill his wants and doesn’t regard them at all.

    Read More

  • Humbristic To Humble Gilgamesh Analysis

    746 Words  | 3 Pages

    Always encountering success, Gilgamesh was once a tyrant to his people. Reflecting on his rule, he recalls that, “He demanded from an old birthright/the privilege of sleeping with their brides” (15). His triumphs fostered arrogance. To him, everyone else paled in comparison. When he experiences defeat, however, Gilgamesh grows as a leader, seeing the similarities between him and his subjects, their common humanity.

    Read More

  • Examples Of Admirability In The Odyssey

    415 Words  | 2 Pages

    First of all, Odysseus can be exceedingly prideful. As a matter of fact, the majority of the unfortunate events in “The Odyssey” can be traced back to this hamartia. For example, if Odysseus hadn’t blinded Polyphemus, he wouldn’t have been cursed by Poseidon. According to Mahatma Gandhi, “An eye for

    Read More

  • Argumentative Essay On The Odyssey

    415 Words  | 2 Pages

    This pride of his is what got him and his men into their situation in the first place. It is obvious in the book and the movie that everything that happened could have been prevented if Odysseus would not have tried to take all the credit for the defeat of the Trojans. During the movie and the book Odysseus’s arrogance, ego, and pride get in the way of him and his men getting home. If it weren't for him they could have all made it home to Ithaca instead of just Odysseus by himself twenty years after he first left

    Read More

  • Impulsiveness In The Odyssey

    856 Words  | 4 Pages

    In the beginning of the book Odysseus is impulsive and arrogant. After Odysseus blinds and defeats the Cyclops, he cannot contain himself. Out of pure impulsiveness and the inability to be humble, Odysseus yells out to the Cyclops, “If any man on the face of the earth should ask you/ who blinded you, shamed you do so–say Odysseus,/raider of cities, he gouged out your eye,/Laertes’ son who makes his home in Ithaca!” (Homer 9.556-562). Odysseus is so impulsive he has to scream out his name to the gods and the Cyclops.

    Read More

  • Odysseus As An Effective Leader In Homer's The Odyssey

    368 Words  | 2 Pages

    In Homer’s The Odyssey, Odysseus is an effective leader in chapter twelve. A leader who has too much pride is now showing too much humbleness for what’s important by following all the things he has told to do to save his crew and himself. He does what he is told to do to save his crew and keep them safe. “ But now, fearing death , all eyes fixed on Charybdis now Scylla snatched six men from our hollow ship, the toughest, strongest hands I had, and glancing backwards over the decks, searching or my crew I could see their hands and feet already hoisted, failing, high, higher, over my head, look wailing down at me, comrades riven in agony.

    Read More

  • Similarities Between Gilgamesh And Achilles

    961 Words  | 4 Pages

    In comparison, it’s always observed on how different scholars find the similarity of especially marital settings, characters, and as well as the wanderings of the mythological world. Different events within the life of these characters cover broadly a huge range of epic encounters that are heroic. The character, emotional and psychological development of Gilgamesh can be borrowed especially from the ancient heroic perspectives of mortality and death while comparing with Achilles. Mesopotamian civilization has had several phases in which hero Gilgamesh has been in existence, however having similar attributes. One of the earliest stories of Gilgamesh is developed from Sumerian texts, one of the most influential and well-known poems (Michelakis & Pantelis 2007).

    Read More

  • Odysseus Character Development Essay

    591 Words  | 3 Pages

    Just as Achilles is confronted in the Iliad with the problem of balancing his honor with his pride, Odysseus repeatedly faces situations in which self-restraint and humility must check bravado and glory-seeking. In his early adventures, he fails these tests, as when he taunts Polyphemus, inflaming Poseidon. As the epic progresses, Odysseus becomes increasingly capable of judging when it is wise to reveal himself and when it is appropriate to rejoice in his

    Read More

  • Similarities Between Gilgamesh And The Odyssey

    1343 Words  | 6 Pages

    As a result, Enkidu was created to stop Gilgamesh from his tyranny and make him humble. The gods did not themselves directly step in to discipline Gilgamesh, instead they used another creation, Enkidu. However, when Gilgamesh and his new friend and partner killed Humbaba and the bull of Heaven, the gods, without any creation as medium, intervened directly this time by killing one of them (Epic of Gilgamesh, 132). In “The Odyssey,” on the other hand, Homer portrayed the interactions between the gods and the mortals as being strictly direct.

    Read More

  • How Does People Change Gilgamesh

    719 Words  | 3 Pages

    People Change People The Epic of Gilgamesh is a tale read throughout time about the ancient King of Uruk, Gilgamesh. Gilgamesh is a selfish king who is stronger than any man because he is two parts God and one part human. With his strength, Gilgamesh abuses his power causing the people of Uruk to lament. Hearing these laments, the Gods created Enkidu for Gilgamesh, to be his equal in all aspects.

    Read More

  • Ideal Heroic King In Epic Of Gilgamesh

    902 Words  | 4 Pages

    The Epic of Gilgamesh gives a lot of insight to what was happening and what was expected in ancient Mesopotamia. The epic poem which revolves around a king, includes many details in to the civilization, beliefs, and values of the Mesopotamians. The king thrives to be remembered and many of his actions reflect that. The Epic of Gilgamesh show how an ideal heroic king should be in ancient Mesopotamia. The first thing it shows us is that hero kings should be strong.

    Read More

  • Gilgamesh: Relevant Truth For Today's Society

    1067 Words  | 5 Pages

    The Epic of Gilgamesh: Relevant Truth for Today’s Society The Epic of Gilgamesh is set in Uruk, an ancient city of the ancient Mesopotamian civilization of Sumer, now modern-day Iraq. The epic was said to be written by Sin-liqe-unninni, but it is based on five earlier Sumerian poems with no known author. The piece was difficult to translate, and there are two main version for the Epic of Gilgamesh. This is the result of the environment during the time the piece was being written.

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast The Epic Of Gilgamesh

    991 Words  | 4 Pages

    The Epic of Gilgamesh is the first epic poem to be written in ancient West Asia. It was written around the third millennium BCE in Mesopotamia by Sumerian people (Spodek, 127). The epic is based on actual an historical figure, a Sumerian king who reigned the city-state of Uruk around third millennium BCE. Ashurbanipal, the last Neo-Assyrian king who was literate, built a great library in his capital and preserved 20,000 tablets including the earliest complete version of The Epic of Gilgamesh (Spodek, 128). Sumerian attitudes towards gods, friendship, and the story of the great flood are revealed throughout the epic.

    Read More

  • Epic Of Gilgamesh Suffering

    1147 Words  | 5 Pages

    Human suffering is one of the major themes in The Epic of Gilgamesh. When confronting with painful circumstances in our lives, we often ask ourselves why is life so difficult and wonder if suffering is necessary. In the Epic of Gilgamesh, the two heroes, Gilgamesh and Enkidu both go through suffering either physically or mentally. There are many beliefs to the reason why suffering is inevitable. In this epic, it is portrayed that the two heroes’ sufferings are the results of their fundamental flaws, such as their hubris and their attachments of to be remembered.

    Read More

More about Comparing Odyssey, Gilgamesh, And The Ramayana

Open Document