Comparing The Hero's Journey And The Epic Of Gilgamesh

The stasimon gives an example of the dangers of disobeying the laws of the gods. The household of Labdakos is cursed because he disobeyed the laws of the gods. The stasimon closes with a tribute to the god Zeus praising his incredible power. In the third stasimon, the power of Zeus is also described as full of mystery and unavoidable. Dionysus is also described punishing the child of Dryas for disobeying him.

The idea of fate is a phenomenon that has been debated on for centuries for what the actual degree of validity may be. Some will argue there is no such thing and others will argue fate is the very thing they live by. It is important to note that in the play Oedipus the King, Sophocles uses the idea of fate to sway the readers ' feelings about Oedipus’ death one way or another. Oedipus makes crucial mistakes in that he commits crimes no person should even after warning from the gods, but also his combination of unethical actions in his kingdom ultimately insures his demise. For someone that made such a minimal effort to avoid this fate handed down by the gods, it is only fitting he suffered the fate he received.

The person vs. supernatural conflict comes from the fact that many, especially the family of Antigone, are cursed by the gods and their fate is destructive. The major themes/ideas within the production are: civil disobedience (Antigone disobeying the King and the law of Thebes), pride (Creon makes a law that he sees as divine and believes should not be disobeyed by anyone and is later punished for it), Immortal Law vs. Mortal Law (Antigone choses divine law over a law made by man), and Women in Society (the role of women in the patriarchal society in Antigone is very reserved and subordinate to men and Antigone challenges this expectation while Ismene and other women believe they should not risk the wrath of men). There are no subplots in this

It could be said that he is not a hero because after he defeats Polyphemus, he yells to him, “If I could take your life I would and take your time away, and hurl you down to hell! The god of earthquake could not heal you there!”(479-481). By saying this, he was challenging a god and belittling Poseidon's power, which does not aline with Greek values. Still, this does not make Odysseus less of a hero. What he said was wrong, but he was punished and he changed his ways.

His story tells us that man can do his best, but even then, he cannot overcome the inevitable fate. Oedipus eventually sees the truth of his life, so Sophocles hammers home his point by having the king stab out his own eyes. Oedipus says he does this because he can no longer look at the evil that his actions have created. “crying out that they should never see him again, nor what he suffered nor the evil he did, nor look on those they should not— but only darkness, forever” (1271-74). Oedipus literally becomes the thing he's always been: blind.

Macbeth is a doer, his deeds and his reaction to them define where he is as a character, because of his lukewarm morals and ability to be influenced by others, he - through the course of the play - becomes desensitized and detached to reality. Macbeth’s morals are characteristically unimpressive. At the beginning of the tragedy, he knows right from wrong and understands that his actions should be thought through logically. However, Macbeth does not follow this logical thinking and relies on emotions for his true decision making.

James Galetti Professor Russell Western Heritage 1 05 October 2016 Is Achilles’ rage justified? In the Iliad, the character of Achilles has numerous character flaws that cause him to have blinded judgement towards his actions as well as shutting out everyone around within the epic poem. Achilles’ rage keeps him from being the hero that we were supposed to see him as.

Oedipus did not accept what was being told to him. Teiresias spoke truthfully yet Oedipus became angry and spiteful, sending Teiresias away. Not a word that was told to Oedipus was considered my him, proving his blindness and lack of consideration towards the situation. Referring back to his self blinding, Oedipus at that time had succumbed to a horrifying act instead of accepting what was shared. The news came tumbling down and his actions were severe.

“Man is not good. In his heart, he is desperately wicked. No one seeks God. Therefore, the blame for evil is placed squarely on the one who commits it - man” (Allen). Humans have different tendencies of evilness in them.

The Greek mythical hero Heracles can be seen as a very problematic character. In light of Heracles’ legends, his status as a man, hero, and god is highly controversial. There are several factors that are necessary to look at to explore why he is so problematic: his birth; his character and actions; the attitude of the Gods towards him; the twelve labours; and his death and afterlife. The birth of Heracles initially begins why he is very problematic as it introduces a constant feature of his story; the hostility of Hera.

A Fight For What You Believe In “Tell me briefly- not in some lengthy speech were you aware there was a proclamation forbidding what you did?” Antigone’s words, actions and ideas differ with Creon’s character to the point of these two characters having clashing desires. The clashing desires cause the characteristics of controlling, worry, and bitterness that’s highlighted within Creon’s character. Overall, these conflicting motivations develop Creon as a tragic hero by his stubbornness and his pride is way too high and the conflict with Antigone and the battle between the “Laws of the gods” and the “Laws of man.” Antigone’s words, actions and ideas differ to Creon’s character because she does what is more right for the “Laws of man” in differentiation to Creon, he’s he believes in the “Laws of the gods.”

For a start, The Epic of Gilgamesh was a story about a king named Gilgamesh, who ruled a city called Uruk around 2700 BC. Gilgamesh traveled the world, seeking to find a way to cheat death. Then on his journey, he came upon an old man, Utnapishtim. This man informs Gilgamesh of a story from centuries ago; the gods brought a flood that devoured the earth. The gods were angry at mankind, so that is why they sent the flood to destroy them.

The epic poem “Epic of Gilgamesh” is about a hero’s journey. First, one should know that Gilgamesh was once a selfish king that ruled over Uruk. When his best friend Enkidu dies, he realizes that he is mortal, so he goes on a journey to look for immortality (Sandars). In my opinion, heroes should always show loyalty and show respect to all classes of people. If the hero doesn’t show respect in the beginning, he will grow and will later on show much more respect.

Achilles and Gilgamesh were both recognized as heroes in their society as we see in Mesopotamian’s “Epic of Gilgamesh” and Homer’s “Iliad.” Achilles was gifted as a child with invulnerability and became an extreme warrior who conquered cities and became an iconic hero among his fellow Achaians. Gilgamesh was born “Two thirds god, one third human” he becomes an epic hero through the triumph of his battles. Both Gilgamesh and Achilles were born semi-divine and experience conflict with their immortality. In “The Epic of Gilgamesh” Gilgamesh says, “I began to fear death, and so roam the wilderness” (Sandars, 10.61-72).

Because he is of the gods and valiant, Gilgamesh is greatly glorified as a true hero. In the beginning of The Epic of Gilgamesh, the narrator states, “ Gilgamesh, who is two-thirds god, and one-thirds man, is handsome, courageous and powerful (Sandars 139). Gilgamesh is immediately characterized as a great and powerful figure. He was known in Uruk for his heroism and pride, and had abilities and powers beyond imaginable. When the people became tired of Gilgamesh, the gods sent him a match.