Odysseus vs. Achilles: What makes a hero?

The characters Odysseus and Achilles were two great warriors who were renowned for very different reasons. Odysseus for his quick wit, cunning, and wisdom, which led to the end of the ten year Trojan War; and Achilles for his fierceness, determination, and skill on the battlefield, which led to massive numbers of casualties on the Trojan side. Both men wound up larger than life with heroes tales, but they went about it in vastly different ways. As the chronologically straightforward plot in The Iliad suggests, its hero Achilles is also very direct and straightforward. He isn’t much on planning, choosing instead to rush in headstrong and fight to the end. He can afford to do this as he’s virtually incapable of being killed. Some would say he cannot therefore be a hero, as heroism requires the possibility of the loss of ones own life, but Achilles was war

. . .

View the whole essay, without interruption

On his voyage home he learns that wisdom is best served with patience. Achilles wanted to die in battle with a glorious name for himself, but he was actually catapulted back into the war to avenge the death of his murdered friend Patroclus. His men, lacking both, cannot make it home. As humans with a desire to live long lives, we want to model ourselves after Odysseus.

While Achilles is an epic hero who wins fame by daring and courageous acts in war, Odysseus is a more likeable hero as we can relate to his struggles in life and the many choices he must make. It was only by accident and divine intervention that the foolish Paris felled Achilles with an arrow to his unprotected heel. The story of Odysseus is told in a jumping about manner that reflects the way his life was lived.

It isn’t easy to compare the two lives completely equally as we don’t know what Odysseus’ life is like in the afterlife, but it’s safe to say that he didn’t feel like his life was squandered on making a name for himself. He knows he will die and he does so in a blaze of glory, killing every Trojan that crosses his path including the killer of his dear friend Patroclus, the great Trojan warrior Hector. Odysseus manages to live to see home again because he uses his mind to get out of jams. ned that his life would indeed be taken if he reentered the war, he chose death. Achilles has a strong code of ethics that he dies by, Odysseus a strong code that he lives by. And while many of us have something or someone we would probably die for, we would much rather come up with a really good plan to have our cake and eat it too!

. This could all seem well and good for Achilles’ plans for fame except that we find out in The Odyssey that Achilles is regretting his decision to die young and glorious as he lives a useless and uneventful life in Hades. Never is his intelligence questioned, rather his impetuousness.

Approximate Word count = 577
Approximate Pages = 2 (250 words per page double spaced)

Simply subscribe to view this paper, and 100,000 others.

CREDIT CARD	ONLINE CHECK



JOIN BY PHONE

Members get exclusive access to over 100,000 essays.

Join Now

Don't pay per page, get instant access to the whole database.

Essay's Topics