Honor And Glory In The Odyssey

The Greek concepts of the epic hero was always in the goal of having glory and honor. That was the only thing a hero wanted in life. The only way to gain honor and glory is on the battlefield. In Greek tragedies the hero had everything they wanted, but through their own hubris, they ruin their lives and finally recognize what they have done. Honor and glory was the biggest thing in the whole world for the Greek hero. It was something that gave their lives meaning. Staying home with a family was not something that you would ever do because it wouldn’t give you any honor. For example, Achilles was an undefeated warrior that won many battles for the Greeks. He would not fight for the Greeks after he had his Briseis was taken away from an oracle

Odysseus is the opposite of Achilles in the way that Achilles uses brute strength where Odysseus uses his wit. For example, when Odysseus comes back to Ithaca there are many suitors waiting for his wife. He poses as a beggar and when waits until he is alone with them and is the only one armed. He defeats all the suitors and takes his wife back. In Greek tragedies the three main elements are the reversal of fortune, arrogance/mistakes, and recognition. For example, Oedipus, the king of thieves, kills his father, Laius, and marries his mother, Jocasta. He was arrogant because he thought he could get away from his fate and instead does the thing that he was running away from. After they figured out what actually happened. Jocasta kills herself and Oedipus blinds himself because he knows what he has

Achilles is so enraged that he does not care for glory or honor instead it is all about revenge. He goes to try and destroys everything in his path and kills Hector. Hector asks him for a proper burial, but Achilles does not care and instead drags him through the dust. Achilles finally relents, when Priam asks for Hector’s body. Achilles reenters society with Priam by giving hospitality to Priam. Odysseus at first is proud and would not be patient at all. He tells Polyphemus, who he is and so Poseidon punishes him and his army because Poseidon is Polyphemus’ father. When Odysseus comes home, he does not say who he is outright instead he waits till he gets the upper hand and destroys all the other suitors. These changes are important because they start for glory and honor like most Greek heroes do, but in the end they get rid of their honor and pride and instead go for their own personal desires. The Iliad teaches us about how gruesome war is and that it is something that is terrible, but it has always been there and there is no way around it. The Odyssey teaches us that pride and honor can destroy a person and being patient is a virtue that is worth having. The Greeks believed that in the end justice would emerge and that good would always triumph. They also believed that in war they must respect each fighter and give them a swift