Both the Roman and the Greeks respected and feared their gods. Aeneas had gods helping and hindering him. ... Although many people have cited Achilles as having superhuman strength and various other physical attributes, he appears to be lacking the qualities of a real Homeric Epic Hero. A Homeric Epic Hero must demonstrate all of the following three requirements in order for them to truly be considered an Epic Hero. ... Achilles might have conceivably had the slimmest chances of possibly being consider as a remote choice as the Homeric Epic Hero if he had given up Hector's body right away...

• Word Count: 2104
• Approx Pages: 8
• Grade Level: High School

However, the gods transfigure him and when he shows himself on the battlefield the Trojans pull back and the Achaians escape. ... In his grief over his friend, Achilles has been dishonoring the body of Hector, but the gods have kept it from mutilation. ... Priam is secretly guided by the gods to Achilles to request his son's body in exchange for a great ransom. ... Achilles embodies the characteristics of the Homeric Hero, particularly in his apparent lack of character and control and his lust for fame. ... Besides pride, Achilles like many other Homeric heroes is driven primarily by an i...

• Word Count: 2208
• Approx Pages: 9
• Grade Level: High School

Odysseus, a former war hero, is regarded as the epitome of a Homeric leader. ... Though Odysseus" wit and loyalty is heavily emphasized throughout this poem, what would a Homeric hero be without the advantage of superior human strength? ... However these two heroes might be different, they still have something in common their connection with Gods. ... This topic of divine intervention leads us to the question: Do heroes possess any power within themselves or are they merely human examples of the power of Gods? ...

• Word Count: 1327
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

But I shall make my way to Ithaca, so that I may stir up his son a little, and put some confidence in him Book I:81-95 This journey takes Telemachus to Pylos and Sparta where Nestor and Menelaus teach Telemachus how to act as a mature man, including learning how act around elders, how to construct appropriate speech, knowing when and when not to speak, and he learns about the Gods. ... In the Homeric world females were seen as occupying inside the house, they only rarely left the house. ... Telemachus learns about speaking and doing, talking and keeping silent and he also learns a...

• Word Count: 1835
• Approx Pages: 7
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

Like Arete, who is said to look like a god, many other beautiful and high-born women are compared to the gods. " Penelope the Wise, tall in her beauty as Artemis or pale-gold Aphrodite, appeared from her high chamber and came down to throw her arms around her son" (Homer p.318).This adds to the glorification of women in The Odyssey. ... Even the dead women Odysseus meets in "the cold homes of death" (Homer p.326), are only known because they were the lovers of gods, and bore their children. ... Most of the descriptions given to the many women that Odysseus sees in the land of the dead merely d...

• Word Count: 1272
• Approx Pages: 5
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

Another way the reader can differentiate a hero from a mere mortal is by the help that he receives from the gods. The gods intervene on the side of a hero and give him whatever aid is necessary to achieve victory. ... The aid of the gods Zeus and Apollo enhanced Hector's abilities on the battlefield. Hector is protected by the gods and thus realizes that he is virtually invincible. ... Each one of these characters demonstrates the Homeric ideal of excellence. ...

• Word Count: 1707
• Approx Pages: 7
• Grade Level: High School

Heracles is the son of Zeus, king of the gods, and Alcmena, a mortal woman. Zeus was married to Hera, queen of the gods, at the time so Hera did not like Heracles (Although his name means "glory of Hera"). ... These lessons gave him all he needed to survive his encounters with the many beasts and gods that he faced. ... "Heracles is, basically, not a heroic figure in the Homeric sense: just as he is a savage clad in a skin; and his main job is to tame and bring back the animals which are eaten by man" (Classical Mythology pp. 539). ...

• Word Count: 1295
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

Unlike Homeric gods, who are controlled by human emotions, Plato sees this Demiurge as the purest and most perfect being, void of malice and evil ("Plato: Political Philosophy." par. 18). ... Plato's Demiurge resembles the Christian God, since both Gods are all mighty, omnipresent and created everything that came to be. ...

• Word Count: 1264
• Approx Pages: 5
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

The Olympians : Are descended from the primal, self created gods, begining with Kaos. ... The oldest myths can be traced to three main sources: Homer, Hesiod and The Homeric Hymns, circa 800 b.c.e. ... Being gods they were unharmed. ... Typhoeus was so fearsome that most of the gods fled. ... By this device he called in the gods to settle problems. ...

• Word Count: 2001
• Approx Pages: 8
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

Once you realize the costs (lament)along with the benefits(labors) of war, you can finally address the Homeric riddle - What is the price of a human life? ... (viii 75-80) This is contrasted with the 2nd song of Demodokos, one which didn't involve Odysseus but was yet another mini-narrative about the Gods and how they agreed on ransom for the dispute over the body of Ares. ...

• Word Count: 1313
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

However in the back ground there are always divine powers evil as well as good, such as gods and goddesses. ... Moreover, the abundant and frequent allusions to classical mythology and literature, to Biblical mythology to contemporary literatures, frequent Latinism and inversions, and above all the frequent use of Homeric similes, idioms of the other tongue, all contribute to the sublimity and grandeur of Milton's style. ...

• Word Count: 1662
• Approx Pages: 7
• Grade Level: High School