"A man paints with his brains and not with his hands" - Michelangelo While the famous artist Michelangelo might have been employing the word "paint" literally when he crafted this quote, when taken in a more abstract sense, the words of wisdom echo a theme developed hundreds of years earlier and immortalized in The Odyssey - the idea that prowess of the mind is far superior to that of the body (or its impulses). Throughout the text, The Odyssey presents a dichotomy of early Greek values---Athenian traits as opposed to Poseidon qualities. ... As the narrative continues o...

• Word Count: 792
• Approx Pages: 3
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

Numerous themes in The Odyssey are conveyed through the character of Telemachus, however, Odysseus" son especially represents the cultural importance of hospitality. ... (Odyssey 54). ... (Odyssey 5). ... (Odyssey" . ... Hospitality reveals itself as a domineering factor in the way characters act and the way characters are treated in the Odyssey. ...

• Word Count: 1626
• Approx Pages: 7
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

The Aeneid is not a mere plagiarism of Homer's Iliad and Odyssey. ... This is evidenced in book VI of the Aeneid, which superficially seems like a complete imitation of book XI of the Odyssey. ... Theonoe, the other strong female character in Helen, deceives her brother into thinking she knows nothing of Menelaus being alive and in Egypt. ... These rather unflattering portrayals of women are tempered, however, by contrasting them with the male characters of the plays. ...

• Word Count: 707
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

The first known poems in the classical epic tradition were the two Homeric epics: The Iliad and The Odyssey. Although the authorship of The Iliad and The Odyssey are traditionally attributed to Homer, both poems were actually formed through the oral tradition (Beye 3). ... Even if Homer was the initial narrator of both epics, The Iliad and The Odyssey would have undergone many changes with each recitation (7). ... This is most apparent through the character Achilles in The Iliad. ... The entire epic is an allegory: each character represents a virtue and each setting represents a place. ...

• Word Count: 1343
• Approx Pages: 5
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate