In Homer's The Odyssey, Odysseus portrays the perfect Homeric hero in possessing all the defining traits of an admirable hero and leader. ... His personal flaws and errors in his transgressions that bring about the tribulations in the Odyssey epic depict a human being instead of a god, making his many heroic successes and triumphs even more admirable. ... The Odyssey continues to exemplify his heroic traits in the epic of his homecoming. ...

• Word Count: 885
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

"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. ... The Odyssey tells the story ...

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

The tension between civilization and savagery lies at the heart of this play. Each character experiences the competing impulses that exist within all human beings: the instinct to live morally, act peacefully, follow the true and the good or the instinct to satisfy one's immediate desires, act viole...

• Word Count: 2877
• Approx Pages: 12
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate