Odysseus and Gilgamesh are heroes from different time periods who are in search of life meaning. Both characters is depicted in epics that took place in the early Mesopotamia for Gilgamesh and Odyssey in the early Greece. Gilgamesh is known to be popular due to its revealing of the history of Mesopotamia culture, its religion and attitudes towards the gods. It also shows their perspective of a hero, death, and friendship (Michaux, 2003). Odyssey, on the other hand, was known during its time too. The setting was that of the ancient Greece and culture showed how mythology was the everyday heart of life. It showed how culture twisted into mythology in order to illustrate the different perspectives that did not have explanations scientifically which was critical in the Odyssey epic. The preparation of this essay will focus entirely on the heroes of the two epics showing their differences with illustrations from the epic stories (Crane, 1987).
Despite them having similarities too in the stories the essay will mainly concentrate on the differences depicted and expressed in the epics. Gilgamesh is a character from the Gilgamesh epic story who was known to the king of Uruk in Babylonia. It is found at the river Euphrates which is currently known as Iraq. The setting is that of around 2700B.C (Michaux, 2003). Odysseus on the other hand is a hero character in the Odysseus epic. He was a hero and a ruler of the Ithaca kingdom considered as a Greek leader who was prominent during the Trojan War. Gilgamesh and Odysseus were considered men of abilities that were superior over other men. Tremendous physical strength was known to be that of Gilgamesh while mental strength was that of Odysseus (Crane, 1987).
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In the beginning of the story, it is seen that Gilgamesh had some compassion for the people of Uruk due to his self-confidence which was a great attribute. He was also referred to more of a king rather than a protector because he would engage in actions such as the killing of their sons and raping of daughters which led the people to be fearful of him as a protector. The reason as to why he did all the negative things was because he saw himself as a superior being as compared to the rest of them (Michaux, 2003). He was born of a goddess mother known as Ninsun who was two-thirds a god and a third human, therefore, making him a god two-thirds which is superior to a human. On the other hand, Odysseus is not a god and therefore that is where the difference is seen. Gilgamesh was a hero who thought of himself highly and he considered himself the most courageous and terrifying than everyone in Uruk despite his actions which are like that of a mortal man (Michaux, 2003).
It is seen that eventually, he experiences everything just like a mortal including death itself. Odysseus is a hero whose character was mainly being very self-confident too but was known for his cunning and clever abilities. He was very eloquent in his speech and was considered a “hero of a thousand disguises”. As a husband, he was very loyal with a focus to return home (Crane, 1987).
Temptations, trials, and tribulations come his way but he was always focused on his end goal and therefore could not blur his focus. He was a man filled with passion for acquiring knowledge and yearned for an experience. Despite his focus on always going back home, he always yearned for another quest just to gain knowledge and experience. The epic gives a clear description of his wandering nature throughout the story. It shows how much he was highly regarded and respected from the beginning of the story to the end unlike Gilgamesh (Crane, 1987).
Odysseus was in the beginning just like Gilgamesh was an anti-hero. He showed some selfish aspects when he would disguise in order to gain most from disreputable ends. There are some classical Greeks and Romans who would see him as selfish as depicted in the beginning. Despite that, in most of the epic’s narration, Odysseus is seen as a man who is determined to make an impact in the society. It is through his knowledge that he was able to impact to his people which were a positive thing. The epic shows that Odysseus great attribute of being a wanderer was helpful to the Ithaca kingdom. It shows how much he had self-control despite the temptations he faced he stayed true to his focus and did not jeopardies his rule as the ruler (Crane, 1987).
Gilgamesh, on the other hand, was known to be strong physically and it is seen through his heroism during the war but he did not protect his people from himself. Due to his cruelty towards the children of his kingdom and raping of women made people perceive him as king and not a protector. He was a king because he led his kingdom to victories during wars but did not protect them internally (Michaux, 2003).
It is seen that Mesopotamia valued the existence of gods hence Gilgamesh considering himself superior to the rest because his mother was a two-thirds goddess. On another hand, the Greeks considered themselves as people who seek knowledge and they would wonder around to collect that information. The two culture were quite different and it is seen through their leaders and the attributes they possess (Nagy, 2006). Through this comparison, we learn that cultures define what people look up to. In Mesopotamia, it is seen that the heroes are those that are considered favored by the gods or are gods not considering their actions upon those whom they lead. According to the Greek’s culture, we see that they value knowledge and therefore they look up to people who value knowledge in the same way and have some intellectual capacity. Therefore culture is critical in an environment because it shapes people perspectives (Nagy, 2006).
In conclusion, the two were heroes because they used their different abilities to help their kingdoms as kings but they are different in the way people perceive them. Odysseus was considered a hero who impacted is his people positively without any negative actions. On the other hand Gilgamesh helped his people win wars but did not help them improve their lives instead he treated them like less people. He did not care because he had too much self-confidence that led him to treat others wrongly.
References
Crane, G. (1987). The" Odyssey" and Conventions of the Heroic Quest. Classical Antiquity , 6 (1), 11-37.
Michaux, G. (2003). Gilgamesh and Homer. A comparative study of motif sets, distinctions and similarities. Mathesis , 12 , 9-25.
Nagy, G. (2006). The epic hero. on-line version] Available: http://chs. harvard. edu/publications/. Washington, DC: Center for Hellenic Studies .
