Heroism In The Odyssey And The Epic Of Gilgamesh

A hero is an individual who is admired for his or her brave acts or for their fine individual qualities. The Odyssey and The Epic of Gilgamesh’s main protagonists are heroes. However, one of the main characters falls short from being a true hero, making him unworthy of the title.
The Epic of Gilgamesh begins with a long exaltation about Gilgamesh—the epic’s main protagonist—¬hero attributes. The author uses direct exposition to describe Gilgamesh, as a hero and a godlike character. He does this to set the story and to avoid misinterpretations, or doubts about Gilgamesh champion standing when he writes: hero status is well established at the beginning when the The writer establishes from the start the protagonist’s godlike mighty and power …show more content…
Gilgamesh was a severe ruler who took advantage of the people of Uruk. Because of his oppression, particularly the issue about him mating with women before they could marry their husbands, the people pleaded the gods to intervene to better their situation under their king. Individuals’ outlooks of those who they admire are what determine if someone is a hero or not. Gilgamesh as a hero can be disputed because most of his actions, although brave and worthy of recognition, only fed his ego, desires, and power. That is not to say that Gilgamesh did not go through the traditional hero’s journey cycle thus becoming a hero, but to those oppressed by him he was nothing but a severe …show more content…
He was respected and admired; he truly was a hero for those who followed him. A good example of his courage example is when his journey took him to Hades. Although he wept and felt deep distress, he was able not only to accomplish the task, but to also motivate his men to follow him to the realm of the dead. Another example where Odysseus showed great leadership, cleverness, and heroism was during the multiple battles at Troy, especially during the construct of the Trojan horse, which allowed them to get access to the city and win against the Trojans. Finally, the most relevant example is when, after he had hit rock bottom and had lost it all, to include his confidence he was able to get it together and defeat the suitors. This is important because is what bring to a close the conflict in the story. Odysseus has been away from home too long and was worried about his family’s well-being and that they might no longer be waiting for him, or had fallen victims of the suitors. Therefore he needed to be a hero for those he cares the most, his