Epic Heroes: Odysseus and Harry Potter The Odyssey by Homer tells the story of Odysseus, a young man who spends twenty years of his life from the people he loves. After a ten-year war, he and his companions fight to come home to Ithaca, but are continuously stalled by ferocious monsters and captivating goddesses. Odysseus serves as the model for an epic hero. An epic hero is a man who represents all ideal characteristics such as honor and strength in a nation of race. Though this idea comes from an ancient story, it is still relevant to modern popular culture. One example of a modern-day epic hero is Harry Potter. A hero created by J. K. Rowling for The Harry Potter series, Harry Potter clearly shares many characteristics with Odysseus. Odysseus
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For instance, when the beautiful Circe asks Odysseus to bring his men into her home, Odysseus, “being a man . . . could not help consenting” (10.114). Like every other mortal man during this time period in the epic, Odysseus cannot resist an immortal woman so enchantingly attractive. He has not been around women for two decades and is eager for a woman to keep him company. In addition, after Harry begins his new life at Hogwarts, he finds the Mirror of Erised which shows him and his parents standing together as a family. This magical mirror shows the one wish a person desires above all. For Harry, he wants his parents back. He has not seen his parents since he was a baby and longs for their love and support. Not only do Odysseus and Harry experience feelings of human desires and longings, Odysseus and Harry also use their brains to solve …show more content…
For example, in order for him and his surviving men to escape the land of the Cyclopes, Odysseus “slung a man underneath each middle [sheep] to ride there safely, shielded left and right” (9.337-339). By hanging each man under the middle of three sheep, they will be safe from Polyphemus’s hands as he pats and rubs each sheep before he lets them go to the grassy fields. Polyphemus will only feel thick wool and not the human skin between them. Also, when Hagrid blurts out important information to Harry, Hermione, and Ron, Harry uses the information to conclude that one of the Sorcerer’s Stone’s defences is no longer protecting the stone. Harry uses his brains and the details he is given to assume that the hooded figure who gives Hagrid a dragon egg uses Hagrid to find more information on how to get past Fluffy. To Harry, it is not coincidental that the one object Hagrid wants most in the world is suddenly given to him in exchange for details about Fluffy. Besides their intelligent minds, they are also the type of people to protect their
For instance, when the beautiful Circe asks Odysseus to bring his men into her home, Odysseus, “being a man . . . could not help consenting” (10.114). Like every other mortal man during this time period in the epic, Odysseus cannot resist an immortal woman so enchantingly attractive. He has not been around women for two decades and is eager for a woman to keep him company. In addition, after Harry begins his new life at Hogwarts, he finds the Mirror of Erised which shows him and his parents standing together as a family. This magical mirror shows the one wish a person desires above all. For Harry, he wants his parents back. He has not seen his parents since he was a baby and longs for their love and support. Not only do Odysseus and Harry experience feelings of human desires and longings, Odysseus and Harry also use their brains to solve …show more content…
For example, in order for him and his surviving men to escape the land of the Cyclopes, Odysseus “slung a man underneath each middle [sheep] to ride there safely, shielded left and right” (9.337-339). By hanging each man under the middle of three sheep, they will be safe from Polyphemus’s hands as he pats and rubs each sheep before he lets them go to the grassy fields. Polyphemus will only feel thick wool and not the human skin between them. Also, when Hagrid blurts out important information to Harry, Hermione, and Ron, Harry uses the information to conclude that one of the Sorcerer’s Stone’s defences is no longer protecting the stone. Harry uses his brains and the details he is given to assume that the hooded figure who gives Hagrid a dragon egg uses Hagrid to find more information on how to get past Fluffy. To Harry, it is not coincidental that the one object Hagrid wants most in the world is suddenly given to him in exchange for details about Fluffy. Besides their intelligent minds, they are also the type of people to protect their