When odyseus disguises himself as a beggar while he is home again shows much intelligence. This is so because his once ruled land with all his people loving him is now filled with enemies. Also his return might be too sudden that people might not believe him, so he must prove in a way that it is truly him. This is proven in the The Odyssey when the epic says, “Because his home is full of enemies, she advises him to proceed disguised as a beggar” This is found in The Odyssey Page 32 Lines 2-3. This quote shows that Odyseus uses his intelligence to protect himself from his enemies, and to think of a way to convince penelope that it is him, and not anyone fake.
He also used his guile on Calypso. After a long stay in Calypso’s “Warm Caves” she was not willing to allow Odysseus to return home. So after Zeus left her without a choice, She came up with the idea of tricking him into insulting her, so that she could make him stay. So she asked him, “How could she be more interesting, more beautiful, than me a goddess?”(V) Odysseus, being the clever man that he is answered her, “My lady Goddess, there is no cause for anger. /My quiet Penelope - whom I know so well, would seem a shade before your majesty.”(V) Odysseus knew that he couldn’t lie to Calypso because she was a goddess, so he told her what she wanted to hear; That she was indeed prettier than Penelope, but notice there was a second issue in her question and he neglected to address it.
Yet while Caesar may not be unduly power-hungry, he does possess his share of flaws. He is unable to separate his public life from his private life, and, seduced by the populace’s increasing idealization and idolization of his image, he ignores ill omens and threats against his life, believing himself as eternal as the North Star. Antony - A friend of Caesar. Antony claims allegiance to Brutus and the conspirators after Caesar’s death in order to save his own life. Later, however, when speaking a funeral oration over Caesar’s body, he spectacularly persuades the audience to withdraw its support of Brutus and instead condemn him as a traitor.
He does not listen to Teiresias’ warning. Teiresias tells Creon to make right of his abuse of power by granting proper burial rights and freeing Antigone from her impending death. Teiresias warns Creon that his corruption, stubbornness, and disregard for citizen’s rights is an abuse of his power. Because Teiresias is always right, Creon eventually decides to listen to him. This conflict proves the quote true because Creon disrespects the gods because of his new power.
The means to reach such condition can be the wealth, as in The Jew of Malta, an earthly crown, as in Tamburlaine the Great, or the knowledge without limits, as in Doctor Faustus. The condition of ‘superman‘ is always deceptive because, after reaching it, Faustus realizes he has been deceived. He eventually realizes the vanity of his power; he is prey to terror, he is desperate and implores the pity of God. The man who wanted to be a superman, after reaching that condition, tries vainly to return to his human condition. Everything is useless; the parable of his life has run its entire course: a man he was raised to a superman, a superman he falls into a sub-human condition.
Glory, or kleos, is a recurring theme in Homeric epics. We see many instances of the heros value for glory, and the story focuses largely on the obstacles our hero must overcome to attain it. The parallels and contrasts of the stories serve to highlight the main points Homer had in mind in his understanding of what kleos in fact is. In both cases, our heroes are all unaware of whether or not their kin is alive. Agamemnon does not know where Orestes is and vice versa, and analogously, Odysseus does not know where Telemachus is, and vice versa.
He believes the city is suffering because the murderer of king Laius has not been discovered and punished. He says, “I swear by Apollo that I will bring this to light again” (50-51). In his pride, he is sure he can solve the problems of Thebes. Oedipus’ arrogance continues to grow in the middle of the play. Teiresias says, “All of you here know nothing, and I will not bring our troubles to the light of day” (98-99).
Although Venus’ protection of her son in Book one is praiseworthy, she is as manipulative of humans as Juno is. However, because Aeneas is the poem’s epic hero, we are more likely to excuse her indiscretionary power. For example, she causes Dido to fall in love with Aeneas out of fear that the queen otherwise might harm her son or grandson or both. However, Venus is not personally against Dido, rather she is for Aeneas. She does not harm Dido as Juno would the Trojan prince.
Both of these works illustrate the close relationship between gods and people, god’s constant interference in human’s daily affairs, and even the resemblance of their characters. Gods play a major role in both of the stories. Whenever somebody feels helpless, they pray to gods and ask for their assistance and support. In “The Epic of Gilgamesh” people of Uruk pray to gods to send a match for their king Gilgamesh because, being two-thirds god, he is so strong and energetic that he is constantly bothering the young men with fighting and “leaves no girl to her mother.” (Gilgamesh, 101) The gods hear the prayer and send them Enkidu. Homer’s “Iliad” starts with the Chryses, who was Apollo’s priest, praying to him for help after Agamemnon refuses to return his daughter.
Oedipus saves the citizens from the totalitarian rule of the Sphinx, by solving the difficult and complicated riddle. Then again, near the conclusion of the play, Oedipus shows courage and self-sacrifice for the benefit of his people. He gouges out his own eyes and exiles himself from Thebes to save his people from the devastating plague. All this is evidence of Oedipus’ abundance of integrity and overall heroic qualities, in turn exhibiting his morality, virtue, and nobility. Oedipus is undoubtedly a righteous hero.