Illiad hero quiz

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Odysseus The Prudent Counsellor and Complete Man
[Taken from Richmond Lattimore's translation of the Iliad]
Odysseus is crafty, resourceful, daring, and merciless. Essentially, he can be described by the Greek word sophron. This is untranslatable. It means, not necessarily that you have superior brains, but that you make the maximum use of whatever brains you have got. Odysseus is the antithesis of Achilleus. Achilleus has fine intelligence, but passion clouds it; Odysseus has strong passions, but his intelligence keeps them under control. Achilleus, Hektor and Agamemnon, magnificent as they are, are flawed with uncertainty and can act on confused motives; Odysseus never. A single purpose guides Odysseus in the Iliad. The expedition against Troy must succeed. He has no recklessness, but does have stark courage when that is needed. Not the noblest or stateliest of Homer's heroes, he is the one who survives.



The format is kind of tough, but it's fun nonetheless.

Link fixed

... the link is not working properly o_O

Sorry. Fixed.

I'm really clumsy today.

Odysseus The Prudent Counsellor and Complete Man
[Taken from Richmond Lattimore's translation of the Iliad]
Odysseus is crafty, resourceful, daring, and merciless. Essentially, he can be described by the Greek word sophron. This is untranslatable. It means, not necessarily that you have superior brains, but that you make the maximum use of whatever brains you have got. Odysseus is the antithesis of Achilleus. Achilleus has fine intelligence, but passion clouds it; Odysseus has strong passions, but his intelligence keeps them under control. Achilleus, Hektor and Agamemnon, magnificent as they are, are flawed with uncertainty and can act on confused motives; Odysseus never. A single purpose guides Odysseus in the Iliad. The expedition against Troy must succeed. He has no recklessness, but does have stark courage when that is needed. Not the noblest or stateliest of Homer's heroes, he is the one who survives.

Achilles The Tragic Hero
[Taken from Richmond Lattimore's translation of the Iliad]
The function of Achilleus in the Iliad of itself necessitates certain qualities. The necessary man must be a supreme warrior, but in station and as a king he ranks below Agamemnon. As a hero of tragedy, he is great, but human and imperfect. His tragedy is an effect of free choice by a will that falls short of omniscience and is disturbed by anger. In the Iliad his supremacy as a warrior is scarcely challenged, and is insisted upon at all times. But his supremacy is powered by gods who favour, strengthen, and protect him. Achilleus is not in any sense immortal. He is closer to the gods than other heroes, but defers to them generally. Achilleus is prescient beyond others, but his knowledge has limitations, and his character can be invaded by the human emotions of grief, fear, and above all, anger. It is the anger of pride, the necessary accompaniment of the warrior's greatness, that springs the tragedy of the Iliad. Despite his rage, he is a man of culture and intelligence. Above all, Achilleus is a real man, mortal and fallible, but noble enough to make his own tragedy a great one.